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COMMERCE
SYLLABUS
YEARS 7-10
Published by Board of Studies PO Box 460 North Sydney N.S.W. 2059 Australia
Tel: (02) 925 8111
ISBN 0 7305 9965 5
September 1992
2001252
General Aim, Objectives and Outcomes
Programming a Course in Commerce
Programming Teaching Approaches
Suggested Subject Matter Index
Assessment of Student Achievement
The study of Commerce aims to guide students towards personal competence and responsible participation in the changing commercial environment. In doing this it provides a distinctive and significant contribution to the total school curriculum and thereby the general education of students.
While Commerce is a separate and distinct subject, the complexity of the commercial environment means that a course in Commerce will have links across the school curriculum. Accordingly, it may be seen as playing a complementary and interdependent role within the total curriculum, drawing upon and contributing towards other subject areas.
The study of Commerce must be related to the experiences, expectations and needs of students in the context of the commercial environment. Given this focus, Commerce may be seen to be relevant for all students. Courses in Commerce should cater for changes in the commercial environment in order to continue fulfilling student needs.
Rationale
Life involves individuals in relationships with other people and institutions. Many of these relationships are commercial, involving the production, distribution and exchange of goods and services to satisfy individual and community wants. Individuals, groups, organisations and governments interact in the commercial environment to satisfy these wants.
The ways in which people satisfy their wants differ. This diversity reflects gender, cultural and socio-economic differences in Australian society. The commercial environment, through which we satisfy many of our wants, is based upon commercial practices derived from generally accepted values, attitudes and traditions. These practices are supported by a framework of laws and regulations which establish the rights and responsibilities of the parties involved.
As participants in the commercial environment, individuals assume various roles such as consumer, producer, worker, owner, manager, unionist and taxpayer. A study of Commerce should guide students towards an understanding of Australia’s changing commercial environment and enhance their personal competence to participate responsibly in that environment. It should also provide a means whereby young people are made aware of the forces of change, in particular, rapid changes in information technology and increasing global commercial interdependence.
In this syllabus, the subject matter has been structured into seven broad areas. The seven areas are business, consumers, government, labour, law, money and records. These are defined by the knowledge and understandings outcome statements and the subject matter on pages 20 to 68.
The aims and objectives stress the need to structure and teach courses in Commerce in ways which provide opportunities for students to:
develop their knowledge and understanding of a wide range of commercial information and concepts
develop a range of skills and
explore and develop attitudes and values related to the commercial environment and their involvement with it.
The syllabus structure is sufficiently flexible to allow teachers to develop distinctive courses in Commerce that meet the particular backgrounds and needs of their students. However, a fundamental requirement of the syllabus is that any course in Commerce must include planned learning experiences which in their totality:
draw from all of the seven areas and
will promote the development of student understanding of all of the twenty commercially related concepts.
This syllabus document also contains advice for teachers on programming, student assessment and on evaluation of the program, the teaching and the learning that occur in Commerce.
To guide individual development towards personal competence and responsible participation in the changing commercial environment.
Students will:
develop knowledge and understanding of the commercial activities of consumers
develop knowledge and understanding of the nature and role of business organisations
develop knowledge and understanding of the functions and roles of government.
In addition to Stage 4 outcomes, students should be able to:
explain the factors which strengthen or weaken consumer power
explain the factors causing change in the commercial environment and the impact of these changes on consumers
analyse the impact of technological change on business
explain the rights, responsibilities and liabilities of business
analyse the forces influencing government decision making
analyse the effectiveness of government
Students should be able to:
recognise the rights and responsibilities of consumers
identify factors influencing decisions of consumers
describe the ways that goods and services can be exchanged
identify the role and functions of business in the commercial environment
recognise the motives for business activities
identify the types of business organisations in the Australian economy
identify the responsibilities of governments
describe the structure and function of governments in Australia
recognise the responsibility of citizens to the process of government
outline the role of government in the production process
General Aim, Objectives and Outcomes
The general aim of the syllabus is to guide individual development towards personal competence and responsible participation in the changing commercial environment. The objectives and outcomes are to be achieved through learning experiences drawn from the seven areas of study and twenty concepts. These learning experiences must be organised in such a way as to develop the inter- relationships which exist among the areas of study.
Students undertaking courses of study in Commerce in Years 9 - 10 are expected to progress towards the achievement of both Stage 4 and Stage 5 outcomes. Knowledge and Understandings Objectives Outcomes Stage 4 Outcomes Stage 5
develop knowledge and understanding of the role of money and credit in commercial transactions
develop knowledge and understanding of commercial records
develop knowledge and understanding of commercial issues related to labour
develop knowledge and understanding of the nature and role of law as it relates to commercial practices.
explain the nature and function of the financial system
explain the process of effective financial management
analyse the impact of technological change on the financial system
recognise the responsibility of individuals, businesses, and government to maintain accurate commercial records
analyse the impact of technological change on the format and use of commercial records
explain the role of individuals, businesses and government in the responsible use of records
explain the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees
analyse the objectives, forms, and effectiveness of labour organisations
explain changes taking place in the Australian labour market
identify issues of power and justice relating to commercial practices
examine the impact of changing community attitudes on laws relating to commercial activities.
recognise the role of money in the commercial environment
describe the types, features, and functions of money
identify the nature and sources of credit
recognise rights and responsibilities in the provision and use of credit
recognise the importance and function of commercial records
identify a variety of types of commercial records
outline the key features and purposes of various types of commercial records
recognise the need for the effective organisation of commercial records
recognise the role of labour in the production process
identify the nature and purpose of work
describe the character and composition of the Australian workforce
identify the role of laws in the commercial environment
recognise key elements of the legal system relevant to commercial activities
describe the legal rights and responsibilities of parties to commercial activities.
Skills
Objectives Outcomes Stage 4 Outcomes Stage 5
Students will:
develop the ability to enquire
develop the ability to interpret
develop the ability to make decisions
develop the ability to communicate
Students should be able to:
observe and classify information
distinguish between fact and opinion
gather and organise data
carry out directed investigations
seek evidence for claims made by individuals, organisations and government
recognise and recall facts, ideas and relationships
interpret simple commercial records of individuals, organisations and governments
identify achievable goals
identify and examine alternative courses of action
judge and choose among alternatives
give simple descriptions of commercial practices in oral and written form
conduct interviews
draw, graph, tabulate and summarise
compile commercial records
use audio-visual and electronic equipment
In addition to Stage 4 outcomes, students should be able to:
distinguish between prejudice, stereotype and value judgement
frame and test hypotheses
initiate and plan investigations
determine the accuracy of information
analyse and interpret commercial records of individuals, organisations and governments
make inferences and predictions based on available data
evaluate the feasibility and consequences of alternative courses of action
evaluate the feasibility and consequences of alternative courses of action
give detailed descriptions of commercial practises in extended oral and written forms
use audio-visual and electronic equipment to effectively communicate commerce related issues
Values and Attitudes
Objectives Outcomes Stages 4 and 5
Students will:
develop an unprejudiced, tolerant, informed and questioning approach to commercial practices
develop an appreciation of rights and responsibilities in relation to commercial practices
develop a sense of their own worth as competent participants in the changing commercial environment
develop a commitment to responsible participation in the changing commercial environment.
Students should be able to:
appreciate the nature and diversity of the commerce-related values held by individuals, groups and institutions
discern the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and institutions in relation to commercial practices
value these rights and responsibilities
engage in current commercial practices with confidence
appreciate the dynamic nature of the commercial environment and see commercial education as a lifelong process
value responsible citizenship
accept responsibilities for their actions in commercial practices now and in the future.
In the Commerce syllabus the term content refers to the totality of planned learning experiences provided by a course. Content includes skills, attitudes and values, as well as subject matter (commerce-related knowledge and understandings).
The general aim, objectives and outcomes of the syllabus are to be achieved through planned learning experiences drawn from all of the following areas:
business, consumers, government, labour, law, money, records.
These learning experiences must promote the development of all of the following concepts:
The inter-relationships among areas, and between areas and concepts, are illustrated in the diagram below.
| Business | Consumers | Government | ||
| Records | CONCEPTS | Labour | ||
| Money | Law | |||
While content must be drawn from each of the areas there is no requirement that each concept be developed in each of the areas. The relevance of particular concepts may vary between areas.
Courses in Commerce must have content selected to achieve:
the general aim of the syllabus
all the objectives and outcomes of the syllabus
a knowledge of subject matter drawn from all areas
an understanding of all concepts.
Courses in Commerce must be structured so that:
subject matter is logically sequenced
subject matter brings out the interrelationships among the areas
the concepts are developed progressively within the context of the subject matter
skills are developed progressively within the context of the subject matter
commerce-related attitudes and values are persistently explored and developed.
Courses in Commerce must select subject matter from pages 20 to 68. The subject matter is arranged alphabetically according to area and concept. Schools will determine the sequence, relative importance and time allocation of the subject matter selected.
While Commerce courses must substantially draw from the subject matter provided, other subject matter may be selected to meet the needs of students and to reflect the changing commercial environment.
Programming a Course in Commerce
When programming a course in Commerce, schools should include:
Rationale, Aims, Objectives and Outcomes
The course rationale, aims, objectives and outcomes should be based on the rationale, general aim, objectives and outcomes of the syllabus and take into account the following factors:
the aims and objectives of the school
needs, interests, abilities and maturity of students
nature and expectations of the community
resources available within the community and the school
school organisation
duration and content of other courses offered by the school.
Planning the overview involves:
selecting subject matter which is both relevant to students and which achieves the aims and objectives of the course
deciding on the emphasis that will be placed on the various areas and concepts
selecting the skills and commerce-related attitudes and values which will be developed and explored
determining a logical sequence for the content selected.
