Close message Scootle will be undergoing maintenance between 17:00 to 19:00 on 25 September 2023. You may experience intermittent connection during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Back to search results
Whose democracy? - unit of work

Teacher guide Whose democracy? - unit of work

TLF ID M009447

This is an extended sequence of lessons about the influence citizens can exert over government. The lessons focus on three topics: issues important to our class and the local community; the role of interest groups in Australia; and the role of interest groups in key issues in Australian history such as equal voting rights for women, civil rights for Aboriginal citizens, the eight-hour day and equal pay for women, and miners' rights and Eureka. The unit is introduced by a study of the Franklin Dam dispute and includes notes for teachers and student handouts.

View resource


Educational details

Educational value
  • This is a valuable resource for the civics and citizenship curriculum area. By the end of year 9, students are generally expected to have developed skills in collective decision making and informed civic action that can include deciding to participate in an interest group and/or express dissent. These skills are considered and developed throughout the unit using familiar contemporary and historical contexts.
  • The unit is also useful for depth studies in year 9 and 10 history. Its emphasis on the role of interest groups fits well with a range of content descriptions, including those about key events and ideas in the development of Australian self-government and democracy, the growth and influence of the environment movement within Australia and the methods used by civil rights activists to achieve change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Year level

8; 9; 10

Topics Aboriginal history Dissent Wage determination Working conditions Gold rushes Lobby groups Suffragettes
Learning area
  • Civics and citizenship
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Commonwealth of Australia
  • Organization: Commonwealth of Australia
  • Address: ACT, AUSTRALIA
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Name: The Department of Education\, Employment and Workplace Relations (DE
  • Organization: The Department of Education\, Employment and Workplace Relations (DE
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: ACT, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.deewr.gov.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Online
Rights
  • © Commonwealth of Australia 2009. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and the DEEWR logo and copyright material that is owned by third parties, you may use the material in accordance with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC BY-SA) 3.0 Australia licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au/ provided that appropriate acknowledgement is made, the material is not subjected to derogatory treatment and any derivative work attributes the original material and identifies the changes that have been made to it.