Years 11 – 12 WACE General Pathway

• Certificate IV Education Support
• English (ATAR)
• Physical Education Studies (ATAR)
• Maths Essentials (General)
• Human Biological Science (General)

• Certificate IV Business
• English (General)
• Textiles (ATAR)
• Career & Enterprise (General)

• English (General)
• Dance (ATAR)
• Drama (ATAR)
• Maths Essentials (General)
• Media and Production Analysis (General)

For students not wishing to complete an ATAR pathway but wanting to pursue a direct entry to a university Bachelor’s Degree, a VET Certificate IV Year 12 may be helpful. The successful completion of a Certificate IV and either a scaled score of above 50% in English ATAR, the STAT test (see below) or a relevant English qualification outlined below will credit students with the minimum entry requirements into Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, Murdoch University, The University of Notre Dame and TAFE.

Students learn about the diversity of First Nations Peoples. They explore a wide range of political, social, historical, legal, economic and environmental issues from an intercultural perspective. They analyse First Nations Peoples’ experiences in Australian society, using a range of approaches. These include comparative studies, investigating the experiences of First Nations Peoples’ communities within Australia and elsewhere in the world. The importance of ethical considerations in the investigation of cultural and social issues is emphasised.

The Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies General course provides opportunities for students from all cultures to explore and involve themselves in active reconciliation. This course affirms the cultural experience and identity of Australian First Nations students. All students have opportunities to learn from Australian First Nations Peoples and/or through sources of First Nations Peoples’ voices and perspectives.

Unit 1

The focus for this unit is to develop knowledge and understanding of Australia’s First Nations Peoples as being the oldest living continuous cultures in the world. Students explore factors that contribute to a group, or individual, identity. Students further develop their understanding of the diversity of First Nations Peoples’ experiences and perspectives, locally, nationally, and globally and develop an awareness of the ways First Nations Peoples’ identities are expressed through unique ways of being, knowing and doing.

Unit 2

The focus of this unit is for students to learn about the distinctiveness and diversity of Australian First Nations Peoples’ cultural expressions. They learn how First Nations Peoples, both within Australia and internationally, continue to use materials and technologies in innovative ways to create cultural expressions that celebrate, challenge and communicate ideas and perspectives. Students explore the use of First Nations Peoples’ cultural expressions to continue, maintain, share and revitalise their cultural knowledge and values and, in doing so, develop respect and understanding of the cultural protocols, including intellectual and cultural property rights, which exist to protect and revitalise First Nation Peoples’ cultures.

Unit 3

The focus for this unit is the relationship First Nations Peoples in Australia and internationally have with the environment. Students will study the important role that Country and the environment play in the lives, cultures and identities of First Nations Peoples. This unit explores how the diversity of environments around Australia and internationally influences First Nations Peoples’ skills, knowledge and practices in adapting to changes to the environments over time.

Unit 4

The focus of this unit is the importance of self-determination for First Nations Peoples and the ongoing resilience demonstrated by First Nations Peoples in the face of invasion, displacement, government policy and other cultural interactions.

This unit explores how all Australians can contribute to reconciliation and the range of ways that First Nations people and their allies have changed and resisted change, through a variety of methods such as political activism, education and social media campaigns, in order to maintain a strong sense of identity and connection to culture. Students consider the positive impact that different cultural perspectives have on extending our knowledge and understanding of the world.

The Career and Enterprise General course engages students in learning about developing their career in a constantly changing digital and globalised world. Careers are now considered to be about work, learning and life. Individuals need to be proactive, enterprising career managers who engage in lifelong learning.

The Career and Enterprise General course aims to provide students with the knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to be enterprising and to proactively manage their own careers.

The course reflects the importance of career development knowledge, understanding and skills in securing, creating and sustaining work. Work, including unpaid voluntary work, is fundamentally important in defining the way we live, relate to others and in determining the opportunities we have throughout life. The world of work is complex and constantly changing. The course recognises that work both reflects and shapes the culture and values of our society.

Workplaces have different structures which impact on their practices and processes and how they operate. Each workplace is unique and its organisation governs workplace settings and patterns of work.

The Career and Enterprise General course has been constructed using, and is strongly aligned to, the knowledge, skills and understandings from the Core Skills for Work Development Framework (2013) and the Australian Blueprint for Career Development (the Blueprint).