Units of Work
Each unit of work should include:
specific objectives and outcomes
the content (knowledge and understanding, skills, attitudes and values)
identification of the syllabus areas from which the content is drawn
identification of the syllabus concepts to be developed
appropriate teaching/learning strategies
provision for individual differences including interests, needs and talents
the variety of resources available within the school, from outside sources, and in the field
appropriate student assessment activities
provision for evaluation.
Evaluation Procedures
The program could identify procedures for evaluating:
the program
the teaching
the learning processes and outcomes.
While each school is free to choose its own style of recording programming decisions, it should be recognised that a thoroughly documented program will contribute to its successful implementation and evaluation. Page 70 offers advice on evaluation.
Knowledge and understanding, attitude and value, and skill objectives and outcomes are inter-related. These objectives can only be achieved by teaching and learning strategies which take account of this inter-relationship.
Knowledge and Understanding
The knowledge and understanding objectives are to be achieved through a study of subject matter drawn from the seven areas and the twenty concepts. The term Areas in this syllabus refers to major elements of the commercial environment.
These areas provide a framework for the information and knowledge which students will acquire.
The information selected from the seven areas is the vehicle through which understanding of the twenty concepts is developed.
A Concept is a general notion of something, a general idea or understanding. The concepts listed in this syllabus are not unique to Commerce. The concepts, however, should be further developed in the context of commerce-related subject matter.
This syllabus does not attempt to provide precise definitions of concepts. Furthermore, concepts should not be taught per se but developed by teaching strategies related to the suggested subject matter. The meanings and applications of concepts can be identified in the contexts of the seven areas of the commercial environment.
Prior to commencing a course in Commerce, students will have had experiences from which they have formed understandings about their commercial environments. There will be differences in their initial levels of understanding. These will be caused by varying experiences associated with cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Each student’s background will influence what and how each will learn.
The development of concepts is the result of ongoing mental processes involving the classifying and grouping of information. Learning occurs when individuals internalise new information. Learning is dependent on, and is shaped and influenced by, what is already known.
When programming for concept development consider:
organising content to ensure linkages between the known and new information
providing opportunities for movement from simple conceptual understanding to more complex levels of thinking
using a variety of teaching strategies that are relevant to the experiential backgrounds and interests of the students
providing opportunities for students to gather and organise, apply and communicate information in a variety of ways meaningful to themselves.
Skills
Learning a skill is learning to do something with a degree of expertise, in repeated performances.
Some aspects of the skills to be developed through implementing this syllabus have universal application while others are more specifically related to Commerce.
When programming for skills development, consider:
the range and level of skills in the group of students for which the course is being developed
planning the progressive development of all skills for each student through learning experiences which are relevant and purposeful
the relationship between subject matter and the development of attitudes and values
how universal skills such as reading, writing, speaking and listening as well as specific commercial skills can be developed
providing opportunities for students to develop and apply their skills in a variety of contexts
providing opportunities for active participation in, and simulation of, the commercial environment.
Attitudes and Values
Values are deeply held beliefs about the worth of an idea, person, group, policy, behaviour or object. Attitudes are more transitory than values. They reflect people’s value positions and are expressed by the opinions they state and the behaviours they display.
Students do not begin a study of Commerce value free. Each student’s attitudes and values will reflect individual experiences as well as cultural, social, educational and economic backgrounds. These attitudes and values will influence what each student learns in Commerce.
Programs in Commerce should plan for the regular exploration and development of attitudes and values. They should also permit the exploration of attitudes and values as opportunities arise.
When programming attitudes and values consider:
the attitudes and values students already hold
the attitudes and values of the local and the wider communities
the range of value positions implied by the subject matter
the decision-making skills necessary to effectively explore attitudes and values
a range of appropriate teaching/learning strategies.
One method of exploring and developing attitudes and values in the classroom involves:
identifying attitudes and values held in relation to specific commercial situations
recognising the range of value positions that can be held and the influence that they may have
considering alternative courses of action and their consequences
deciding upon a course of action
realising that the decision made is a consequence of the values adopted
acting upon the decision.
Programming Teaching Approaches
In organising their learning experiences in Commerce, schools can adopt a variety of approaches. These may include:
a thematic approach
a focus question approach
a problem solving approach
an experiential approach
a case study approach
a contemporary issues approach.
The approaches outlined below are provided as examples of how content might be organised. Each of these approaches should be further developed by the school to provide the detail required of an effective program.
The student assessment information given for each approach is provided to show how some assessment techniques may be more suited to particular approaches. It is not an attempt to present all of the techniques that may be used to measure student progress and achievement.
Case Studies Approach
In this approach some elements of the commercial environment are studied in depth. The study could range from a small local business (e.g. farm, shop, factory, government enterprise, local council) to a larger business, organisation, institution or system (e.g. trade union, bank, legal system). This approach may involve a study using previously collected information (e.g. from texts, resource kits) or as individual or group field work.
The case study approach could involve:
selecting the case study
deciding what information to collect
deciding how to collect the information
collecting the information
analysing the information
making generalisations and drawing conclusions from the analysis.
Assessment techniques suited to this approach could include the following student tasks:
preparation of questionnaires/surveys
interviews
analysis of information
preparation and presentation of written and visual reports.
Experiential Learning Approach
Experiential learning could be used in some or all units of work in Commerce. It requires that the students become active participants in the learning process by engaging in carefully structured activities. Experiential learning may involve direct participation in commerce-related activities or simulations of such activities. When using this approach, the experience should not become an end in itself. Debriefing is essential. This should include a culminating activity, a reflection on and review of the activity in terms of its realism, discussion of broader issues raised by the experience and the formation of generalisations.
Examples of experiential learning include:
running a small business tribunal hearings
holding an auction computer simulations
holding an election forming a cooperative
manufacturing products forming a company
settling an industrial dispute board of directors’ meeting
share trading running a trade union meeting
job interviewing returning unsatisfactory goods.
work experience
mock trials
council meetings
Assessment techniques suited to this approach will relate to the students’ active involvement in and the outcomes of the experience. Assessment information could be provided by the student, the peer group, the teacher, and by other people involved in the experience.
Techniques could include:
Student - self-assessment check lists
- personal rating scales on various aspects of the experience
Peer Group - rating scales
- descriptive assessment (written/oral)
Teacher - observation of the processes using check lists
- review of the outcomes of the experience
Others - written reports by employers, community members, etc
- descriptive assessments (written/oral).
Contemporary Issues Approach
A contemporary issues approach involves teaching/learning experiences which raise awareness of issues in a rapidly changing commercial environment. Resource material is available from a number of sources including the electronic and print media. The material selected can make the classroom experiences relevant to the real and dynamic commercial environment.
This approach promotes the objective and balanced examination of issues and enables students to develop hypotheses and draw conclusions about commercial relationships.
Some contemporary issues which could be studied include:
youth unemployment
vandalism and shop stealing
small business failure
conflict between producers rates and environmentalists
effects of a new shopping complex
industrial disputes
local waste disposal
problems with credit use
government legislation
effects of closure of a large industry.
land zoning
A possible sequence for a contemporary issues approach is to:
relate the issue to student experiences
collect and study source material
outline the key features of the issue
analyse the causes and consequences
develop hypotheses, draw conclusions and make generalisations.
Assessment techniques suited to this approach will relate to the processes involved in this sequence.
Techniques could include:
ranking the quality of student contemporary issues files
descriptive assessment of role play and debates
assessment of letters written by students
peer voting on talks to the class
review of contributions to a class ‘issues’ newspaper.
No single approach is either suggested or required. A particular approach or approaches may be more suited to certain content or may be preferred by schools or teachers. The similarities between some of the approaches may result in more than one approach being used in the same unit of work. Fieldwork can be used to enrich learning experiences in any unit of work.
Suggested Subject Matter Index
| AREA
CONCEPT |
Government |
Consumers |
Labour | Law | Money | Records | Business |
| change | 20 | 27 | 34 | 41 | 48 | 55 | 62 |
| communication | 20 | 27 | 34 | 41 | 48 | 55 | 62 |
| competition | 20 | 27 | 34 | 41 | 48 | 55 | 62 |
| discrimination | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 |
| distribution | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 |
| exchange | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 |
| income | 22 | 29 | 36 | 43 | 50 | 57 | 64 |
| interdependence | 22 | 29 | 36 | 43 | 50 | 57 | 64 |
| justice | 22 | 29 | 36 | 43 | 50 | 57 | 64 |
| liability | 23 | 30 | 37 | 44 | 51 | 58 | 65 |
| market | 23 | 30 | 37 | 44 | 51 | 58 | 65 |
| motive | 23 | 30 | 37 | 44 | 51 | 58 | 65 |
| organisation | 24 | 31 | 38 | 45 | 52 | 59 | 66 |
| ownership | 24 | 31 | 38 | 45 | 52 | 59 | 66 |
| power | 24 | 31 | 38 | 45 | 52 | 59 | 66 |
| production | 25 | 32 | 39 | 46 | 53 | 60 | 67 |
| responsibility | 25 | 32 | 39 | 46 | 53 | 60 | 67 |
| specialisation | 25 | 32 | 39 | 46 | 53 | 60 | 67 |
| value | 26 | 33 | 40 | 47 | 54 | 61 | 68 |
| welfare | 26 | 33 | 40 | 47 | 54 | 61 | 68 |
Change
Origins and development of business.
Modern methods of production including computerisation, robotics.
Evaluation of the impact of modern technology.
Development of transport, distribution, and communication networks.
