Work Studies (Version 8.4)

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Introduction

The Australian Curriculum: Work Studies, Years 9–10 has been written in response to key work-related issues facing young people today and into the future. This is a world-leading, future-oriented curriculum, equal in quality, value and rigour to more traditional academic programs.

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Rationale

Work has intrinsic value and is a fundamental part of everyday life. It fosters human dignity, independence and a sense of personal worth. It is recognised as a right of all people.

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Aims

The Australian Curriculum: Work Studies, Years 9–10 aims to ensure that students in Years 9 and 10 develop:
knowledge of the world of work and the importance of lifelong learning
capacities to manage careers, change and transitions in an uncertain and changing future

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Nature of work studies

Applied learning
Practically-based learning in realistic contexts is recognised internationally as being important for students in preparing for the world of work.

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Structure

The design, organisation and structure of the Work Studies Years 9–10 curriculum provides flexibility for schools to draw on the interests, capabilities and contexts of their students. It allows schools to accommodate school structures and processes, and support middle school approaches to curriculum delivery if appropriate.

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PDF documents

Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Work Studies are available as PDF documents. 
Work Studies: Sequence of content
Work Studies: Sequence of achievement 

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Glossary

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Year 10

Year 10 Level Description

The content of this year level is organised into two main interrelated strands: skills for learning and work, and career and life design. Each strand contains three sub-strands outlining the content descriptions and elaborations which contain the knowledge, understanding and skills that form the core content of the curriculum for that year level. In Year 10 the concepts and skills introduced in Year 9 are investigated and developed at a higher level. Students are encouraged to be increasingly independent and self-directed learners.


Year 10 Content Descriptions

Learning to learn

Explain how potential changes in circumstances impact on when, how and why you might learn (ACWSCL020 - Scootle )
  • mapping changes in personal circumstances over the past 12 months and how this has impacted on learning
  • predicting changes to personal circumstances in the short and medium term and developing relevant strategies to support their learning
Link personal profiles with potential work opportunities (ACWSCL021 - Scootle )
  • updating their personal profile
  • using their personal profile to identify potential careers
Assess the value of self-directed and lifelong learning in responding to changes and challenges in circumstances (ACWSCL022 - Scootle )
  • using guided reflection in developing strategies to enhance capacity as a self-directed and lifelong learner
  • monitoring the impact of change on potential learning pathways and the implications for learning and work options
  • adjusting goals, priorities and aspirations in response to change
Explain the relationship between lifelong learning and work in the 21st century and its importance for future work opportunities (ACWSCL023 - Scootle )
  • reflecting on the demands of work and further learning, including the costs and benefits, both financially and personally
  • investigating the need to be a lifelong learner in the context of their current and future aspirations for learning and work
  • identifying the factors that contribute towards successful transition from school to work
Focus their learning strategies on personal and work-related aspirations (ACWSCL024 - Scootle )
  • aligning the learning requirements of potential careers with subject choices
  • designing and implementing strategies and processes to target identified learning requirements
  • organising and prioritising work and personal commitments in an achievable timeframe

Work skills

Explain the range of skills and attributes necessary to work effectively in the 21st century (ACWSCL025 - Scootle )
  • investigating rapidly changing work arrangements and the need to be adaptable to change
  • analysing the relationship between rapidly changing work environments and the need to develop these emerging skills and the mindset to work effectively
  • developing an understanding of the need for Asia-relevant capabilities in preparation for the world of work
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
Select and use appropriate protocols for communication in workplace contexts (ACWSCL026 - Scootle )
  • recognising and evaluating the effectiveness of day-to-day workplace communications
  • evaluating the effectiveness of different ways of presenting and communicating information and ideas
  • adhering to confidentiality protocols in work contexts
  • using appropriate language, tone and non-verbal behaviours in workplaces including cross-cultural contexts
Evaluate a range of online communication tools used in work contexts (ACWSCL027 - Scootle )
  • identifying the risks of online communication such as identity theft and phishing scams
  • determining the strategies used to protect work-related information
  • examining the various methods used by employers to recruit and select staff including the use of social media and online mediums
Analyse the skills needed for effective teamwork in varying work contexts, for example, working remotely (ACWSCL028 - Scootle )
  • compiling and justifying a set of criteria to select team members to undertake a project
  • outlining processes and methods to manage the project, including negotiation and conflict resolution
  • using team members’ strengths and diverse perspectives to maximise project outcomes

