C. Survey summary
In addition to seeking views from the community via written submissions and public hearings, the Committee was keen to hear from students, teachers and recent school leavers about their experiences with civics and citizenship education.
The Committee opened three online surveys from 5 June 2024 to 30 August 2024, and links were widely distributed to schools across Australia. In designing the survey, the Committee considered risks to privacy, and that questions were age-appropriate for student cohorts. Surveys were completed anonymously. Respondents were able to discontinue the survey at any time and choose ‘prefer not to answer’ to most questions.
A preamble was made available at the start of each survey to inform participants on the Committee’s inquiry, a definition of ‘civics’ and information on the survey. The preamble encouraged students to discuss and complete the survey with a parent, family member or teacher.
Each survey contained up to 25 questions relating to several areas of interest to the Committee to identify issues and trends in relation to civics education across Australia and encourage engagement with the Committee’s inquiry. The Committee received:
- 590 responses from school students
- 314 responses from educators
- 55 responses from school leavers.
Please note that the results are presented in their primary format, no changes have been made to any typographical errors in responses, and independent statistical analysis on the data has not been conducted.
Civics education survey – Students
590 responses
Question 1 sought the respondent’s confirmation to continue with the survey after reading the preamble.
590 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 14 selected ‘No’.
Question 2: In which state or territory do you attend school?
While all states and territories were represented, 423 of all respondents were from Victoria or New South Wales.
Question 3: Where is your school located?
Question 4: What is your current school year?
Most respondents were Year 10 students (n=121).
Question 5: What kind of school do you attend?
Most respondents who selected ‘Other’ stated that they attended a Selective school.
Question 6 sought the respondent’s confirmation to submit the above answers and continue with the survey. 542 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and none selected ‘No’.
Question 7: How important is civics education to you?
Respondents were asked to rate the importance from a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important). Most respondents (n=137) selected ‘3’. 66 school students rated that civics education is very important to them. The weighted average rating was 3.45.
Box C.1 Q7. Free text responses Student comments on Question 7 had four themes. The first of these was support for civics education. Students from primary school commented that civics education was ‘fun’. High school students went into more detail, for example: Civics is an absolutely essential part of the curriculum as it informs us students about our legal system and roles and responsibilities as citizens as well as being educated about the rights we have as individuals as well as the vital role we play in shaping our economy. (Year 10, public school, very remote, Victoria) The second theme centred on understanding civics as a necessity. Students commented: ‘You have to vote’ (Year 6, public school, major city, Victoria) and ‘I don't want to be fined if I vote incorrectly’ (Year 9, public school, major city, WA). Some students commented that they did not see the point of civics education. Comments included: ‘It feels pointless … like im not making an impact and the world's gonna go to shit anyway so why care abt civics’ (Year 11, private school, regional area, Victoria). Finally, some students stated that they had not been taught civics at all. For example: ‘I don’t really know what civics is, never learnt a thing about it’ (Year 12, public school, regional area, Victoria). |
Question 8: What parts of civics do you think are important?
Respondents were asked to rate the importance from a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important) for each option.
Most school students agreed that ‘Understanding how to vote and take part in elections’ was the most important part of civics (n=215 selected ‘5’).
The weighted average rating for each option is as follows:
- Understanding how to vote and take part in elections. (4.21)
- Understanding how to be a responsible member of the community. (4.00)
- Understanding how to talk about political and social issues in a respectful way. (3.73)
- Understanding how government and institutions such as Parliament and the courts work. (3.70)
- Understanding how to participate in democracy outside of elections (for example contacting members of parliament, joining a political party, or joining an interest group). (3.44)
Box C.2 Q8. Free text responses Students commenting on Question 8 were split between those who wanted more education on issues, for example ‘… I think it would be greatly beneficial to expand this to include students engagement with politicians on issues that matter to them’ (Year 12, public school, major city, NSW) and those who wanted more education on process: ‘I think teaching students how to vote and how we can help is more important’ (Year 7, public school, regional area, Victoria). Respect when discussing political issues also attracted some student comments: I think people need to learn how to say what THEY think, not aggressively or rudely, but honestly and directly because people are too sensitive nowadays and need to accept that people have their own opinions and that the real world is not so soft, gentle and blunting, they need to understand that people will not always soften the real facts… (Year 9, public school, major city, NSW) Students also suggested that civics education should take place later in their schooling: ‘Understanding hwo to vote and participate in a democracy is more important for senior students as they get closer to being able to vote’ (Year 10, private school, major city, Victoria). |
Question 9: How do you generally engage with politics and social issues?