Occupational distribution of the workforce over time.
Growth and expansion of businesses — research and development.
Social and political responses to changes in the operation of business such as automation and computerisation.
Increasing separation of ownership and control of businesses.
Future trends in business organisation.
Communication
Methods within firms.
Between owners and managers.
Methods within an industry.
Effect of size of firm on need for and type of communication.
Promotion of product to consumers by firms and by industry.
Promotion of ‘corporate image’.
Impact of technological change on methods of communication.
Between business and governments including lobbying and party fundraising.
Sources of information about business such as the Stock Exchange, financial press.
Sources of information to business such as consumer surveys, ABS figures, customer complaints.
Competition
Extent and forms of competition — price and non price.
The advertising industry and its impact.
Regulation of advertising by government and industry.
Product differentiation such as trademarks and logos.
Corporate image and sponsorship — domestic and international.
Government controls to maintain competition.
Restrictions on competition including copyright, exclusive dealing, monopoly power.
Competition among businesses for factors of production — land, materials, capital and labour.
Information protection as a means of remaining competitive — telephone scramblers, paper shredders.
Business - Discrimination
Reasons for positive and negative discrimination towards potential and actual employees.
Effect of EEO legislation on job advertisements, employment and promotion.
Preference for employment of unionists.
The responsibilities for employers to prevent discrimination among employees.
Discriminatory pricing and selling practices.
Legislation to prevent resale price maintenance.
Distribution
Location of businesses.
The importance of transport in the chain of producer, wholesaler, retailer/agent.
Marketing and its dependence on mass media and communication networks.
The growth of direct selling and franchising.
The role of information services.
Methods of distributing profits.
Exchange
Types of markets and their operation — stock exchange, pastoral exchange, local shop, supermarket, department store, weekend ‘markets’, auctions, mail order.
The changing operation of various types of markets.
Newspaper advertisements as a source of information for exchange.
The impact on the exchange process of technological developments — bar codes, EFTPOS.
The role of advertising.
Mediums of exchange including store money, credit cards, cash.
Decreasing reliance on cash to facilitate exchange.
Business - Income
Sources of income for businesses including profit, rent, interest, dividends, sale of assets.
Costs that affect net income — interest, rent, government charges.
Keeping records of income.
The effects of various forms of taxation including local rates and State and Federal taxes.
Ways of maximising income including tax minimisation schemes, passing on of costs, investing revenue in the short term money market.
Difference between gross and net profit.
The role of retained earnings or undistributed profits.
The impact of consumer spending patterns on the nature, size, and location of businesses.
Interdependence
Between businesses and consumers.
Between businesses and governments — businesses provide taxes and employment while governments provide infrastructure and research and development assistance.
Between businesses and social organisations.
Between workers and management.
Specialisation between regions and countries involving such arrangements as trade agreements, common markets.
Reasons for an increasing trend towards interdependence.
Justice
Laws and regulations affecting the operation of business — legislation relating to companies, trade practices, bankruptcy, taxation.
Courts and tribunals as a means of settling disputes between businesses; between employees and businesses; between consumers and businesses; between governments and businesses.
The role of the ombudsman.
The impact of the Standards Association of Australia.
The process of arriving at a national wage decision.
The need for environmental impact statements.
Pressure groups and their effect on the achievement of justice.
Business - Liability
Legal liability to consumers, employees, government, other businesses.
The liability of various forms of business — sole traders, partnerships, private and public companies, cooperatives and non-profit associations.
Means of reducing the risk of loss arising from legal liability — staff development programs, occupational health and safety committees, insurance.
Legal and moral obligations of businesses to the environment, to public health and safety.
Market
Definition of a market.
Types of markets — produce, foreign exchange, labour, capital.
Operation of markets — auctions, direct selling, tenders.
Determination of prices.
Effectiveness of competition as a means of lowering prices.
Market research — forms and purpose.
Advertising as a means of creating and maintaining markets.
Impact of government enterprises on competing businesses.
Government regulation in the marketplace such as maximum and minimum prices, taxes, trading hours.
Codes of practice under the Fair Trading Act.
industry self-regulation such as the Media Council of Australia, the Building Services Corporation, the Motor Traders Association of N.S.W.
Motive
Types of business motives — profit, market control, sales, growth, personal.
Motives of owners, managers, employees, unionists.
Research and development to achieve goals.
Reasons for business ownership.
Purpose of private non-profit making organisations.
Goals of government business enterprises.
Business - Organisation
Raising capital to start a business.
Sources of funds to expand a business.
Types of businesses — sole traders, partnerships, private and public companies, cooperatives, government enterprises.
Advantages and disadvantages of each type of business.
Corporations operating in more than one country — multinationals and trans-nationals.
Role and operation of the Stock Exchange.
Clubs and other non-profit making organisations.
Organisational structures of business including such divisions as sales, production, marketing, personnel, accounts.
Organisation of personnel — directors, managers, supervisors, union representatives.
Ownership
Private and public ownership.
Contribution of sole traders and partnerships to Australian employment, value added, numbers of businesses — ABS figures.
Separation of ownership and control.
Advantages of public companies for owners.
Rights and responsibilities of shareholders.
Registration of company ownership — articles and memorandum of association.
Ownership of products shown by trademarks, patents, copyright.
Transfer of ownership by sale of shares, takeovers, mergers.
Protection of assets through insurance.
Power
Sources of power including ownership of resources, market concentration, advertising expenditure.
Market concentration through vertical, horizontal, and conglomerate integration — use of takeovers and mergers to achieve this.
Loss of consumer sovereignty.
Legislation restricting the growth of monopoly power.
Product differentiation and the creation of consumer loyalty.
Power of employer organisations in relation to trade unions, consumer-organisations and governments.
Business - Production
Types of production — primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary.
Methods of production — labour and capital intensive.
Benefits of large scale production.
Impact on production of technological change.
The effects on production of business ownership, government policies, domestic and international economic activity.
Effects of production on the environment.
Problems of measuring production — the ‘hidden’ economy.
Responsibility
Laws relating to the type and quality of goods and services.
Conservation versus industrial development.
Minimum standard of wages and conditions for employees.
Tax obligations — company, sales, payroll, FID.
Honesty in advertising.
Retraining programs and redundancy provisions.
Government intervention in business practices and pricing policies.
Responsibility to the environment — producing ecologically sound products, responsible disposal of waste.
Specialisation
Area specialisation and the location of industry.
Division of labour.
Advantages and disadvantages of the division of labour for businesses.
Capital specialisation — automation.
Impact and importance of technological change.
Consequences of specialisation.
Vocational training - schools, TAFE, tertiary institutions, private training organisations.
Business - Value
The value of different forms of assets.
The appreciation and depreciation of assets.
The need to maintain and replace capital equipment.
Determining employee value.
Pricing of business output.
The need to innovate and invest for future growth of asset value.
Welfare
Health and safety of employees.
Working conditions and fringe benefits.
Staff training and development.
Retraining and redundancy provisions.
Workers’ Compensation and leave entitlements.
Support for community welfare projects.
Superannuation.
Types of assistance for individuals with special needs such as the provision of child care, multilingual signs, wheelchair ramps.
Consumers - Change
Factors affecting consumption levels and patterns.
Effects of changes in consumption levels and patterns.
Consumer awareness and protection.
Changes in shopping methods - shopping complexes, home shopping.
Effects on consumer choice of changes in marketing strategies.
The assertive consumer.
The skills which may be required for responsible participation in future commercial environments.
Possible effects of a trend towards shopping from home — increased leisure, social isolation.
Communication
Between consumers, consumers and producers, and consumers and governments.
Methods by which communication takes place at the local, national and international level.
The role of the market place in consumer-producer communication.
Consumer redress.
Government and private organisations that facilitate communication such as Telecom, courier services, employment agencies.
Strategies for effective communication with government bodies including petitions, lobby groups.
Effective oral and written communication skills.
Electronic communication — computers, modems, FAX, telex, television.
Competition
Limited consumer income and the need to rank individual wants.
Competition among consumers — auctions, limited offer sales, gazumping, bargaining.
Short term benefits to consumers of competition — price wars, free offers, additional services, prizes.
Long term benefits to consumers of competition — improved product variety and quality, research and development to improve the quality of life.
Private versus collective wants.
Internationalisation of competition and the effects on Australian consumers in terms of quantity and quality of goods available and in terms of employment opportunities.
Consumers - Discrimination
Positive and negative discrimination.
Factors influencing consumers ability to discriminate among goods and among services — advertising, packaging, sales techniques, accessibility.
Effects of impulse buying.
Comparison shopping techniques.
Selection from among a variety of forms of payment.
Discrimination among consumers in the market place based on ability to pay for goods and services.
Legal discrimination among consumers — minimum age and licence requirements.
Distribution
Distribution of Australia’s population according to age, sex, income.
Access to goods and services at various stages of the production chain.
Direct selling practices — door-to-door sales, mail order, unsolicited goods, television home shopping.
Direct marketing practices — mail, magazine, media, telephone.
Consumer knowledge about the availability of products through word of mouth, window shopping, advertising and consumer associations.
Consumer rights in response to distribution practices.
Access to retail centres and shops — transport networks, layout of retail centres and stores.
Exchange
Forms of exchange including barter, cash and credit transactions.
Relationship between consumers’ income and price in the exchange process.
The change in reliance from cash to credit for transactions.
Evidence of exchange including machine dockets, receipts.
The role of contracts in exchange.
Protection of buyers — guarantees, warranties.
The role of agents in the exchange process.
New methods of speeding up exchange — EFTPOS, fax.
Consumers - Income
Sources of income.