When developing a teaching and learning program, teachers should consider students’ formal and informal work experiences, cultural backgrounds and values.

Unit 1

The focus of this unit is exploring work and networks. Students develop an understanding of aspects of work, such as part-time, full-time, flexi hours, volunteer work and unemployment. They learn that positive self-esteem and self-management are required to access work opportunities and acquire skills to build careers. Students learn the basic organisation and roles associated with different workplace structures, and develop awareness that employment is connected with responsibility for themselves and others.

Unit 2

The focus of this unit is entry-level work readiness. Students explore the attributes and skills necessary for employment, and identify their personal strengths and interests, and the impact these have on career development opportunities and decisions.

Students examine the organisation of workplaces within a chosen industry area and learn about the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers in entry-level jobs.

Unit 3

This unit focuses on adopting a proactive approach to securing and maintaining work. It involves
self-management, using work search tools and techniques, developing career competencies, and accessing learning opportunities which are essential for career building. An assessment is made of the multidimensional operation and organisation of workplaces. The legal, ethical and financial considerations underpinning corporate and individual rights and responsibilities and the resolution of conflict are examined. An exploration is made of the implications of organisational reviews due to influences and trends, and how they impact on individual opportunities to secure and maintain work.

Unit 4

This unit explores issues associated with career management, workplaces and influences and trends in times of change. Change can be analysed and the information used to inform strategies associated with
self-management, career building and personal and professional learning experiences. This unit investigates the dynamic nature of the interrelationships between these strategies. An examination of the complexity of workplace operations and management of resources is used to understand productivity, achievement of industry standards and compliance with legal, ethical and financial considerations.

Music is an aural art form that involves the exploration, organisation and manipulation of sound and silence. Music has the capacity to engage, inspire and enrich students, stimulating imaginative and innovative responses and fostering critical thinking and aesthetic understanding. Music is processed through aural discrimination, memory and emotional response, all of which interact with each other and with physical processes as a means of perceiving, learning, composing and performing.

Music – Year 11 General

Prerequisites: It is desirable that students have studied classroom Music and/or instrumental or vocal lessons during Years 8 to 10.

The Music General course encourages students to explore a range of musical experiences through different musical contexts. The course consists of a written component and a practical component, incorporating the following content areas: Aural and theory, Composing and arranging, Investigation and analysis, and Performance. Students can choose to perform on voice or instrument, submit a composition portfolio or complete a production/practical project to fulfil the requirements of the practical component. The Music General course provides an opportunity for creative expression, the development of aesthetic appreciation and the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from listening to and making music independently and collaboratively with others. Studying music may also provide a pathway for further training and employment in a range of professions within the music industry.

In each unit, the Music General course is divided into a written component and a practical component. It is accessible to students with a varied background and experience in music and is designed to provide a flexible framework through which the areas of content can be taught.

The written component is made up of three learning areas:

• Aural and theory
• Composing and arranging­
• Investigation and analysis

The practical component can be delivered in a different context to the written component.

Unit 1 and Unit 2 are studied as a pair of units consecutively throughout Year 11.

Prerequisites: An understanding of the Year 11 content is assumed knowledge for students in Year 12. It is recommended that students studying Unit 3 and Unit 4 have completed Unit 1 and Unit 2.

Unit 3 and Unit 4 are studied as a pair of units consecutively throughout Year 12.

The Media Production and Analysis General course aims to prepare students for a future in a digital and interconnected world by providing the skills, knowledge, and understanding to tell their own stories and interpret others’ stories.

Students will develop an awareness and cultural understanding to explore and develop media ideas by using skills, techniques, processes, conventions, and technologies to create media work for audience, purpose, and context.

You will gain an understanding of the role of media in society by using critical, social, cultural, and aesthetic understandings to respond to, reflect on and evaluate media work.

You will learn to make decisions about all aspects of production, including creative choices across pre-production, production, and post-production phases. This will give you an opportunity to reflect on and discuss your own creative work, intentions, and outcomes, simulating industry experiences.

Units 1 & 2: Media Production and Analysis – Year 11

Mass Media and Point of View

Unit learning contexts may include a combination of the following:

• ‘Blockbuster’ films
• TV genres
• Comics
• Magazines
• Advertising
• News stories
• Current affairs stories

Students will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of media languages, considering different types of representations and how they relate to the construction of media. They will be given opportunities to acquire production skills and develop their personal style and are encouraged to experiment with filmmaking technologies and conventions to express their ideas.