Respondents were asked to rate the frequency from a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very frequently) for each option.
The weighted average ratings for all options were low, indicating that engagement overall with politics and social issues is not high among the school students surveyed.
The weighted average rating for each option is as follows:
- By talking to a family member. (2.91)
- In school. (2.90)
- By talking to friends. (2.53)
- Through television. (2.51)
- Through social media. (2.46)
- Through internet sites. (2.39)
- Through your local community. (1.96)
Box C.3 Q9. Free text responses Students identified a range of ways in which they engaged with politics and social issues, including ‘mostly discussing topics at church’, (Year 10, public school, major city, NSW), extracurricular student activities such as ‘through youth councils’, (Year 9, public school, regional area, SA) and through conversations with ‘teachers family and friends’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, Victoria). Several students said that they were not interested in politics and social issues: ‘I don’t really care about politics I have more important things to do then talk about a bunch of people arguing with each other’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, WA). |
Question 10: How sure are you that you can find information about politics and social issues?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very unsure) to 5 (very sure). Most respondents (n=140) selected ‘4’.
Box C.4 Q10. Free text responses One student stated, ‘I have access to the internet and other human beings so I'm very much quite sure I can find any/some information at all about politics and social issues’ (Year 9, public school, major city, NSW). The comments also demonstrated that students were aware that information on social and political issues might be tainted with misinformation and bias: ‘There is the danger that finding information on these issues will lead to areas where political parties will aim to influence, young people for example, of their views’ (Year 12, church school, major city, Victoria) and ‘Can easily find “some information”, but I have to filter through trash to find the actual information’ (Year 11, public school, major city, NSW). |
Question 11: How sure are you that you can work out whether you can trust information about politics and social issues?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very unsure) to 5 (very sure). Most respondents (n=148) selected ‘3’.
31 school students selected that they are very unsure about how to work out whether they can trust information about politics and social issues.
Box C.5 Q11. Free text responses One student noted: ‘using digital sources I look for websites ending in .gov or .org as they are generally trustable’ (Year 9, public school, regional area, Victoria). Another student expressed concern that ‘it can be difficult at times to notice political biases and ulterior motives’ (Year 10, public school, major city, SA). Some students criticised the media, for example: ‘There is a lot of corruption and misinformation being spread so trusting the news in this time can be very difficult for society’ (Year 10, public school, very remote, Victoria). |
Question 12: Should students have to study civics in schools?
Most respondents (n=267) selected ‘Yes’. 94 selected ‘No’.
Box C.6 Q12. Free text responses Most student respondents agreed that students should study civics in school, for example: ‘We need to learn how to vote, be a responsible citizen, and understand basic politics’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, WA). Some respondents were more qualified in their support than others: ‘I don’t really like learning about parliament and government but we prob should’ (Year 9, church school, regional area, NSW) and ‘Enough to get by without being ignorant of how to solve some of Australia's issues’ (Year 9, public school, regional area, WA). Others were of the view that civics should be optional, rather than compulsory: ‘If they want to, they can but if they don't want to they shouldn't be forced to study it’ (Year 8, private school, regional area, SA). |
Question 13: Is civics offered at your school?
287 students selected ‘Yes’ and 125 selected ‘No’.
Questions 14 to 23 were answered by 264 respondents and skipped by 340 respondents.
Question 14: How is civics taught or offered at your school?
For this question, respondents could select as many as apply.
Civics taught as part of other subjects at their school was the most popular selection (n=164).