Factors affecting earning capacity — age, ability, experience, training, mobility.
Government influences on disposable income — taxation, transfer payments.
Awards and over-award payments.
Information on pay slips — gross income and deductions.
Uses of income — expenditure and savings.
Budgeting an income — financial obligations, over-commitment problems.
Ensuring a permanent income source — insurance.
Improving earning capacity — education and retraining schemes.
Interdependence
Among consumers informally and through consumer cooperatives and consumer associations to achieve justice and change in commercial practices.
Between consumers who make payments and producers who provide goods and services.
Between consumers who provide labour and producers who pay wages.
Between consumers who pay taxes and governments who provide public goods and services.
Between consumers who vote and elected government officers who represent them.
Between consumers and financial institutions.
Justice
Rights and responsibilities of consumers in oral and written contracts of exchange.
Awareness of changing consumer rights such as the replacement of hire purchase with chattel mortgage.
Specialist help to ensure justice — solicitors, local magistrates, consumer protection experts.
Procedures involved in effectively making complaints and returning unsatisfactory goods.
Institutional organisations that assist consumer redress — consumer claims tribunals, ombudsman, courts.
Evidence required when seeking redress — receipts, guarantees, warranties.
Caveat emptor — applicability to auctions and sales of samples and seconds.
Consumers - Liability
The nature of contracts — written and verbal.
Liability expressed or implied in contracts when paying in cash, by cheques or using credit or debit cards.
Consumer liability in credit contracts — principal and interest payments, conditions of guarantee/warranty.
Seller liability to consumers — merchantable quality goods, guarantees, warranties, refunds.
Nature of liability with changing financial status — solvency, insolvency and bankruptcy.
Means of reducing loss arising from legal liabilities — insurance.
Consequences of failure to meet legal liability of credit contracts — loss of financial privacy, prosecution, emotional distress.
Market
The nature of a market.
Different types of markets for different consumer needs including retail markets such as supermarkets, franchises; and specialist markets such as financial and real estate markets.
Scale of markets — local, state, national and international.
Market structures, including monopolies, and their effect on consumers.
Market research methods including surveys, interviews and group discussions.
Consumer influence on the composition of markets through changes in disposable income and tastes.
Marketing and selling practices and their effects on consumers — the fair trading concept.
Motive
Satisfaction of needs and wants.
Causes and effects of impulse buying.
Maximising want satisfaction through budgets and shopping lists.
Work/leisure considerations in earning an income.
Influences on consumer motives — advertising, peer group, fashion trends and fads.
Motives for saving.
Evaluation of current versus future consumption and the accumulation of assets versus quality of life.
Consumers - Organisation
Of personal records — filing and storing receipts, bank statements, guarantees, warranties, tax records, insurance policies, wills.
Of personal finances — budgets, shopping lists, bank reconciliation.
Of consumers’ time including hours of work, leisure time, shopping.
Consumers involvement in community organisations such as Neighbourhood Watch, Safety House scheme, school-community groups.
Private and government organisations that assist consumers.
Organisational skills required for responsible participation in the changing commercial environment budgeting, credit management.
Buyer cooperatives such as food cooperatives.
Ownership
Evaluate purchase of goods and services as opposed to rental or leasing.
Status of ownership — outright, sole, joint, time-share.
Collective ownership of community resources.
Means of gaining ownership including mortgage, credit/debit cards, cash/ cheque transactions.
Organisations that assist consumers to own assets such as financial corporations, Landcom.
Obligations and costs of ownership including licence fees, rates, maintenance, insurance.
Proof of ownership — receipts, contracts, licences, Neighbourhood Watch identifying marks.
Inequality of ownership.
Power
Consumer sovereignty.
Technological change and the future of consumer sovereignty.
Consumer pressure groups and their influence on businesses and governments .
Techniques used by individuals and consumer groups — petitions, lobbying, protest letters, advertisements, public meetings.
Factors that weaken consumer power such as ignorance, prejudice, social attitudes, language difficulties.
Activities which reduce consumer power — advertising, packaging, technical jargon, planned obsolescence.
Government legislation resulting from consumer pressure such as freedom of information, anti-smoking legislation and the banning of unsafe products.
Consumers - Production
Subsistence production, surpluses, barter.
Specialisation and the role of money.
Consumer access to the productive sectors of the community.
Production of private and public goods and services to satisfy consumer wants.
New technology and its impact on production, consumer choice and the quality of life.
Geographic location of industries and the effects on consumers.
Production by households, not counted in production — unpaid housework, homemade food and clothing.
Responsibility
To pay for goods and services in the exchange process — consequences of irresponsible behaviour such as shop stealing.
To pay taxes so that the government can satisfy collective wants — consequences of irresponsible behaviour such as tax evasion.
To take reasonable care in the use of private and public goods and services — consequences of irresponsible behaviour such as not reading instructions for the use of certain goods, breaking laws like drink-driving.
For the environment — avoidance of irresponsible behaviour such as littering, graffiti, vandalism, pollution.
Agencies and institutions that enforce responsibilities including the police, courts, debt collectors, consumer claims and commercial tribunals.
Specialisation
The effect on consumer income of employment specialisation such as labourer, brake mechanic, orthodontist.
Area specialisation of employment and retail outlets.
Impact of continuing specialisation on consumer choice.
Disadvantages of specialisation including disruption of supply.
City concentrations of more highly specialised services such as medical, financial and educational.
Frequency of use of more highly specialised services.
Technological change and the impact on the commencement of vocational training in schools or tertiary institutions.
Consumers - Value
Factors influencing individual values — ethnicity, sex, religion, family background, education.
Impact of differences between individual and corporate values such as consumer boycott of certain environmentally harmful products.
Individual action to get value for money — budgets, shopping lists, expert advice, legislation to ensure that consumers get value for money — laws relating to weights and measures, labelling of product contents, sale of motor vehicles.
Organisations and activities promoting value for money on behalf of consumers — the Australian Consumers Association, the Australian Standards Association, print media columns, electronic media programs.
Changes in community values relating to the satisfaction of community wants.
Welfare
Household management to promote lifelong welfare — planning for emergencies, for future replacements and additions to household assets, for retirement.
Commercial enterprises that promote consumer welfare — recreation venues, child care centres, health and fitness centres.
Government services to promote community welfare — schools, hospitals, police, social security, public works.
Emergency provision of welfare by private charity organisations and governments.
The cost of welfare and sources of the welfare dollar.
Criteria for the distribution of welfare.
The impact of welfare payments on the personal initiatives of some individuals and the dangers of generalisations about receivers of welfare payments.
The attitudes of different cultural groups to the provision of welfare.
Government - Change
Historical development of the structure of government.
Processes for changing Australia’s Constitution.
Processes for changing local ordinances and State and Federal parliamentary law.
Processes for changing the government.
The role of advisory committees and the public service in affecting and implementing changes in government.
The changing relationships between the various levels of government.
Changing community expectations about the role of government especially relating to such things as public education, welfare payments.
Changes in the lengths of parliamentary terms of office.
Communication
Communication between electors and the elected — media, the ballot box, letters, petitions, interviews.
The influence of the media on government decisions and public opinion.
Legislation regarding media ownership and the use of media in election campaigns.
The role of pressure groups in communicating the views of some people to the government.
The provision of communication facilities in government meeting places, public address systems, audio-visual recordings, print transcriptions, the press gallery.
Methods used by governments to communicate changes in laws — media advertising campaigns, mailed pamphlets, education projects.
Competition
The extent of government ownership of resources and commercial enterprises.
The effectiveness of government competition with the private sector.
Policies which limit competition — tariffs, quotas, taxes.
Activities that promote domestic competition such as subsidies, ‘Buy Australian’ campaigns, trade practices legislation.
Activities that promote foreign markets for Australian products such as export drives, trade fairs.
Government - Discrimination
The role of government in altering community attitudes relating to discrimination based upon age, gender, religion, ethnicity.
Anti-discrimination legislation and its implementation.
The impact of anti-discrimination legislation on employment advertisements and practices.
The discriminatory nature of Federal and State government practices in the raising and spending of funds.
Government services to reduce discrimination such as the provision of wheelchair ramps for the disabled and interpreter services for those who speak languages other than English.
Distribution
Federal government powers to regulate interstate and foreign trade based upon section 51(1 ) of Australia’s Constitution.
The effect of government action on the geographic distribution of individuals, residences and businesses.
The impact of Federal and State government actions on distribution — public transport, decentralisation and migration policies.
State and Federal government regulations affecting air, land and sea transport vehicles involved in the distribution of people, goods and services.
State and Federal government regulations affecting the distribution of ideas — patents and copyright legislation, licensing requirements for the various mass media.
Exchange
The role of State and Federal governments in the exchange process.
Government legislation affecting the exchange process — the Fair Traders’ Act, the Credit Act.
Government and semi-government authorities which facilitate exchange such as Telecom, marketing boards, the Mint.
The effect of government actions on the money supply and on the exchange rate between Australia’s currency and the currency of other countries.
Government - Income
Sources of government income.
The changing significance of various types of taxation.
Possible problems of increasing taxation — inflation, reduced incentive to work and save.
The impact of government policies on the character of State and Federal budgets.
The government as provider of income to government employees and welfare recipients.
The attitudes of people towards the use of profits earned by government enterprises.
Interdependence
Historical development of specialisation and interdependence.
Between voters and their representatives in Local, State and Federal governments.
Between businesses and governments including government regulations to facilitate the operation of the business world — standards of production, trade, health and safety, patents, copyrights.
Between governments and domestic and foreign savers.
Among the three levels of government.
Among the Australian government and governments which are Australia’s economic and political allies.
