Humanities
The Year 10 Humanities course is taught by specialist staff and aims to expose students to Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History before upper school subject selections. Courses are 9 weeks in length and operate on a rotational system of varying order. Each subject has an inquiry, all of which are graded according to SCSA standards. In addition, students will complete an examination at the conclusion of each semester.
The Civics and Citizenship course allows students continue to build on their understanding of the concepts of democracy, democratic values, justice and rights and responsibilities by exploring Australia’s roles and responsibilities at a national and global level. The students will inquire in to the values and practices that enable a resilient democracy to be sustained. In the first focus area of the unit, Justice at home, the students will do this by looking at the role of the court system in Australia, the differences in criminal and civil law and the role of the High Court. They will then move onto the second focus area Political principles in our region. In this section they will explore the key principles of Australia’s democratic system and their functions. In the final focus area, Justice overseas, students will consider Australia’s role, responsibilities and legal obligations on a global level.
In Economics, students further develop their understanding of economics and business concepts by considering Australia’s economic performance and standard of living. This syllabus investigates the ways governments manage economic performance to improve living standards is explored, along with the reasons why economic performance and living standards differ within and between economies. Students explore externalities and looks at how the government intervenes to ensure that prices reflect the depletion of resources or costs to society. With that, students examine the consequences of decisions and the responses of business to changing economic conditions, including the way they manage their workforce.
The Geography course focuses on environmental change and variations in human wellbeing. Urban environments are used as a case study for change, with a focus on stresses such as climate change, urban sprawl and congestion. As part of their inquiry, students focus on design solutions to address urban challenges and with the aid of an industry professional, they propose redevelopment plans for the Cottesloe Train Station as a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). The second part of the course focuses on measuring economic inequality and accounting for disparities in global wealth and well-being. Students study poverty as a generational cycle and evaluate strategies to alleviate the impacts of impoverishment.
The Year 10 History course explores World War Two, with a focus on the Australian experience at home and abroad. Students study long-term and short-term causes of WWII, including the legacies of WWI, the Great Depression, the rise of militarist regimes, and the policy of appeasement. They consider the nature of the war not only in Europe, but also in North Africa and the Asia-Pacific theatre, especially the ways in which Australians were involved in key conflicts in all regions. Students will complete a research inquiry on a topic of their choice, examining the impacts of WWII. The course includes an extension module on the emergence of civil rights movements in the postwar era, both in Australia, with a focus on Aboriginal rights, and around the world.
Students develop increasing independence in critical thinking and skill application, which includes questioning, researching, analysing, evaluating, communicating and reflecting. They apply these skills to investigate events, developments, issues and phenomena, both historical and contemporary. The following skills will be explicitly taught through the programme:
- Organize and depict information logically
- Identify trends and forecast possibilities
- Use appropriate strategies for organising complex information
- Gather and organise relevant information to formulate an argument