General Capabilities
Twenty-first century learning does not fit neatly into a curriculum solely organised by learning areas or subjects. That is why the Australian Curriculum has identified a comprehensive set of knowledge, skills and dispositions or general capabilities that will assist students to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century.
The Shape of the Australian Curriculum v3.0. identifies seven general capabilities to be addressed in the Australian Curriculum. These are:
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- Information and communication technology competence
- Critical and creative thinking
- Personal and social competence
- Ethical behaviour
- Intercultural understanding.
Good teaching will always contribute to a student’s development of general capabilities. The Australian Curriculum reinforces this expectation by incorporating these seven general capabilities into content descriptions in ways appropriate to each learning area/subject.
Overviews that describe the nature, scope and significance of each general capability are on the general capabilities section of the Australian Curriculum website at: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities
In addition, ACARA has prepared conceptual statements and learning continua for each general capability. Originally developed to inform curriculum writing (Foundation to Year 10), these materials were available for consultation on the Australian Curriculum website between mid-June and July 2011.
For more information on general capabilities, including the consultation go to:
