NCJ Number
74377
Date Published
1980
Length
11 pages
Annotation
In Western Australia there has been a growing recognition of the place of legal and law-related education in the school curriculum. This paper describes guiding developments in the Western Australian school system.
Abstract
Examples of 1979 school curricula show that first and second graders are first introduced to law in units on family and school rules. They are then taught units on community rules and safety as they progress to the third grade, and they are introduced to the functions of community councils and community agencies charged with enforcing the law, the process by which laws are made and the responsibilities of State and Federal Parliaments and the Australian court system as they progress to ninth grade. Adolescents are taught units on consumer law, environmental issues, legal issues regarding the workplace and employment, and social issues. In addition, eleventh and twelfth graders will begin a new course entitled 'Law' in 1979. An appendix gives the outline of this new course. The course is quite extensive and includes case studies, court visits, and specific aspects of contractual law, insurance law, social law, law regarding estates of deceased persons, property, and industrial relations, and consumer law. Guidelines for internal and external curriculum evaluation are also appended.