The second most popular selection was that civics is taught as a stand-alone subject (n=135).
Question 15: Do you have to take civics at your school?
171 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 75 selected ‘No’.
Question 16: How confident are your teachers in teaching civics?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (not confident) to 5 (very confident).
Most school students (n=183) selected ‘4’ or ‘5’ indicating that the teachers at their school are quite confident in teaching civics.
Question 17: How much have you learned about the purpose of government and what it does?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot).
Most respondents (n=115) selected ‘4’. The weighted average rating for this question was 3.83.
Box C.7 Q17. Free text responses Students who commented fell into three groups: those who learnt about the purpose of government through school (for example, through Legal Studies or VCE Australian Politics), those who obtained their understanding from sources other than the civics curriculum and those who did not know much at all. Students who obtained their understanding from sources other than the civics curriculum said: ‘Almost all of my learning has been outside of school,’ (Year 9, public school, regional area, SA) and ‘Learnt more from social media’ (Year 11, private school, regional area, Victoria). Students who said that they did not know about the purpose of government argued: ‘I know nothing because its taught so badly, so I hate it’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, WA). |
Question 18: How much have you learned about how Australia’s democracy has evolved over time?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot).
Most respondents (n=84) selected ‘3’. The weighted average rating was 3.29.
There were not many free text responses to this question. Most students who commented said that they had either not been taught the history of Australian democracy at all or had only been taught aspects of it.
Question 19: How much have you learned about different types of government (for example, types of government in other countries)?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot).
Most respondents (n=83) selected ‘3’.
Question 20: How much have you learned about the purpose of elections and how to participate in them?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot).
Most respondents (n=90) selected ‘4’ indicating that students have a good knowledge of the purpose of elections and how to participate in them.
Question 21: How much have you learned about how to participate in democracy outside of elections?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot).
Most respondents (n=87) selected ‘3’.
Question 22: How much have you learned about how to talk about political and social issues in a respectful way?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot).
Most respondents (n=86) selected ‘3’. ‘2’ was the second most popular response (n=55).
Box C.8 Q22. Free text responses The main theme of the comments on Question 22 was that talking about issues respectfully was something students learned from sources other than civics classes. For example: ‘Learned from self experience, definitely not from the fake way adults/teachers tend to promote it’ (Year 9, public school, major city, NSW) or ‘This topic hasn't really been taught to us specifically it's just sort of an expectation in the classroom … it's not been taught it's just the way that it is …’ (Year 11, public school, regional area, NSW). |
Question 23: How satisfied are you with the civics education you have received?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).
Most respondents (n=90) selected ‘4’. The second most popular response was ‘3’ (n=73) indicating that most students who responded to the survey were satisfied with the civics education they received at school.
Box C.9 Q23. Free text responses A handful of student commenters expressed their satisfaction with their civics education: ‘So much fun we enjoy doing it and good way to learn,‘ (Year 5, public school, major city, Victoria) and ‘I am satisfied’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, WA). Another student remembered the practical aspects of their civics classes: ‘… the only 2 things I remember fully from previous years are when we did a court roleplay and when a person came in and did an interactive presentation on types of voting’ (Year 9, public school, remote area, WA). There were also a small number of negative comments, including: ‘don’t like it’ (Year 8, private school, remote area, SA) and ‘I havent remembered much about civics so I feel like it was a waste of my time’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, WA). |
Question 24: How should civics education in schools be improved?
This was a free text question.
Box C.10 Q24. Free text responses Most students wanted more civics education. For example: It should be more practical and engaging, but above all more present! (Year 12 public school, major city, NSW) Many students provided specific examples of elements they would like included in the curriculum. For example: - ‘Mock elections, analysing campaigns’ (Year 10, private school, major city, WA)
- ‘Talk about real world problems and have debates’ (Year 10, public school, regional area, Victoria)
- ‘By making it fun and interesting to learn instead of writing paragraphs of information that the students will hate and not remember’ (Year 10, public school, remote area, Victoria)
- ‘Teach about elections and information clearly about real life events that actually happen as a adult (not sure if they don't if I haven't reached that yet), provide advice too, teach information in a clear and concise way so students understand what goes on without making it overly complicated and jargon.’ (Year 9, public school, major city, NSW).
