| Abstrakt: |
Many Australians who are currently eligible to vote lack minimal civic education. This means voters, particularly our youngest voters, are not well informed on basic processes of government and the running of society. As a result, they do not properly understand the roles and responsibilities of our three levels of government. Widespread civic education would lead to better informed voters, and more generally, a well-informed public, which can be particularly beneficial in times of crises by minimising the level of confusion and fear. There are challenges of implementing a unified policy for civic education across Australia - states and to an extent territories and schools have their own curriculum priorities and this can overshadow the importance of civic education. This is a topic not sufficiently discussed in Australia; we need to change this. Like maths, English, science, and the arts, civic education is something to which all Australians have a right, no matter where they live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
