IMPORTANCE OF HSIE EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS        2500W

In the secondary school setting, the key learning areas (KLAs) of HSIE incorporate several subjects including History, Geography, Indigenous Studies, Legal Studies and Business Studies, to name a few. A few these subjects, such as Business Studies and Legal Studies, are restricted to Stage 6 students only. However, all HSIE subjects contribute to creating active and informed Australian citizens, as required by the Australian Curriculum. HSIE subjects are essential to the school system when meeting the goals of the Australian Curriculum. This paper will focus primarily on the subject of History in Stages 4-6. Furthermore, this paper will discuss the ways HSIE achieves compulsory objectives set by the Government and how they help formulate active and informed citizens of Australia.

The Importance of HSIE in Secondary Schools

Humanities and Social Science, more commonly known as HSIE, is vital to the secondary education system due to its contributions to student skills such as analysing and investigating. HSIE addresses a large range of issues such as environmental, political, economic, social, personal and cultural issues. Gilbert (2014, p.04) suggests that these issues assist with developing students to become active, informed and creative citizens. The Australian Curriculum (2019) connects subjects to life skills such as