A number of students wanted civics to be made a mandatory part of the curriculum: ‘Being made mandatory, like how English is’ (Year 12, church school, major city, Victoria) and ‘It should be in every school, especially senior education’ (Year 10, public school, remote area, Tasmania). |
Question 25 sought the respondent’s confirmation to submit the above answers. 359 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 22 selected ‘No’.
Civics education survey – educators
314 responses
Question 1 sought the respondent’s confirmation to continue with the survey after reading the preamble.
314 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 1 selected ‘No’.
Question 2: In which state or territory do you work as an educator?
While all states and territories were represented, 207 of all respondents worked in New South Wales or Victoria.
Question 3: Where is your school located?
Most respondents (n=177) said that they teach at a school located in a major city.
Question 4: In what kind of school do you work?
Some of those who selected ‘Other’ cited that they teach at university, a gallery/museum or education department.
Question 5: How many years of teaching experience do you have?
Most respondents (n=177) said that they have more than 10 years of teaching experience. 23 respondents had less than two years of teaching experience.
Question 6 sought the respondent’s confirmation to submit the above answers and continue with the survey. 272 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and none selected ‘No’.
Question 7: How important is civics education to you?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important). Most educators (n=165) selected ‘5’.
Question 8: What parts of civics do you think are important?
Respondents were asked to rate the importance from a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important) for each option.
Most educators agreed that ‘Understanding how to be a responsible member of the community’ was the most important part of civics (n=184 selected ‘5’).
The weighted average rating for each option is as follows:
- Understanding how to be a responsible member of the community. (4.74)
- Understanding how to talk about political and social issues in a respectful way. (4.66)
- Understanding how to vote and take part in elections. (4.61)
- Understanding how government and institutions such as Parliament and the courts work. (4.50)
- Understanding how to participate in democracy outside of elections (for example contacting members of parliament, joining a political party, or joining an interest group). (4.31)
Box C.11 Q8. Free text responses Written comments on Question 8 identified a number of aspects of civics education as important, including: understanding how the system of laws and government work, knowing how to discuss divisive issues, and how to be engaged in civic life. Comments included: - ‘Understand how policies are made & enacted by different political parties & how the gov bureaucracy is separate from the elected arm of government.’ (University educator, regional area, Queensland)
- ‘…focusing on how we can interact with these institutions, how power moves between the people and institutions and ways that we can interact and share our views with the community and those that can influence change.’ (Public school, major city, Victoria)
Respondents also felt ‘the need for respectful attitudes pervades all areas of life, personal and public’ (Public school, regional area, Victoria). One educator argued that: Skills and knowledge about how to ethically and responsibly respond to losing a democratic vote (or even an argument) without undermining the democracy itself is just as important as understanding process questions like how does voting work. (Public school, regional area, NSW) Teaching students how to engage in public life was also identified as an important part of civics education. For example, one respondent believed civics is: ‘Understanding one's privilege and responsibility. An opportunity to encourage diversity and more representative government and civic leadership’ (Public school, regional area, Victoria). |
Question 9: How do you generally engage with politics and social issues?
Respondents were asked to rate the frequency from a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very frequently) for each option. ‘Discussion with others’ was the most common way that the educators surveyed engage with politics and social issues (n=167 out of 224 selected ‘4’ or ‘5’). The weighted average rating for each option is as follows:
- Through discussion with others. (4.08)
- Through internet sites. (3.40)
- In school. (3.31)
- Through television. (3.19)
- Through social media. (3.01)
- Through your local community. (3.00)
Question 10: How sure are you that your students can find information about politics and social issues, including political policies?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very unsure) to 5 (very sure).
Most educators (n=78 out of 224) selected ‘2’ indicating that they are unsure that their students can find information about politics and social issues. Only 14 educators selected ‘5 – very sure’.