Justice
The hierarchy of courts in the State and Federal justice system.
Types of tribunals — Consumer Claims Tribunal, Commercial Tribunal.
How the disadvantaged are provided for in the legal system.
The relative merits of methods of electing representatives — proportional, preferential, first-past-the-post.
The equity of electoral boundaries.
The equity of various forms of taxation — direct/indirect, progressive/ regressive, income, consumption, wealth.
Government legislation to achieve and maintain justice for consumers, producers, importers, exporters, workers, people and property.
Attitudes of people about the justice of government legislations — privacy, individual freedom.
Government - Liability
The legal liability of the Federal government as written down in Australia’s Constitution.
The financial liability of the three levels of government shown in their budgets and statements of long term debt.
Government laws and regulations affecting liability of firms and people such as those relating to weights and measures, taxation liability.
The liability of the government to the community expressed in a variety of legislation such as those relating to environmental impact studies, freedom of information.
Government institutions which mediate in disputes relating to the liability of firms and people.
Market
The government as a buyer when it receives tenders and lets contracts for various public works.
The government as a seller of goods and services.
Various types of government enterprises at Local, State and Federal levels to promote domestic and foreign markets for Australian produce.
Government intervention in the labour market through the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and through such legislation as that relating to school leaving age, hours of work, working conditions.
Government intervention in money markets through the Reserve Bank.
Government intervention in some resource and product markets through the setting of minimum or maximum prices.
Changes in the role of government monopolies.
Motive
The political, economic and social objectives of political parties.
The order of priorities of objectives of the ruling political parties at local, state and federal levels.
Changes in priorities in relation to terms of office and in relation to outside influences.
The implementation of objectives through incentives and controls.
Conflict between motives of politicians and the electorate and between politicians and the parties to which they belong.
Government - Organisation
Levels of government.
Upper and lower houses in State and Federal Parliaments.
The organisation of government functions into legislative, administrative and judicial.
The organisation of the legislative function of governments through the established procedures for passing Acts of Parliament.
The organisation of the administrative function of governments through government departments and the public service.
The organisation of the judicial function of governments through the hierarchy of courts.
The organisation of Australia’s links with overseas through High Commissions and Consulates.
Ownership
The distinction between private and public property.
The attitude of Aborigines to ownership of land and government action on Aboriginal Land Rights.
The effect of government taxes on the cost of ownership.
Government restrictions on the ownership and the transfer of ownership of property.
Government restrictions on the use of property through regulations such as those relating to noise pollution and the use of firearms.
The attitude of people towards the privatisation of public assets.
Power
The power structure within each political party as shown by the way policies and candidates for public office are selected.
The powers given to the Federal government in Australia’s Constitution and the limits to the government’s powers.
The administrative, legislative and judicial powers of the three levels of government in Australia.
The powers of the police, military and customs officers to enforce government regulations.
The attitudes of people towards centralising the powers of government.
The role of the media, consumer and business groups in monitoring the powers of the government.
Government - Production
The impact of settlement patterns on government provision of essential services.
The importance of government production as a proportion of GDP and as a source of employment.
Types of production carried out by government and semi-government authorities.
Government policies which affect the type, level and composition of production by private sector businesses.
Changing attitudes about privatisation of public sector enterprises.
Responsibility
The responsibility of individual Australians to vote in elections for Federal, State and Local governments and in referendums to change Australia’s Constitution.
The meaning of responsible government.
Policies of responsible government at the Local, State and Federal levels; Federal monetary, fiscal and wages policies and the budgetary policies of Local and State governments.
Individual versus government responsibility for the removal or alleviation of social and environmental problems.
The attitudes of people concerning the responsibility of government towards social, economic and environmental problems.
Specialisation
The exclusive powers of the Federal government.
The specialist roles of the Mayor or Shire President, the Aldermen or Councillors, and the Town Clerk in Local Governments.
The specialist roles of the Premier, Ministers, the Speaker, and backbench members in State Parliament.
The specialist roles of the Prime Minister, the Deputy, the Speaker, Ministers, and the backbench MHR and Senators in Federal Parliament.
Government action to support specialisation and interdependence in the private sector.
Government - Value
The range of attitudes of people to the value of government — those who believe in democracy, anarchy, monarchy, communism, socialism, military dictatorships.
The value of Australia’s production as measured by the use of ABS figures.
The actions of government to increase the value of Australia’s primary, secondary and tertiary production.
The impact of the government on the value of the Australian dollar domestically and internationally.
The value of a vote in the various state and federal electoral divisions.
Government actions to improve the quality of life and encourage people to value the environment.
Welfare
Minimum ‘quality of life’ and the need for governments to provide this for some people.
The range of welfare services provided by local, state and federal governments.
The expectation of increased quantity and quality of welfare services as the standard of living rises.
The cost of providing welfare services.
Regulations relating to welfare assistance such as ‘the work test’, income and assets tests.
Actions by governments to reduce the need for welfare — apprenticeships, retraining and superannuation schemes.
Advantages and disadvantages of increasing the amount and range of welfare payments.
Labour - Change
Trends in age, sex, ethnic and occupational distribution of labour.
Effects of these trends on participation rates such as early retirement, redundancy, retraining.
Effects of technological change on participation rates.
Effects of changes in the composition of migration on participation rates.
The origin and development of trade unions — changing objectives.
Changes in working conditions — hours, flexi time, holiday loading, leave entitlements, permanent part-time work.
Variations in the type and size of unemployment.
Trend towards increased worker participation in management ownership.
Changing attitudes towards work and leisure.
Communication
Among employees in union meetings and professional associations for example.
Between employees and employers through staff meetings, memos and other supervisory activities and through job advertisements.
Effective communication — interpersonal and group dynamics.
Effective communication — language and other barriers.
Job application procedures — resume/curriculum vitae, letters of application, telephone.
Job interview techniques.
Employment agencies — government and private.
Techniques to resolve conflict.
Competition
Among members of the labour force for vacant positions - especially EEO provisions promoting competition from women, Aborigines, migrants, people who are physically disabled.
Between owners of labour and owners of capital and land for larger shares of GDP.
Among employers, public and private, for the best employees — overaward payments.
Among unions for members and jobs — demarcation disputes.
Among employees for promotion — education, training, experience/seniority.
Labour - Discrimination
Positive and negative discrimination.
Job advertisements and interviews used to discriminate among prospective employees on the basis of qualifications, experience, mobility, oral and written communication skills.
Compulsory unionism or preference to unionist conditions to discriminate among prospective employees.
Types of negative discrimination encountered in the labour market based on sex, race, religious beliefs, intellectual and physical disabilities, sexual preferences.
Protection of workers from negative discrimination — EEO legislation, Anti-Discrimination Board.
Stereotyping by family, school and society — positive discrimination and affirmative action to counteract this.
Distribution
Distribution of the workforce by geographical location, industry, age, sex, qualifications — ABS figures.
Distribution of National Income between wage and profit earners.
Types of employment associated with the distribution of goods and services — packers, forklift drivers, clerks, truck drivers, sales and management personnel.
Distribution of tasks and responsibilities according to salary / wage.
Trade Unions for workers involved in the distribution of goods and services.
Exchange
Labour markets — exchange between buyers and sellers of labour.
Awards — the contract of exchange between employers and employees.
Wages as the money return to labour— causes of change.
Employer promises in work contracts — award wages, holidays, sick and long service leave, uniforms, recreation areas, superannuation.
Employee promises in work contracts — punctuality, loyalty, hard work, maintenance of trade secrets.
Working agreements regarding apprenticeships, cadetships, part-time work, flexi time, study leave, leave for union representatives.
Labour - Income
Sources of income for workers — wages, salaries, fees, commission, tips.
Labour share of National Income — average weekly earnings per capita.
Effects of governments, employer groups, trade unions and professional bodies on income.
Principles involved in the determination of wage increases — needs, productivity, capacity of industry to pay, restructuring efficiency.
Factors affecting disposable income — inflation, taxation, education, skills, experience.
Worker safeguards against loss of income — insurance, workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits.
Income tax returns — self assessment.
Relationship between income levels and other key indicators of economic growth — ABS figures.
Interdependence
Among employees — the division of labour.
Effects of the division of labour— productivity increases, demarcation disputes.
Between employees who provide labour and employers who pay wages.
Between workers who pay taxes and government who provide public goods and services.
Between union representatives and rank and file members of the union.
Among the ACTU, employer associations and the Federal Government.
Justice
Rights and responsibilities of workers in oral and written contracts of employment.
Rights and responsibilities of employers in oral and written contracts of employment– conditions stated in State and Federal Awards, EEO and Occupational Health and Safety Legislation.
Legal provisions for achieving justice in working agreements — State and Federal industrial tribunals.
Accidents at work — Workers’ Compensation, law suits.
Injustice through discrimination, victimisation and wrongful dismissal.
Avenues for seeking justice — union membership, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, industrial courts.
Labour - Liability
The nature of contracts — written and oral.
Liability of employees expressed or implied in employment contracts, e.g. ‘a fair days work for a fair days pay’.
Liability of employers expressed or implied in employment contracts.
Liability of employers to the government in relation to number of employees — payroll tax, EEO programs, workers’ compensation, superannuation.
Liability of workers to the Federal Government — PAYE and provisional taxes.
Consequences to employees of failure to meet legal liability of work contracts — dismissal, unemployment, prosecution.
Market
The structure of the labour market.
Factors affecting the supply of labour— size of population, migration, education and training, health, school leaving and retirement ages.
Factors affecting the demand for labour — demand for goods and services, technological advances.
The determination of wages in the labour market — award wages and collective bargaining .
