Human Society and Its Environment is a key area for developing in students the values, skills, and knowledge and understandings to interact effectively with others and with their cultural, social and physical environments as they strive to meet each other’s needs. The future wellbeing of society and its environment depends upon the quality of people’s interactions. From a Catholic perspective, Human Society and Its Environment must have as its foundation a vision of the innate dignity of all people, created in the image and likeness of a loving, generous and creating God. As agents of future change in society, students need to be empowered to fight injustice, intolerance and oppression.
For contemporary Catholics, the area of Human Society and Its Environment offers many opportunities to develop understanding and tolerance of the cultures, beliefs and actions of others, which will enhance the living of a life following the gospel. The syllabus of Human Society and Its Environment also strives to develop values that support a Christian lifestyle such as: social justice, ecological sustainability, beliefs and moral codes and life-long learning.
In Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) the children gain an enhanced sense of personal, community, national and global identity and where students are enabled to participate effectively in maintaining and improving the quality of their society and environment.
The four strands of the syllabus are:
- Change and Continuity
- Cultures
- Environments
- Society Systems and Structures
It is through study in these strands that children explore the content of history, geography, Aboriginal Education, citizenship, environment and multicultural education.