Box C.12 Q10. Free text responses Many teachers argued that it was necessary to provide guidance to students on how to find accurate information on politics and social issues. One teacher commented: It is challenging for secondary-age students to navigate the proliferation of information available to them, and to determine its veracity. This is a key skill and learning area that straddles civics and citizenship learning and other subjects including media studies and even art and technology. (Public school, major city, Victoria) Some teachers noted the contribution made by students’ parents and friends to their knowledge of politics and social issues, while some discussed the influence of social media on students’ understanding of social issues and politics: ‘they can navigate through social media but are reluctant to search thoroughly through content and are content to click on the first link or information’ (Public school, regional area, NSW). Others said: ‘I'm sure the information is available, but I'm not sure that they would do a good job of distinguishing between a reputable source and a less reliable one’ (Public school, major city, Victoria). Many commenters discussed their students’ lack of interest in civics and citizenship: ‘Could they? Perhaps. Are they interested in doing so? Highly unlikely’ (Private school, regional area, NSW). Another common view was that students were parochial in their interests: ‘They are often unaware of even very high-profile debates’ (Public school, major city, Victoria). |
Question 11: How sure are you that your students can work out whether information about politics and social issues is reliable?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very unsure) to 5 (very sure).
Most educators (n=93 out of 224) selected ‘2’ indicating that they are unsure that their students can work out whether information is fact or fiction. Only 1.34% of educators selected ‘5 – very sure’ and 3.57% selected ‘4’.
Box C.13 Q11. Free text responses Teachers expressed concern that the information environment students lived in caused them to adopt narratives about politics and social issues that were not accurate. Many teachers advocated for students being taught how to find accurate and reliable information on politics and social issues, for example: - ‘They must be explicitly taught how to do this, and to consider and understand alternative viewpoints.’ (Public school, regional area, Queensland)
- ‘Media literacy/competency can and should be spread across all subjects.’ (Democracy education specialist, major city, NSW)
- ‘Resourcing and ideas on how to be more critical of news to counter misinformation.’ (Public school, major city, ACT)
- ‘Understanding of bias and balance without civics education is lacking.’ (Public school, major city, Victoria)
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Question 12: Should civics education be compulsory in schools?
Most respondents (n=204) selected ‘Yes’ and 13 selected ‘No’.
Box C.14 Q12. Free text responses Most respondents to this question were in favour of compulsory civics education: ‘… every student should be armed with the knowledge and skills to help determine their future political and democratic choices and participation’ (Public school, major city, Victoria). Teachers’ concern at the level of engagement by students continued to be a major factor: The students are unlikely to ever be enthusiastic about this en-masse, but the classroom is one of the few spaces where heterogenous thinking can be modelled and where students are obliged to think - even if superficially - about the social and political structures that underpin their experiences. (Public school, major city, Victoria). A number of teachers were concerned about the effect that mandating civics as a compulsory subject would have in an already full curriculum: ‘The curriculum is already extremely full. Something would need to come out’ (Public school, regional area, NSW). |
Question 13: Is civics offered at your school?
161 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 63 selected ‘No’.
Question 14: How is civics taught or offered at your school?
For this question, respondents could select as many as apply.
Most respondents (n=122) said that civics is taught as part of other subjects at their school. The second most popular response was ‘as a stand-alone subject’, which received 48 selections.
Question 15: Is civics compulsory at your school?
Most respondents (n=117) selected ‘Yes’ and 32 selected ‘No’.
Question 16: In what year levels is civics taught at your school?
For this question, respondents could select as many as apply.
Year 6 received the highest number of selections (n=74), followed closely by Year 9 (n=73).
Year 10 received 67 selections.
Year 11 and 12 received 67 selections total.
Question 17: What is the focus of the civics curriculum or program?
For this question, respondents could select as many as apply.
‘Understanding the role and functions of government and institutions’ received the most selections (n=141), followed by ‘Understanding how to engage with democratic processes such as voting’ (n=127) and ‘Understanding how to be a responsible citizen’ (n=120).
