7–10Commerce 7–10 Syllabus

The organisation of outcomes and content for Commerce 7–10 highlights the development of knowledge and understanding of consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and work concepts and issues.

Outcomes and content are organised under focus areas.

Figure 1 shows the organisation of Commerce 7–10.

Image long description: The 5 core focus areas of Commerce 7–10 appear in boxes in a row under the heading ‘Core focus areas’. From left to right they are: The consumer and financial environment; The economic environment; The business environment; The legal and political environment; and The work environment. Grouped under the core focus areas, the 9 options appear in boxes. From left to right, they are: Our economy; Running a business; Promoting and selling; Investing; Law in action; Political and community involvement; The travel consumer; Towards independence; and School-developed option. A line labelled ‘Options’ circles the 9 focus area options and connects with the 5 core focus areas.

Students with disability can access the syllabus outcomes and content in a range of ways. Decisions regarding curriculum options should be made in the context of collaborative curriculum planning.

Some students with intellectual disability may find the Years 7–10 Life Skills outcomes and content the most appropriate option to follow in Stage 4 and/or Stage 5. Before determining whether a student is eligible to undertake a course based on Life Skills outcomes and content, consideration should be given to other ways of assisting the student to engage with the Stage 4 and/or Stage 5 outcomes, or prior stage outcomes if appropriate. This assistance may include a range of adjustments to teaching, learning and assessment activities.

Life Skills outcomes cannot be taught in combination with other outcomes from the same subject. Teachers select specific Life Skills outcomes to teach based on the needs, strengths, goals, interests and prior learning of each student. Students are required to demonstrate achievement of one or more Life Skills outcomes.

NESA is committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal Communities and supporting teachers, schools and schooling sectors to improve educational outcomes for young people.

It is important to respect appropriate ways of interacting with Aboriginal Communities and Cultural material when teachers plan, program and implement learning experiences that focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Priorities.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protocols need to be followed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ICIP protocols include Cultural Knowledges, Cultural Expression and Cultural Property and documentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Identities and lived experiences. It is important to recognise the diversity and complexity of different Cultural groups in NSW, as protocols may differ between local Aboriginal Communities.

Teachers should work in partnership with Elders, parents, Community members, Cultural Knowledge Holders, or a local, regional or state Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. It is important to respect Elders and the roles of men and women. Local Aboriginal Peoples should be invited to share their Cultural Knowledges with students and staff when engaging with Aboriginal histories and Cultural Practices.

The development of the Commerce 7–10 Syllabus follows Recommendation 2: ‘Clarify and strengthen writing content in syllabus documents’ from Teaching Writing: Report of the Thematic Review of Writing (NESA 2018).

Creating written texts facilitates learning as it promotes explicitness, encourages the integration of ideas, supports reflection, fosters personal engagement and aids learners to think about the significance and implication of ideas. Each subject has particular and specific writing demands relevant for communicating within and about the discipline. Writing about content enhances understanding across subjects and stages.

The secondary curriculum includes:

• systematic development of expectations for creating written texts which align with the English K–10 Syllabus (2022)
• explicit writing content to support students to become fluent creators of texts and to deepen their understanding of the subject area
• opportunities to practise the process of creating written texts to develop and communicate knowledge, understanding and ideas
• a focus on development of word consciousness and precise use of subject-specific terminology.

Creating written texts refers to the act of composing and constructing a text for a particular purpose, audience and context.

Various methods of transcription may be employed, and a student’s preferred communication form(s) should be considered when teaching.

The outcomes describe the knowledge, understanding and skills that students are expected to demonstrate as a result of teaching and learning. Teachers should use the outcomes to determine the scope of learning for the content included in each focus area.

The amount of content associated with a given outcome is not necessarily indicative of the amount of time spent engaging with the respective outcome. Teachers use formative and summative assessment to determine instructional priorities and the time needed for students to demonstrate expected outcomes.

The content groups are not intended to be hierarchical. In considering the intended learning, teachers make decisions about the sequence and emphasis to be given to particular groups of content based on the needs and abilities of their students.

Students develop knowledge and understanding of Commerce concepts and skills.

Concepts

• Consumer and financial literacy
• Resource allocation and decision-making
• Entrepreneurship
• Civics and citizenship
• Government and democracy
• Work and work futures

Skills

• Decision-making and problem-solving in relation to consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and work contexts
• Effective research and communication
• Working independently and collaboratively

Site studies may be integrated into the study of Commerce 7–10.

Site studies:

• enable students to explore the processes that take place in consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and work environments
• provide opportunities for students to develop their understanding of the key factors influencing decisions that shape their lives
• can involve examination of a physical or virtual space that relates to a consumer, financial, economic, business, legal, political and/or work context.

Some students with disability may require adjustments and/or additional support to engage in site studies.

Suggestions for site studies can be found in the teaching advice for this syllabus.