Court visits and the Australian Curriculum
Idea starters for teachers
While the Australian Curriculum [History] offers relatively few court-specific content links you may like to consider the following:
Examine the General Capabilities to determine a range of potential activities:
Literacy
§ How do people communicate in courts? Make a list of the different types of communication modes used in court. Tell the class about how information is communicated to the various participants in a court case.
§ How, if at all, are visual aids used? Consider the language used in a court. How could the language be changed to achieve the same or better outcomes?
§ How does the court provide for people whose first language is not English?
§ Create an alphabet or glossary of court words. [See also ‘Glossary’ on the Courts’ website]
§ Arrange a debate about a court-related issue.
§ Using images obtained from a workshop with the education manager and from the courts precinct outside the court building(s) prepare a power-point presentation for visitors to courts to inform them about what they might discover.
§ Explain court language to another person.
§ Create a brochure about courts.
§ Think of better ways to communicate information to a magistrate, judge or justice
Numeracy
§ In what ways might data be used to inform learners about courts?
§ Examine case lists over a given period to gain a snapshot of the frequency of cases and different offence types.
§ Develop efficiency measures based upon court use data.
ICT Competence
§ What forms of ICT are used in courts?
§ What forms could be used?
§ In what ways might they generate/inhibit efficiency?
§ Use ICT to create your own design for a court.
Critical and creative thinking and Ethical Behaviour [Using modes of thinking to analysing current justice issues and legal systems eg. De Bonos’ hats, PMI Charts…]
Have students engage in deep questioning about the process e.g.
§ Will free access to heroin remove or lower the crime rate?
§ Should parents be made accountable for the actions of their children?
§ Should the age of majority be lowered such that 16-year-olds will be treated as adults in relation to crimes committed?
§ Should prostitution be legal?
§ Should euthanasia be legal?
§ Should a restorative approach to offending and crime be used more widely?
§ Compare the adversarial system to the inquisitorial system of trial?
§ Find out about or create models of alternative dispute resolution without going to a court eg. Mediation.
§ Justify the use of juries. Should jurors be paid or trained for their service?
§ Find an article in the newspaper about a court case. Imagine you are a research writer for the paper covering public opinion about the case. Create questions from different perspectives eg. Rich, poor, old young…
§ Develop arguments for a particular point of view
§ Is a person found guilty of a minor offence a criminal? Why or why not?
§ Reflect on the range of decisions made in a court room you visit. Are they effective? Why or why not? What things can make decisions more effective?
§ In relation to reporting about court cases discuss the importance of ‘who is telling the story’ in the context of the article.
§ Is it ethical for magistrates to waive court costs given the steady increase in these charges?
§ Imagine you had to report on the current justice system. What good and bad things might you report?
§ Think about any experiences you or your friends or family have had in courts. How might these shape your views of the court system?
§ Having seen a court in operation, how would you change the way it works?
Intercultural Understanding
Consider the range of people appearing in courts
§ How many are from minority groups?
§ Are they treated the same or differently to the ‘mainstream’ majority’? Why or why not?
§ Should they be treated the same or differently to the ‘mainstream’ majority’? Why or why not?
§ What changes would you make to the Legal System to better accommodate such groups?
Cross Curriculum perspectives and the Australian Curriculum
Sustainability
§ How does a Legal System contribute to the ‘liveability’ of a society?
§ Law Courts are part of a social system. Who makes decisions about funding courts, how many courts we have and the different levels of courts?
§ How does the past inform the way courts operate today? Is this in need of change?
§ How do courts influence the future?
§ What jobs are performed within courts and by whom? Are these sustainable?
§ How do changes in government policy affect such jobs?
§ Find out about new initiatives being tried today eg. Specialist courts
§ Compare the Australian system with that of another country.
§ Make predictions about the future role of courts in society.
Using TfEL to determine the HOW of learning
§ Courts essentially make decisions. Examine the factors that influence these decisions.
§ Consider the effect of decisions on different players in a court case.
§ What are the aims of decisions made by judges in courts? Do they succeed in fulfilling these? Why or why not?
This resource for schools has been made possible by the partnership between The Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) and the South Australian Law Courts. Outreach Education is a team of seconded teachers who are based in public organisations.
South Australian Law Courts Education Program
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