Question 18: Does your school provide students with opportunities to engage with civics outside the classroom (e.g., excursions or engagement with government-led programs)?
Most respondents (n=113) selected ‘Yes’ and 39 selected ‘No’.
Box C.15 Q18. Free text responses A number of educators said that a lack of resourcing, including financial costs and staffing, prevented them from organising civics activities outside the classroom. For example: ‘We are too understaffed to be able to do this’ (Public school, regional area, Queensland). Teachers at schools with sufficient resources to offer civics activities outside the classroom identified a selection of activities that were available to students, including: - trips to Canberra (Public school, major city, Victoria)
- the National Schools Constitutional Convention (Public school, regional area, Tasmania)
- school clubs that engage with social issues (Public school, major city, Victoria)
- Model United Nations competitions (Public school, major city, Victoria)
- guest speakers (Private school, major city, Victoria)
- visits to, or by local Members of Parliament (Public school, major city, SA)
- visits to courts (Church school, major city, NSW).
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Question 19: Do you teach civics?
Most respondents (n=118) selected ‘Yes’ and 40 selected ‘No’.
Question 20: Have you received specific training in teaching civics?
Most respondents (n=77) selected ‘No’. 37 respondents selected ‘Yes’.
Question 21: Does your school offer professional development for teachers in relation to civics education?
Most respondents (n=85) selected ‘No’. 22 selected ‘Yes’.
Box C.16 Q21. Free text responses Very few respondents on this question responded positively. Many educators discussed the limited opportunities for professional development. One teacher noted that there was ‘limited availability of places to go’ (Public school, major city, Victoria). Another respondent was representative of a number who indicated that their professional development was informal: ‘We usually rely on the teachers trained in civics to support other staff’ (Public school, major city, Victoria). Some teachers stated that they attended conferences, which are not available to all teachers. Finally, some teachers responded that they had either not had, or not recently had, professional development: ‘Not had any PD for Legal or Civics in years …’ (Public school, regional area, Queensland). |
Question 22: How equipped do you feel to teach civics?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (not equipped at all) to 5 (very equipped).
The weighted average rating for this question was 4.03 indicating that while teachers have not had specific training or professional development in relation to civics education, they still feel equipped to teach it to their students. Most educators (n=48) selected ‘5’ and the second most popular selection (n=37) was ‘4’.
Question 23: How should civics education in schools be improved?
This was a free text question.
Box C.17 Q23. Free text responses A consistent theme was that improving civics education will require a complex series of interventions, rather than simple changes. For example: … making it relatable to students by using analogies to help them understand complex abstract ideas such as the separation of powers. Case studies and empirical studies are also useful to model these complex ideas. Role playing is an effective strategy in the Humanities and it can be applicable to Civics and Citizenship. (Private school, major city, Victoria) Many other educators suggested an array of changes, including: - decluttering the curriculum: ‘The curriculum is quite full, it could be pared back to include the essentials’ (Public school, regional area, Queensland); ‘Reduce the crowded curriculum’ (Private school, major city, NSW).
- making civics mandatory: ‘Make civics a subject. Make it mandatory. Give teacher training’ (Public school, regional area, NSW).
- making civics a greater priority in the curriculum, including a suggestion to integrate ‘civics into all of the [Key Learning Areas] is an easy solution and it would give a tangible and authentic seam of learning through the syllabuses’ (Public school, remote area, NSW).
- more resourcing, such as ‘compulsory teacher training for in-service teachers’ (Education resource provider, major city, NSW); improving ‘professional development’ (Gallery, regional area, NSW); ‘lesson plan development and unit overviews’ (Public school, major city, Victoria).
- active participation in civics education by Members of Parliament, who ‘should visit more and be more accessible so that it all means something’ (Private school, regional area, Tasmania).
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Question 24 sought the respondent’s confirmation to submit the above answers. 215 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 2 selected ‘No’.
Civics education survey – school leavers
55 responses
Question 1 sought the respondent’s confirmation to continue with the survey after reading the preamble.
55 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and none selected ‘No’.