The variety of labour markets according to industry, occupation and skill and the composition of labour markets according to age, sex and ethnicity.
Changes in participation rates in the labour market especially of women, migrants and young people.
Motive
Reasons for participating in the labour market — survival, improvement in living conditions, self satisfaction.
Reasons why employers select particular people for employment and/or promotion — qualifications, experience, communication skills.
Reasons why some people prefer self-employment.
Reasons why workers join trade unions and professional associations.
Reasons for industrial action — pay, conditions, environmental, political.
Reasons why State and Federal Governments interfere in the labour market.
Labour - Organisation
Types of business organisations and their labour requirements.
The reasons workers join trade unions and professional associations.
Types of labour organisations such as trade unions, the ACTU, professional associations, Trades and Labour Council, work-related sporting and social clubs.
The structure of the trade union movement in Australia.
Financial institutions established by labour organisations such as credit unions and health societies.
Attitudes of political parties, the media and members of the community to labour organisations.
Ownership
Labour as a productive resource.
Rights and responsibilities associated with the ownership of labour and capital.
Worker participation, control or ownership of business firms.
Changing share of GDP to labour versus capital.
Attitudes of different individuals and groups to ownership.
Rights and responsibilities of labour in essential services.
Power
The role of the individual in unions.
Union action — boycotts, black-bans, strikes, advertising campaigns.
Union influence on management and employers.
Union influence on governments and political parties.
Power of each party in collective bargaining, industrial disputes and national wage hearings.
Government legislation such as anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunities to increase the power of some individuals and groups in the workplace.
The relative strengths of unions — union size, type of industry, essential services.
The role of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission.
Labour - Production
The role of labour in production.
Labour intensive and capital intensive industries.
Types of labour — skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled.
The relationship between the demand for labour by a business firm and the demand for its production.
Costs and benefits of the introduction of labour-saving devices.
The effects of trade union activity on production.
The growth in GDP and its effect on employment of labour.
Responsibility
The responsibility of individual employees to themselves, their union, their employer, community members, governments and the environment.
The responsibility of unions to members, employers, community, the environment.
The responsibility of employers to employees.
Conflict between responsibilities.
Rights and responsibilities of different groups in industrial disputes.
Active and responsible participation of workers in decision making.
The relationship between pay and responsibility.
Community attitudes and responsibility to unemployed and retrenched labour.
Specialisation
The division of labour in business firms.
The relationship between education/training and specialisation of labour.
The effects of labour specialisation on labour mobility and job satisfaction.
Regional specialisation and changes in the demand for labour.
The relationship between specialisation and rates of pay.
The effects of structural change on individuals with highly specialised skills.
The division of labour in trade union organisation.
The need for government planning to ensure a highly skilled and flexible workforce.
Labour - Value
Individual worth and the variety of individual and community attitudes to the value of particular workers.
The value of work and leisure to the individual, employers, and the community.
The different attitudes of individuals to different types of work — the status of jobs.
Job satisfaction versus income.
Wages as a measure of the value of labour.
Work value as a factor in wage determination.
The value of unpaid work— housework, charity.
The value of non-wage incomes — fringe benefits.
Individual and community attitudes to upwardly mobile members of the labour force.
Individual and community attitudes to the increasing participation of women in the labour force.
Welfare
The factors affecting an individual’s welfare.
The relationship between work and welfare.
Employer attitudes to employee welfare as measured by rates of pay, hours of work, holidays, long-service and maternity leave provisions, superannuation contributions and other working conditions.
The changing role of trade unions in employee welfare.
Occupational health and safety regulations.
The role of governments in promoting the welfare of members of the labour force, employed and unemployed, and other members of the population-retraining schemes, unemployment benefits, essential service regulations, product safety and standards.
Law - Change
How commercial laws are modified through legislative and judicial processes.
Forces promoting changes in the law— technology, social attitudes, composition of the population.
Organisations promoting change in commercial laws — political parties, environmental action groups, civil liberties groups, employer groups, trade unions.
Significance of legal precedent in a changing commercial environment.
The time involved in changing laws and the effect this has on the community.
Recent changes in commercial laws.
Communication
The formal communication of laws through Acts of Parliament and law reports.
Methods used to communicate and explain laws — Parliamentary broadcasts, mass media, publications by government printer, trade unions, employer associations.
The role of solicitors in communicating among parties inside and outside the courtroom.
Communication among parties in the courtroom.
Communication within Houses of Parliament.
Competition
The adversary system — plaintiff and defendant, crown and accused, barristers, judges as umpires.
Laws which promote competition such as anti-discrimination and non-sexist legislation.
Laws which limit competition such as legislation banning cigarette advertisements on TV, customs regulations imposing import duties to protect local industry, regulations relating to mergers, takeovers and monopoly power.
Laws for fair competition such as the Trade Practices Act, Motor Traders Act.
Informative advertising to promote competition between legal firms.
Law - Discrimination
The need for laws to reduce discrimination in the commercial environment.
Laws to reduce discrimination in the work place — EEO provisions.
Laws to reduce discrimination in commercial transactions based on sex, ethnicity, Aboriginality, religion, disabilities, socioeconomic status.
Methods available to people to appeal against discriminatory practices — Legal-Aid services, public service appeals, Consumer Claims and Industrial Tribunals.
Distribution
Laws relating to distribution such as the Pure Foods Act, Weights and Measures Act and legislation relating to hours of trading and the labelling of products.
Laws relating to advertising and marketing in the distribution process such as those relating to pyramid selling, door-to-door sales, and false and misleading advertising.
Regulations relating to transport operators such as driving licences, log books, weights.
Laws relating to vehicles used to transport goods — warranties, maintenance.
Laws relating to distribution between the States — free trade as stated in the Constitution and subsequent restrictions.
Laws relating to international trade such as quarantine and customs laws.
Exchange
Laws relating to cash and credit transactions — legal tender, chattel mortgage.
Laws relating to the quality of the goods and services offered for sale.
Laws establishing the rights and responsibilities of parties involved in exchange — credit contracts, mortgages, guarantees, warranties.
Legal restrictions on children in some transactions such as those involving cigarettes and alcohol.
Laws relating to the exchange of monies and goods between Australia and other countries.
The attitudes people hold towards the adequacy of credit laws.
Law - Income
Legal entitlements and obligations of wage earners as stated in Award agreements.
The legal mechanisms for changing Awards through the State and Federal industrial tribunals.
Laws relating to non-wage incomes such as rents, fees, commissions.
Laws relating to taxation obligations of all income earners.
The Constitutional constraint on a Federal incomes policy.
Interdependence
The interrelationship among the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government.
Conflict involved in overlapping responsibilities of local, state and federal law makers.
The influence of pressure groups on the legislation process.
Interpretations of parliamentary laws by judges.
The role and impact of the media in reporting legal proceedings.
The need for essential services regulations in an increasingly interdependent commercial environment.
Justice
Conflict and the need for laws in the commercial environment to prescribe codes of conduct — legal and illegal behaviour.
The attitudes of people to the fairness of commercial and family laws.
The administration of justice in the legal system - the role of the judge, jury, solicitors, barristers, police officers.
The need for and access to legal aid.
The role of the Ombudsman in the pursuit of justice.
Lawbreakers and the attitudes of people to just punishment — fines, community service, imprisonment, weekend detention.
Law - Liability
An individual’s liability as a seller of labour, goods and services.
An individual’s liability as a buyer of goods and services.
The liability of business firms as users of labour and other factors of production.
The liability of business firms as sellers of goods and services.
The public liability of individuals and business firms towards people who enter their property.
The legal consequences of such actions as slander, perjury, assault, illegal arrest, defamation.
The purpose and impact of compulsory warranties on new and used cars.
Types of compulsory insurance to spread liability risk such as those relating to employment and motor vehicles.
The relationship between written disclaimers of liability and the legal obligations of individuals and business firms.
Market
The need for laws relating to the ownership, control and operation of a variety of factor and final goods markets.
Legal regulations operating in the labour market such as those relating to Awards, anti-discrimination, gender equity, school leaving age.
The need for laws to protect consumers’ rights in the market place.
The attitudes of people towards laws restricting the advertisement of certain goods such as alcohol and cigarettes.
The declining use of money in many markets and the need for laws to regulate the electronic transfer of funds.
Laws relating to such restrictive trade practices of businesses as take-overs, mergers, advertising, collusive tendering.
The conflict between those advocating regulation and those advocating deregulation of markets and the effect this has on the legal system.
Motive
The origin and purpose of laws in our commercial environment.
The reasons people obey laws.
The motives of lobby groups seeking changes to Australia’s Constitution and to Australia’s parliamentary and judge-made laws.
The symbols of justice — the scales, the sword, the blindfold.
Law - Organisation
The distinction between common and statute law and between civil and criminal law.
The hierarchy of courts at the State and Federal levels.
The role played by legal personnel — judges, juries, barristers, solicitors, police prosecutors.
The advantages and disadvantages of the adversary system.
The organisation of the legislative function of State and Federal parliaments.
The role of police, customs officers, parking police and others involved in ensuring that laws are upheld.
The procedures for jury selection.
Ownership
The legal distinction between real and personal property.
Documents used to prove ownership in legal disputes.
The legal procedures involved in the sale and purchase of real property and of personal property.
Differences between joint tenancy and tenancy in common.
The rights and responsibilities of landlord and tenant and of mortgagor and mortgagee.
The laws relating to the transfer of property and possessions after death — wills.
The difference between the European tradition of land ownership and the Aboriginal tradition of belonging to the land and the legal conflicts arising from this difference.
Power
Australia’s Constitution and the division of legislative, financial and executive powers between the State and Federal governments.
