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Effective Practice Archive

Federal Elections and Public Opinion Polling - who will form the next government of Australia?

Year Level: 9-10

SOSE Outcome Level: 6

Author: Murray Campbell
Position: Senior Project Officer: Queensland Discovering Democracy Professional Development Project (1998-2000)
School:

The impact of public opinion polls is a subject of great debate as polling dictates virtually every aspect of election campaigns - from fund raising to electoral strategy to news coverage. From this unit, students will learn polling terminology, how and why public opinion polls are conducted, how the Australian Government is formed, the electoral formula used to determine the winners, and how to predict the likely election results.

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Getting Things Done (or not Done)

Year Level: 9 and 10

SOSE Outcome Level: 6

Author: Richard Waters
Position: Principal and Coordinator Social Sciences
School: The School of Total Education, Warwick, Queensland

Students get a lot of information about politics at the national level and naturally this is often the focus of attention. They may feel, however, particularly if living in a regional area, that this is rather remote from their lives and that they have little opportunity for political involvement. This unit focuses on local level action by citizens illustrated by a case study of an issue that arose from the Queensland State Government's proposal to build a high-security prison in the local area.

From this unit of work, students will learn about the aims, targets, strategies and tactics of social action by citizens for and against a particular issue. This should equip them with the means to be involved in bringing about, or resisting, change in their own social situations.

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How Will We Be Governed? Who Makes the Rules?

Year Level: 9 and 10

SOSE Outcome Level: 5

Author: Cheryl Brugman
Position: P.A.R. History
School: St. Aidan's Anglican Girls' School

The electoral system in Australia is a necessary part of the process that determines how the citizens of this country are governed and how the rules of the country are decided. From this unit students will learn through a simulation of the electoral process how Australia is governed and how political representatives are elected. The unit will also encourage an examination of how schools are governed as a comparison to how the country is governed.

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