Question 2: How long ago did you leave secondary school?
Most respondents (n=11) selected ‘more than five years’ followed closely by ‘less than one year’ (n=10).
Question 3: In which state or territory did you attend school?
While all states and territories were represented, most respondents attended school in New South Wales (n=16).
Question 4: Where did you attend school?
None of the respondents attended a school in a remote or very remote area. Most respondents (n=27) attended a school in a major city.
10 respondents attended a school in a regional area (for example, a smaller city or larger town).
Question 5: What kind of school did you attend?
None of the respondents attended a home-school. Most respondents (n=23) attended a public school, and 10 respondents attended a private school. 2 respondents attended a church school.
Question 6 sought the respondent’s confirmation to submit the above answers and continue with the survey. 37 respondents selected ‘Yes’, none selected ‘No’ and 18 skipped the question.
Questions 7 to 13 were answered by 24 respondents, while 31 respondents skipped the questions.
Question 7: How important is civics education to you?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important).
Almost all respondents (n=21) selected ‘5’ with the second most popular selection being ‘4’ (n=3). No respondents selected ‘1’, ‘2’ or ‘3’ indicating very strongly that civics education is very important to recent school leavers.
Box C.18 Q7. Free text responses ‘Civics education allows for a better understanding of the issues I see in day-to-day life such as the cost of living crisis and way for me to work with others to take action’ (One to two years since graduation, church school, major city, Victoria). One respondent commented on the impact a lack of civics education had on them: I would like to know about how our voting system works and any other information students should know such as how to participate in the voting process. (Two to three years since graduation, public school, major city, NSW) |
Question 8: What parts of civics do you think are important?
Respondents were asked to rate each option from a scale of 1 (not important at all) to 5 (very important).
School leavers rated each option very highly indicating that all parts of civics are important to them. The weighted average rating for each option is as follows:
- Understanding how to vote and take part in elections. (4.92)
- Understanding how to talk about political and social issues in a respectful way. (4.79)
- Understanding how government and institutions such as Parliament and the courts work. (4.79)
- Understanding how to be a responsible member of the community. (4.71)
- Understanding how to participate in democracy outside of elections (for example contacting members of parliament, joining a political party, or joining an interest group). (4.29)
Question 9: How do you generally engage with politics and social issues?
Respondents were asked to rate the frequency from a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (very frequently) for each option.
Most respondents (n=10) selected that they very frequently talk to family members to engage with politics and social issues. The least selected option was ‘through your local community’ which received a weighted average rating of 2.83.
Talking to friends received the highest weighted average rating with 20 respondents selecting ‘4’ and ‘5’ total.
The weighted average rating for each option is as follows:
- By talking to friends. (4.17)
- Through social media. (4.00)
- Through internet sites. (4.00)
- By talking to family members. (4.00)
- Through television. (3.46)
- Through the institution you attend (for example, university or TAFE). (3.46)
- Through your local community. (2.83)
Question 10: How sure are you that you can find information about politics and social issues, including political policies?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very unsure) to 5 (very sure).
Most respondents (n=21) selected ‘5’ or ‘4’ indicating that most school leavers are sure or very sure that they can find this information.
Box C.19 Q10. Free text responses Respondents considered that their civics education had not given them sufficient skills to find information about civics. One respondent said that ‘civic education at a primary and secondary level is ill equipped to teach people how to find this information’ (One to two years since graduation, church school, major city, Victoria). |
Question 11: How sure are you that you can work out whether information about politics and social issues is reliable?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very unsure) to 5 (very sure).
Most respondents (n=17) selected ‘5’ or ‘4’ indicating that most school leavers are sure or very sure that they can work out if information they read is fact or fiction.
Question 12: Should civics education be compulsory in schools?
Most respondents (n=23) selected ‘Yes’ and 1 selected ‘No’.