The power of the media, businesses and individuals in influencing the law makers.
The power of politicians to influence the law and the laws relating to the disclosure of pecuniary interests by politicians.
The effects of a gerrymander on the power of voters to influence laws.
Law enforcement and legal adjudication to restrict abuse of power.
Law - Production
Laws relating to the types of primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary production which can be legally operated.
Laws which regulate the nature of production — health and safety; weights and measures; and labelling and packaging laws.
Labour laws which affect production.
Taxation laws which change the cost structure of production.
Laws relating to the transportation of raw materials and the output of the production process.
Legal requirements relating to the record keeping of firms.
Responsibility
The responsibilities of government as stated in Australia’s Constitution.
Civil laws which enforce individual responsibilities — traffic acts, building codes, public health acts, safety regulations.
Criminal laws which enforce individual responsibilities such as those relating to theft, assault, criminal negligence.
Responsibilities of business organisations as stated in Articles of Association and in laws such as the Fair Traders’ Act.
Legal responsibilities of employers as stated in Federal and State Awards and in occupational health and safety regulations.
The attitude of people towards the difference between legal and moral responsibilities of individuals, businesses and governments.
Specialisation
The specialist roles of various legal personnel.
The branches of the law.
The jurisdiction of various courts and tribunals.
Government departments and their responsibilities in framing and upholding parliamentary law.
Legal requirements relating to the licensing of specialist trades and professions.
Law - Value
The extent to which laws reflect society’s values.
The presumption of innocence in legal proceedings.
The extent to which Australia’s Constitution reflects society’s values today.
The value of human rights before the law and the differences between the United Nations declaration on human rights and the human rights provisions in the constitutions of Australia and other countries.
The civil liberties movement and the conflict between the values of members of this movement and those of other people.
Changing values in society and the need for law reform.
Welfare
Constitutional base for the social welfare policies of the Commonwealth in sections 51(23) and (23A) of Australia’s Constitution.
State and Federal laws relating to the protection of the family such as the Family Law Act.
The provision of legal aid to ensure access to the law for all people.
Laws relating to the health and welfare of employees such as the Workers’ Compensation Act and moves to introduce a no-fault compensation scheme.
Counselling agencies used by the court system such as drug and alcohol referral centres
Money - Change
Changes in the forms of money used over time - early forms of money, legal tender, cheques, credit and debit cards, electronic funds transfer.
The impact of the growth of electronic banking on people and commercial transactions.
Changes in the value of money over time as measured by the CPI and by exchange rates with other countries.
The impact of inflation on individuals, businesses and governments.
The growth in the number and types of institutions with which people can save money.
Changes in the methods of payment — cash versus credit.
The problems arising from growing personal, corporate and national debt.
Communication
Money as a means of communicating value in order to facilitate exchange.
Interest rates as a means of communicating the price of money.
Money as a means of communicating changes in national production, economic growth and living standards.
Methods by which financial transactions are recorded and communicated — cheque butts, EFTPOS transaction slips, bank statements, annual accounting statements of clubs and businesses.
Methods by which individuals, businesses and governments communicate their plans for money management — a budget, an economic statement, a prospectus.
Competition
Money as a measure of value of competing goods and services.
Money as a means of competition among consumers.
The role of price levels in determining the nature of competition among businesses.
Methods used by financial institutions to compete with each other such as through interest rate variations and services offered.
The consequences of money market regulation and deregulation.
Money - Discrimination
Discrimination among buyers in markets for goods and services based on their access to money.
Price as an indicator of quality to discriminate among products.
Discrimination among potential borrowers by financial institutions based on their income and wealth.
Discrimination between occupations based on considerations of money, job satisfaction and leisure requirements.
Attitudes of individuals and business firms about money income and wealth used to discriminate among individuals.
Methods used by governments to discriminate among businesses and among individuals based on money income and wealth — differential tax rates, assets and income tests.
Distribution
The function of money in the allocation of resources and goods and services.
The role of financial institutions in mobilising savings.
Interest rates and their role in the distribution of money.
The distribution of money and income between households, firms and governments — ABS figures.
The distribution of money and wealth among consumers — among primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary industries and among local, state and federal governments.
Exchange
The role of money in facilitating specialisation and exchange.
Types of exchange mechanisms — barter and the many forms of money.
Characteristics of money as a medium of exchange.
The use of cheques, credit and debit cards and electronic funds transfer as mediums of exchange.
The role of credit facilitating exchange.
The exchange of money in the circular flow of income.
The exchange of money among countries — exchange rates and international systems of payments for trade in goods and services.
Money - Income
Types of money income — wages, rents, interest, fees, commissions, profits, dividends, rebates.
The impact of non-money incomes such as fringe benefits and compensatory leave on the level of money income.
Variations in money income due to changes in taxation levels, national wage cases, overtime payments, bonuses.
Variations in real income due to price changes.
Interdependence
The circular flow of income.
Money as a facilitator of specialisation and interdependence.
Interdependence between savers and borrowers — variations in interest rates.
Interdependence between buyers and sellers — variations in prices, rents and wages.
Interdependence between private and public sectors — taxation and government spending.
International interdependence — goods, services and money flows.
Justice
‘Fair and reasonable’ levels of wages, profits, interests, rents and prices.
Legal rights and obligations of debtors and creditors.
Legal rights and obligations related to credit and debit cards and the electronic transfer of funds.
Sources of justice for individuals and businesses involved in financial disputes — legal aid, courts, tribunals.
Money - Liability
The legal and financial meanings of liability.
The liability of borrowers — interest and principal.
The liability of financial institutions to customers — the prudential management of funds and the provision of statements of account as required by legislation.
The liability of the Reserve Bank and the government in the protection of depositors funds.
Legal means of reducing financial liability — limited liability company, limited term guarantees, insurance, bankruptcy, liquidation procedures.
Moral versus legal liability in financial transactions.
Market
Money market participants — borrowers, lenders; speculators, agents.
The diversity of money markets available for consumers, businesses and the government.
The scale of money market operations — local, state, national, global.
Procedures for obtaining a loan from various financial institutions in the money market.
Factors that should be considered by savers when choosing among financial institutions — security, interest rates, ease of withdrawal.
Motive
The motives of individuals and communities for wanting money — survival, security, status, power, satisfaction.
The motives for saving money.
The motives for borrowing money.
The motives for an increase in the electronic transfer of funds by individuals and by business firms.
Different personal and community attitudes towards the acquisition and use of money.
Money - Organisation
The importance of budgeting and planning by individuals, business firms and governments in the organisation of their finances.
The consequences of poor organisation of money — debt, liquidation, bankruptcy, loss of satisfaction from goods and services.
Types of financial institutions in Australia — banks, building societies, credit unions, finance companies.
The role of overseas businesses and individuals in money market organisations.
Ownership
Spending income, savings and borrowing to obtain ownership of goods and services.
Possession and ownership in purchase contracts — chattel mortgage, lay-by, auction sales.
The unequal distribution of income and wealth in Australia — ABS figures on income, home and car ownership.
Sources of unequal distribution of money among various groups in the community — inheritance, nature of occupations, personal skills, personal motives, historical precedent, cultural norms, personal values.
Differences in attitudes to ownership between Aborigines and non-Aboriginal people in Australia.
Power
Money as a source of power to convert wants into effective demand.
Consumer sovereignty.
The power of money in influencing commercial decisions — highest bidders and the possibility of corruption.
The power of advertising expenditure in influencing the decisions of individuals, businesses and governments.
The attitudes of people and groups to the power of money in society.
The power of financial institutions relative to that of their customers — EFT problems, mortgages.
Money - Production
The role of money in the production of goods and services.
The importance of investment in producing goods and services.
Sources of funds for business investment.
The problem of investing money in rapidly changing technology.
Investment in human capital.
Attitudes of businesses, governments and labour groups towards spending money to develop the quality of employees.
Responsibility
The importance of handling personal finances responsibly — personal budgeting.
Consequences of mishandling personal finances — garnisheeing wages, sale of assets, fines, bankruptcy, imprisonment.
Responsibility in the use of credit cards and EFTs — reporting of lost or stolen cards, security of PlNs.
Responsibility of managing money owned by others — budgeting for a household, a business, a government.
Consequences of corporate and public sector financial mismanagement liquidation, bankruptcy, foreign debt.
Specialisation
The role of money in promoting specialisation in production.
The effect of specialisation on the types of money and financial services required for exchange.
The relationship between job specialisation and the level of money income.
The specialisation of financial institutions in the circular flow.
Financial institutions which specialise in specific types of financial transactions.
Money - Value
Money as a standard of value.
The real value of money — its purchasing power.
The changing value of money — the causes and consequences of inflation.
The changing value of exchange rates — the causes and consequences of the changing value of the Australian currency overseas.
Welfare
The relationship between the ownership of money and the standard of living.
The factors which influence living standards other than access to money — the quality of the environment, natural resource base, economic stability, community welfare programs.
Household management techniques to promote lifelong welfare — budgeting, insurance, superannuation, saving for education and household assets.
Government welfare payments.
How different cultural groups view welfare payments.
Provision of welfare payments by charitable organisations.
Provision of welfare by business organisations.
Records - Change
Computer based information storage/retrieval.
Scanning and price coding to record sales and updates of stock records.
Electronic funds/document transfer.
Spreadsheets and accounting software.
Alterations to legislation affecting taxation records — logs, receipts.
Effect of new technology on employment opportunities related to record keeping.
Effect of changes in record keeping methods on consumer rights.
Changing problems associated with record keeping such as power failures and computer ‘hackers’.