Types of Assessments

• Response – 30%
• Production – 70%

Units 3 & 4: Media Production and Analysis – Year 12

Entertainment and Representation and Reality

Unit learning contexts may include a combination of the following:

• Promotion and marketing strategies
• Local and international film
• Animated sitcoms
• ‘Breakfast’ television
• News and current affairs programs and websites
• Participation media

Students will expand their understanding of media languages, considering different types of representations and how they relate to the construction of reality within media work. They will be given opportunities to extend their production skills and develop their personal style and are encouraged to experiment with filmmaking technologies and conventions to express their ideas.

Types of Assessments

• Response – 25%
• Production – 60%
• Externally Set Task – 15%

For more information regarding the syllabus, check the SCSA website.

The Applied Information Technology General course aims to prepare students for a future in a digital and interconnected world by providing the skills, knowledge, and understanding of existing and new technologies.

Students will have the opportunity to develop practical skills in a range of software creating informative and eye-catching products.

Working independently and collaborating with others, students will investigate issues and challenges to develop solutions. This course also encourages students to use technologies in a responsible, secure, and informed manner.

Units 1 & 2 – Year 11

Unit 1 Personal Communication

The focus of this unit is to enable students to use technology to meet personal needs – such as creating effective presentations, and documents to meet a target audience’s needs.

Unit 2 – Working with Others

The focus of this unit is to enable students to use a variety of technologies to investigate managing data, common software applications and wireless network components required to effectively operate within a small business environment.

Types of assessments:

• Project
• Short Answer
• Extended Answer

Units 3 & 4 – Year 12 

Unit 3 – Media Information and Communication Technologies

The emphasis of this unit is on the use of digital technologies to create and manipulate digital media including principles and elements of design, graphics, and social media.

Unit 4 – Digital Technologies in Business

The emphasis of this unit is on the skills, principles and practices associated with various types of documents and communications including animation, audio and websites.

Types of assessments:

• Projects
• Short Answer
• Extended Answer
• Externally Set Task

For more information regarding the syllabus, check the SCSA website.

The goals of the Design General course are to facilitate a deeper understanding of how design works, and how ideas, beliefs, values, attitudes, messages, and information are effectively communicated to specific audiences with specific intentions or purposes via visual forms.

Design projects allow students to demonstrate their skills, techniques and application of design elements, principles, and processes to analyse problems and possibilities, and to devise innovative strategies within design contexts. There is potential for students to develop transferable skills and vocational competencies while devising innovative designs.

In this course, students develop a competitive edge for current and future industry and employment markets. This course also emphasises the scope of design in professional and trade-based industries allowing students to maximise vocational and/or university pathways.

Design – Year 11

Unit 1 – Design Fundamentals

The focus of this unit is to introduce design process and practice. Students learn that design can be used to provide solutions to design problems and communication needs. They are introduced to basic design skills and a range of techniques to demonstrate control over the elements and principles of design.

Unit learning contexts may include a combination of:

• Album sleeve design
• Package design

Unit 2 – Personal Design

The focus for this unit is personal design. Students learn that they visually communicate aspects of their personality, values and beliefs through their affiliations and their manipulation of personal surroundings and environments. Students explore design elements and principles and the design process in a project communicating something of themselves and increase familiarity with basic production skills and processes, materials, and technologies.

Unit learning contexts may include a combination of:

• Exhibition invitation or poster
• Advertising
• Products of personal significance

Design – Year 12

Unit 3 – Product Design

The focus for this unit is product design. Students learn that the commercial world is comprised of companies, requiring consumer products, services, and brands for a particular audience. They are introduced to the concept of intellectual property. Using the design process, they create products/services, visuals and/or layouts with an awareness of codes and conventions. They use relevant and appropriate production skills and processes, materials, and technologies relevant to the design.

Unit learning contexts include a combination of:

• Commercial product design
• Advertising and/or campaign photography
• Catalogues

Unit 4 – Cultural Design

The focus for this unit is cultural design. Students learn that society is made up of different groups of people who share diverse values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, and needs, and that different forms of visual communication transmit these values and beliefs. Students are encouraged to create designs that link to a culture or sub-culture and are introduced to ethical issues concerning representation. Students consider communication strategies and audience.

Unit learning contexts include a combination of:

• Festival posters
• Self-image
• Montage

For more information see the SCSA website.