Box C.20 Q12. Free text responses One respondent said ‘basic civics education should be compulsory’ (One to two years since graduation, church school, major city, Victoria), while another argued that teaching civics as an elective: …was very insufficient and didn’t teach anything about how to participate in democracy, who are the parties and what they stand for, and why voting is important … (Less than one year since graduation, public school, major city, NSW) Another respondent believed civics should not be ‘completely compulsory but more encouraged’ (Less than one year since graduation, public school, major city, NSW). |
Question 13: Was civics offered at your secondary school?
Most school leavers (n=15) said that civics was not offered at their secondary school, 9 said that it was.
Question 14: How was civics taught or offered at your secondary school?
Most respondents (n=6) said that civics was taught or offered as part of other subjects.
Question 15: Was civics compulsory at your secondary school?
Most school leavers (n=6) said that civics was compulsory, 3 selected ‘No’.
Question 16: How confident were your teachers in teaching civics?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (not confident at all) to 5 (very confident). The weighted average rating for this question was 3.78 indicating that school leavers felt that their teachers were reasonably confident in teaching civics in school.
Question 17: How much did you learn about the purpose of government and what it does?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot). Most school leavers (n=3) selected ‘2’ indicating that they did not learn much about government during school.
Box C.21 Q17. Free text responses School leavers were less impressed with the extent to which civics education covered the purpose of government, for example: We were taught it at a very basic level, however had we learnt how to critically analyse the purpose and compare it other forms of government I would've had a more nuanced understanding and I would've retained the information. (One to two years since graduation, church school, major city, Victoria) |
Question 18: How much did you learn about how Australia’s democracy has evolved over time?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot). The weighted average rating for this question was low (2.78).
Question 19: How much did you learn about different types of government (for example, types of government in other countries)?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot). The weighted average rating for this question was low (2.33).
Question 20: How much did you learn about the purpose of elections and how to participate in them?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot). The weighted average rating for this question was average (3.33).
Question 21: How much did you learn about how to participate in democracy outside of elections?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot). The weighted average rating for this question was very low (2.11).
Box C.22 Q21. Free text response ‘Frankly I’m still not sure how best to do that other than by joining a political party.’ (Two to three years since graduation, public school, major city, NSW) |
Question 22: How much did you learn about how to talk about political and social issues in a respectful way?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (nothing) to 5 (a lot). The weighted average rating for this question was very low (2.11).
Question 23: How satisfied are you with the civics education you received during secondary school?
Respondents were asked to rate this question from a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). The weighted average rating for this question was low (2.78).
Question 24: How should civics education in schools be improved?
This was a free text question.
Box C.23 Q24. Free text responses Written responses included two themes: that civics education should be compulsory, and that specific aspects of civics education should be taught. Respondents in favour of compulsory civics education stated that it should be ‘a stand-alone mandatory subject’ (Four to five years since graduation, selective high school, major city, NSW) and ‘It should be compulsory and extensive, covering all the necessities of the system in an engaging way so that students learn as much as possible’ (Less than one year since graduation, public school, major city, Tasmania). In relation to what specific aspects of civics education should be included, respondents said practical matters, such as ‘media literacy’ (Four to five years since graduation, private school, major city, NSW). Another respondent suggested: An understanding of the systems in which politics operates in our country to provide context such as election cycles, budget process, balance of power in parliaments, economic and social analysis of public policies, and … An understanding of the two houses of parliament and the impact of our vote in different types of elections. Ways to find fact checked information about political parties, political donations, and political affiliations. How legislation is designed and passed through parliament. How to appeal to local and national government for change, contribute to consultations or participate in public hearings. (More than five years since graduation, public school, regional area, NSW) Another respondent argued that civics education should include ‘exactly what a Member of Parliament or Senator does and how exactly the voting system works’ (Two to three years since graduation, public school, major city, NSW). Other respondents suggested more analytical approaches needed to be included, such as: … more on policy and history with a focus on Australia and key thinkers. This should work to show students how their interests intersect and overlap with politics, government and social issues. (One to two years since graduation, church school, major city, Victoria) |
Question 25 sought the respondent’s confirmation to submit the above answers. 21 respondents selected ‘Yes’ and 0 selected ‘No’. 34 respondents skipped this question.