Communication
Among consumers — letters, wills.
Between consumers and business — accounts, warranties and guarantees, contracts, conditions for the use of credit.
Between consumers and financial institutions — passbooks, statements, ATM slips, mortgage documents.
Between consumers and government — taxation returns, citizenship documents, passports, rates.
Methods used to report accounting records and business reports — company annual reports, newspapers.
The interpretation of commercial documents by television and newspaper financial journalists and by financial advisers such as accountants, stock brokers.
Means of storing and transmitting records — computer disks, fax, photocopy, filing.
Meeting agenda and minutes.
Business letters.
Competition
Surveys of consumer preferences.
Advertising materials.
Accounting records for discounts, advertising and prizes.
Company prospectus documents to attract shareholders.
Records of price variations among local firms selling similar products.
Consumer associations’ reports.
Records - Discrimination
Employment applications and resumes to discriminate among prospective employees.
Business records of credit ratings.
Consumer records required to establish a good credit rating.
Insurance records and variations in risk ratings.
Clauses in rental contracts to discriminate among prospective tenants.
Distribution
Licences required to operate transport vehicles on land, sea, in the air.
Registration and insurance forms and log book records kept by vehicle owners.
Passport, visas, vaccination certificates, travellers’ cheques and itinerary records.
Documents relating to the distribution of goods such as invoices.
Company records showing the distribution of profits.
Records of the distribution of shares — Company Register.
Government records of distribution — population, dwellings, income, etc.
Exchange
Records of exchange kept by sellers’ receipts, invoices, revenue statements.
Double entry bookkeeping.
Records of exchange kept by buyers — receipts, guarantees, warranties, cheque butts, electronic funds transfer documents.
Records required for the return of faulty goods.
Consequences of the growing trend not to issue receipts.
Wills and property transfer.
Records - Income
Consumer records of income — wage and salary statements, group certificates and records of interest, commission and dividends.
Business records of income — sales receipts.
Government records of projected and actual income — Budgets, National Income Statistics.
Records of income required for taxation purposes.
Interdependence
Records of interdependence among consumers — documents relating to joint ownership, power of attorney, the execution of wills.
Records of financial interdependence among consumers through credit unions and consumer cooperatives.
Records of exchange between buyers and sellers and between employers and employees.
Records of interdependence between business — tenders, supply contracts.
Records of the interdependence between the government and the private sector — election documents, taxation records and the records of government enterprises.
Records of the interdependence between financial institutions and their clients.
Justice
The records of the legislature — Acts of Parliament, local Ordinances.
The records of the judiciary — the role of precedence.
Records of disputes among consumers — letters of demand, petitions and the records of Chamber Magistrates, Family Law and Civil Law cases.
Records of disputes between consumers and business — letters of complaint, insurance claims and the records of Consumer Claims Tribunal, the Rental Bond
Board and Criminal Court cases.
Records of disputes among unions businesses and government— Awards, Workers’ Compensation Claims and the records of Industrial Tribunals.
Need for fairness and truthfulness in accounting reports.
The role of the auditor in accounting procedures.
Records - Liability
The nature of contracts — written and oral.
Liability expressed or implied in a variety of commercial contracts.
Records kept by consumers of monies owed to other consumers, to business firms and to governments — personal budgets, bills, loan statements, tax returns.
Records kept by business firms of monies owed to individual and business suppliers, to financial creditors, to governments — assets and liabilities shown in double entry bookkeeping, company reports, warranties and guarantees.
Records kept by governments of monies owed domestically and internationally — budgets, Balance of Payments.
The need for statements of reconciliation to be drawn up to ensure that creditors and debtors agree on the extent of the liability.
The effect of electronic funds transfer on the type of records produced to indicate liability.
Market
Records kept of cost price, selling price and mark up in a variety of markets.
Records of the general level of prices kept by the government — ABS figures for the Consumer Price Index Electronic records of market prices of shares kept by the stock exchange.
Records in the classified sections of newspapers of the operation of some markets — the labour market, the real estate market, the market for used cars.
Motive
The advantages and disadvantages of recording commercial motives for consumers, business firms and governments.
Motives of consumers as revealed by such records as credit contracts, mortgage deeds, insurance contracts, wills.
Motives of business firms as revealed by such records as credit contracts, company registration documents, company financial statements and reports to shareholders.
Motives of governments as revealed by budgets and formal records of the legislative, executive and judicial arms of government.
Records - Organisation
The need to organise personal records for planning, budgeting and taxation purposes.
Household asset register such as Neighbourhood Watch’s ‘Operation Identification’.
The organisation of documents for accounting purposes — source documents, income statements, balance sheets.
The organisation of business records — sales, purchases, administration.
The use of computer programs in the organisation of business records.
The organisation of meeting records — attendance, minutes, treasurer’s report.
The organisation of government records — Hansard, archives.
Ownership
Serial numbers, photographic and descriptive records of personal ownership of assets.
Legal records of ownership — registration of vehicles, dogs, guns; title deeds of property; receipts for goods.
Business records of ownership — registration of company name, patents, copyright, trademarks.
Shareholders records of ownership — share certificates.
The attitudes of people to possession versus records as proof of ownership.
Power
The power consumers have through the records they keep — to return unsatisfactory goods, to prove ownership, to lodge insurance claims, to prove account errors.
The power businesses have through the records they keep — to collect debts, to forecast changes in market conditions, to maximise their profits, to expand into new market areas and utilise the latest technology.
The power governments have through the records they keep — to administer laws made by the legislature, to forecast trends in the economy, to budget their incomes.
The power of records in all commercial disputes.
The conflict between some individual’s desire for freedom of information and the desire of others for privacy.
Records - Production
Records created when planning production — quotations, tenders, production schedules.
Records created during production — time sheets, tally sheets.
Records created to ensure the continued financial success — production, sales, profit and loss, stocktaking, trading and revenue accounts.
Responsibility
The need to keep records for responsible participation in our commercial environment.
The responsibility of parties in contractual arrangements to make accurate disclosures and maintain records of the contract.
The responsibility of companies to maintain accurate records for examination by shareholders.
The responsibility of individuals and businesses to keep accurate records for taxation purposes.
The responsibility of accountants to maintain accurate records and the responsibility of auditors to verify this.
The responsibility of individuals to report births, deaths and marriages.
Specialisation
Different types of records associated with different types of commercial transactions.
Specialisation within records — specific ledger accounts, categories of profit and loss accounts, different taxation return forms.
Specialist occupations associated with record keeping — accountant, auditor, payroll officer, accounts clerk.
The development and use of specialised equipment in record keeping — ticket-selling machines, automatic teller machines.
Records - Value
The importance of personal and financial records.
The value given to assets and liabilities — the purchase, depreciated or replacement price.
The difference between social and market value.
Alternative methods of calculating depreciation of assets.
The value of goodwill in business firms.
The change in records caused by the change in the value of money and prices.
Records people keep of valuable assets and their possible disposal — deeds, wills, registration papers.
The value to the community of various records — births, marriages, deaths, school results, public archives.
Welfare
State and Federal budget records showing public expenditure on welfare.
The records kept by public and private health insurance schemes.
The records of income and asset ownership required from welfare recipients.
Evidence of gifts to registered charities required for taxation purposes.
Evidence of applications for employment or inability to work required from recipients of unemployment benefits.
Assessment of Student Achievement
The assessment of each student’s achievement must reflect the extent to which the student has achieved the general aim, objectives and outcomes of this syllabus. The assessment must be the cumulative result of achievements in a planned program of assessment tasks. A range of assessment instruments must be used, each of which should be appropriate for the outcome it is intended to measure.
Assessment instruments include:
structured and unstructured questions
questions requiring short or extended responses
multiple choice and other objective tests
field work reports which include methods as well as outcomes
research projects which involve groups as well as individuals
lecturettes and debates
audio visual and socio-drama presentations
interpretation and presentation of material in graph, table, diagram and other pictorial form.
A range of reporting styles should be considered. These include reporting a series of results with reference to specific criteria and a single result which aggregates achievement. Means of reporting include the use of alphabetical and numerical scales, and descriptive statements.
Schools should evaluate the program, the teaching, and the learning processes and outcomes.
Evaluation should be ongoing as well as retrospective so that changes can be made during, and at the end of the course. The program in Commerce may be evaluated by considering such questions as:
Does the program fulfill syllabus requirements? Does it:
enable the general aim, objectives and outcomes to be achieved?
use logically sequenced subject matter drawn from all of the areas?
develop concepts and skills progressively and within the context of the subject matter?
provide for the persistent exploration and development of commerce-related attitudes and values?
Is the program appropriate for the school in which it is being implemented? Does it:
provide for students of all abilities and interest?
fully utilise the physical and human resources available to the school?
have the support of parents and the community?
contribute to a balanced total school curriculum?
have unintended effects on other aspects of the school curriculum (e.g. overlap with other subjects) and on the school’s organisation (e.g. field work, use of specialist classrooms)? Are these desirable or undesirable?
The teaching of Commerce may be evaluated by considering such questions as:
do the teaching strategies contribute to the achievement of all of the course objectives?
do the teaching strategies take into account the prior knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that each student brings to the classroom?
do the teaching strategies develop each student’s ability to apply what has been learnt to unfamiliar situations?
have students responded with interest and enthusiasm to the teaching?
have teachers retained their commitment to all aspects of the course?
The learning processes and outcomes need to be evaluated with a view to improving the teaching and the course itself. The evaluation should be designed to progressively diagnose strengths and weaknesses. Judgements should be based on data collected from a variety of sources such as:
formal testing
check lists
discussions
self evaluation
observations and judgements by colleagues and students.
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