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• VCECU001

  Explore the meaning of right and wrong, good and bad, as concepts concerned with the outcomes of acts

  Elaborations

  • exploring how the terms good, bad, right and wrong are used in different ways and identifying whether these are concerned with ethical outcomes, for example, ‘she is good at kicking a football’, ‘he is a good person’, ’this is a good drawing/design solution’, ‘it is wrong to give money to a beggar’, ‘winning was good’
  • using the term ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ to describe a choice and exploring whether this reflects consideration of a likely outcome, for example, identifying a game rule ‘youngest goes first’ as a good or bad rule of a game and examining if the reasons are influenced by perception of the outcome

  VCECU001 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Foundation to Level 2 | Understanding Concepts

• VCECD012

  Explore the significance of ‘means versus ends’ by considering two ways to act when presented with a problem: one that privileges means and one ends

  Elaborations

  • investigating a choice such as posting an image of a friend and justifying why someone should or should not post the image, in terms of means and ends
  • responding to a range of ethical dilemmas and comparing responses that focus on means (where the most important consideration is the action itself, such as being honest regardless of the consequences) and responses that focus on ends (where the most important consideration is the likely outcome, such as making someone happy even if it means lying to them)
  • analysing the position 'the end justifies the means' and the tension between means and ends in different contexts, for example, experimentation on people or other animals, the collection and use of data, making consumer decisions, selecting/training teams in sport or making civic decisions such as removing homeless people from areas during an event

  VCECD012 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Decision Making and Actions

• VCECU009

  Examine the contested meaning of concepts including truth and happiness and the extent to which these concepts are and should be valued

  Elaborations

  • using ethical dilemmas, as a prompt for exploring whether it is ever desirable to lie, for example, lying to protect a friend from getting into trouble, to stop someone’s feelings being hurt, or about an injury in order to get picked for a team
  • asking a range of people what their views on happiness are, how important it is and what is necessary for happiness
  • investigating whether everyone should have the right to be happy and if so, whether this is possible, using as stimulus issues of treatment of prisoners or bullies, or how much the wealthy should help the poor or the strong the weak

  VCECU009 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding Concepts

• VCECU004

  Explore the contested meaning of concepts including fairness and harm and how they can seem to differ in different situations

  Elaborations

  • testing a proposed definition of fairness as equal treatment by considering whether an older sibling should do more at home or whether there should be special parking places
  • testing a proposed definition of harm as involving a deliberate intention that caused mental or physical suffering, by considering whether an accidental injury to someone on the playground is harmful or whether taking offence to teasing or a joke is a choice
  • exploring the concept of fairness by setting a task where resources are distributed unevenly and reflecting on the desirability of the outcomes

  VCECU004 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 3 and 4 | Understanding Concepts

• VCECU014

  Explore the contested meaning of concepts including freedom, justice, and rights and responsibilities, and the extent they are and should be valued by different individuals and groups

  Elaborations

  • exploring the meaning of justice by proposing and evaluating criteria that might be used for justice, such as what is deserved, adherence to laws or maximising the common good
  • comparing and evaluating two conceptions of freedom: the absence of anything that prevents you achieving what you want, and the ability to control your own interests (self- determination); and whether the harm principle should be used to limit freedom, as part of a study of an issue concerning freedom of speech, or freedom of action (such as restrictions to gambling or alcohol consumption)
  • using a range of examples, such as drink driving, to examine whether there are more important rights and responsibilities than others, whether rights are means or ends and the extent to which reasons involving rights do and should outweigh other reasons for actions

  VCECU014 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 7 and 8 | Understanding Concepts

• Ethical Capability: Levels 9 and 10 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 10, students explain connections and distinctions between ethical concepts, identifying areas of contestability in their meanings and relative value.

  Students analyse and evaluate contested approaches to thinking about consequences and duties in relation to ethical issues. They...

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 9 and 10

• Ethical Capability: Levels 3 and 4 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 4, students use concrete examples from a range of contexts to explain the contested meaning of concepts and significance of acts. They explain how to identify ethical considerations in problems.

  Students use examples to evaluate ethical actions in relation to their outcomes....

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 3 and 4

• Ethical Capability: Levels 5 and 6 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 6, students evaluate the meaning of ethical concepts and analyse their value, identifying areas of contestability. They explain different ways to respond to ethical problems and identify issues related to these.

  Students identify different ethical issues associated with a particular...

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6

• Ethical Capability: Levels 5 and 6 description

  In Levels 5 and 6, the curriculum focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and understandings to evaluate the significance of ethical matters. Students explore the basis of a range of ethical principles and reflect on means and ends. Students consider decision-making approaches based on thinking...

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability

• Ethical Capability: Levels 3 and 4 description

  In Levels 3 and 4, the curriculum focuses on developing the knowledge, skills and understandings to evaluate particular acts, and to identify and critically respond to ethical problems. Students extend their vocabulary and begin to reflect on means and ends. Students develop an understanding that...

  Level description | Capabilities | Ethical Capability

• Capabilities | Ethical Capability: Rationale and Aims

  Rationale

  The Ethical Capability curriculum explores what it means for both an individual and society to live well. Students examine what we ought to do, how we ought to live, what kind of society we should have and what kind of person one should be. These questions concern individuals alone and...

  Overview material | Ethical Capability

• VCECD002

  Explore the type of acts often considered right and those often considered wrong and the reasons why they are considered so

  Elaborations

  • considering a range of actions and typical reasons people use to justify whether an act is right or wrong, for example, whether the action breaks rules or results in harm
  • exploring the reasons for a widely held remembrance or commemoration, for example, the meaning and significance of Australia Day as a public holiday
  • identifying acts many people associate with good and bad behaviours and discussing reasons for these, for example, behaviour in groups such as teams, audiences or social communities
  • classifying acts as right and/or wrong and discussing what is common and different in the reasons why, for example, sharing a small amount of water between many thirsty people, pushing someone out of the way and copying, appropriating or reworking someone’s ideas or solutions

  VCECD002 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Foundation to Level 2 | Decision Making and Actions

• VCECU010

  Discuss how ethical principles can be used as the basis for action, considering the influence of cultural norms, religion, world views and philosophical thought on these principles

  Elaborations

  • investigating some common ethical principles, for example, ‘always treat people as ends not means’ (philosopher Immanuel Kant), and ‘actions are right in proportion to whether they promote happiness’ (philosopher John Stuart Mill), and comparing how they might be applied to a particular situation, for example, whether to participate in a fund raising event.
  • examining basic tenets of major world religions and non-religious worldviews and how they form the basis of a particular principle/s, such as ‘treat others as you would want to be treated’ (the Golden Rule)
  • investigating differing cultural norms concerning the importance of the individual relative to the family or wider community and how this may influence views on loyalty, obligation and responsibility and in turn views on guiding ethical principles

  VCECU010 | Capabilities | Ethical Capability | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding Concepts