Is Australian democracy at risk?
The news today has stories about how poorly Australian school students performed on a national test of civics and citizenship knowledge. Some examples:
Australian students just recorded the lowest civics scores since testing began. But young people do care about politics – The Conversation
Could you pass a year 10 civics test? Only 28% of Australian students can – The Guardian
Two graphs in The Conversation piece chart the slight rise followed by a substantial decline at both Year 6 and Year 10 over 20 years to the most recent results in 2024. For Year 6 the national result percentage of students ‘proficient in civics’ rose from 50% in 2004 to 55% in 2016 before falling to 43% in 2024. For Year 10 it went from 39% in 2004 to 49% in 2010 and then down to 28% in 2024.
On the face of it that looks like an awful result, especially at Year 10. If substantially fewer than 30% of young Australians lack ‘proficiency’ in civics how can we expect them to participate effectively? Will they have sufficient understanding of the system of government and the possible effect of policies to make sound decisions when voting?
Of course, thinking back to the referendum of 2023 and the apparent lack of understanding about the implications of changing the constitution as proposed, I have to wonder whether the coming generation of voters will be any less well prepared than those who voted in the referendum. Then again, I wonder if it was ever much different. I recall that in 1970, when I was just old enough to vote in an election for the Senate, neither of the two near contemporaries I was sharing a flat with knew that the Senate existed.
Sadly, it seems neither of the major political parties has a clue about how knowledge of civics might be improved. The ABC piece quotes Federal Education minister, Jason Clare, as saying that his boost to funding to support school visits to the War Memorial, Parliament House, and Old Parliament House in Canberra is to allow students to visit and understand. I doubt that a few days of school visit to Canberra will have the desired effect. The Shadow Education Minister, Sarah Henderson, thought the national curriculum needed a rewrite. She must have forgotten the recent rewrite was done under Coalition government during the period of decline as shown in The Conversation graphs. A cynic might think that neither major party really wants a well informed electorate but would prefer people simply vote for them and let them get on with it without any real participation.
Perhaps by now you are wondering what proficiency in civics means. The Guardian article helpfully included 7 sample questions. Perhaps you might want to try the quiz to see how ‘proficient’ you are. If the sample questions are really representative of the ‘proficiency’ test I’m not sure how valid or useful it might be as a check on readiness for democratic participation.
One of the expert comments in the ABC piece suggested that “civics and citizenship often received little classroom time”. That could well be a consequence of the community and political panic around literacy and numeracy standards that has led to time for other learning areas being curtailed. Perhaps it’s time some of those driving the education system realised that literacy might be taught and learned using content from other learning areas.
In the end, the future of our democracy does depend upon participation by a well informed citizenry. Education can take us part of the way there but people need to see that their participation counts. Governments at all levels need to be more responsive to the needs of the populace rather than vested interests. When citizens see that their active participation is valued and effective they will encourage the next generation to learn and participate. While people feel they have no real influence they will not care enough to become proficient.