Entrepreneurial behaviours

Assess the benefits of developing an ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ and its relevance to 21st century work and enterprise (ACWSCL029 - Scootle )
  • examining the knowledge, understanding and skills required to be entrepreneurial in ways that add value to self, communities, bring innovation to existing businesses and create personal employment
  • recognising the need to develop their own distinct profile by investing in their skills and capabilities to enhance future work prospects
Examine the creative and problem-solving techniques used within workplaces to resolve the tensions arising in business and community projects (ACWSCL030 - Scootle )
  • researching regional and online businesses or community projects and identifying how they balance organisational needs with human and community wellbeing and environmental sustainability
    • Sustainability
  • explaining the importance of work–life balance
  • identifying the requirements of various stakeholders and the strategies used to resolve conflicting interests
  • determining how businesses or community projects, both within Australia and from the Asia region, balance organisational needs with human and community wellbeing and environmental sustainability
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
    • Sustainability
Complete an action project utilising entrepreneurial behaviours to address an identified challenge or opportunity (ACWSCL031 - Scootle )
  • choosing a local or national business or community challenge or one from the Asia region and justifying their choice
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
  • developing a project proposal designed to address the challenge
  • completing a project plan that covers timelines, deliverables and resources; assigns team roles for the project; evaluates risks and develops contingences in response to risks
  • using digital tools to assist with planning and providing a tracking mechanism for potential progress, for example, expenditure and budget forecasting and cost-benefit analysis

Career development and management

Apply knowledge of self to career decision-making processes (ACWSCL032 - Scootle )
  • applying learning from work exposure activities to self-awareness and career decision-making
  • comparing knowledge of self with possible career and life scenarios
  • evaluating their current learning and identifying future learning needs
  • investigating the implications of career options for financial management and lifestyle
  • investigating the costs of post-school learning and the different options available to cover these costs
Use career decision-making processes to filter career scenarios (ACWSCL033 - Scootle )
  • identifying people who can support career decision-making
  • researching a range of print and digital resources to help career decision-making
  • investigating what local and global labour market data and information trends mean for career opportunities, including in the Asia region
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
  • examining how external, cultural and local factors impact on individual career decision-making
  • refining their set of career planning scenarios based on their knowledge of self and research into factors affecting career opportunities and decision-making
  • implementing initial stages of career plans in relation to immediate decisions around senior years of school and beyond

The nature of work

Analyse emerging approaches to work and the implications these have for workers to be flexible, proactive and responsive (ACWSCL034 - Scootle )
  • investigating trends in ways of working
  • examining the implications of changes in work for future work opportunities and ways of working
  • exploring factors impacting on work challenges and opportunities, including globalisation, the increasing economic influence of the Asia region, the need for more sustainable patterns of living, technological advances and knowledge-intensive service industries
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
    • Sustainability
Investigate the relationships between work cultures, work arrangements and the individual (ACWSCL035 - Scootle )
  • comparing workplace cultures and identifying common characteristics of effective and positive workplace cultures
  • exploring the implications of various working arrangements such as self-employment, contract work and working remotely on work culture from individual and business perspectives
  • building scenarios of what work culture and arrangements might look like in the future by examining the factors contributing to their evolution, including the need for sustainable patterns of living
    • Sustainability
  • understanding that personal attributes and dispositions have implications for the ‘right fit’ within an organisation and future work opportunities
Explain the roles of a range of services and agencies that support employment, self-employment and unemployment (ACWSCL036 - Scootle )
  • investigating support structures for employed, self-employed and unemployed people such as professional associations, government agencies and non-government organisations in their community
  • exploring the implications of the changing world of work on support structures relating to work contexts
  • analysing the changes in support structures within the workplace such as employee assistance schemes, child care and training, and identifying the factors contributing to these changes

Gaining and keeping work

Use a range of tools, methods and skills for accessing work relevant to 21st century recruitment and selection processes (ACWSCL037 - Scootle )
  • preparing and maintaining the relevant personal documentation for accessing work opportunities
  • distinguishing criticism from constructive feedback and the importance of feedback for self-improvement and applying this in a range of work scenarios
  • practising self-advocacy, understanding appropriate negotiation skills and applying these in a range of work scenarios
  • practising networking in its various forms including virtual and other social media
Examine the implications for work when work relationships are cross-cultural and can be local, national, regional or global (ACWSCL038 - Scootle )
  • explaining the importance of knowledge of and respect for diverse cultures and languages in a global labour market
  • incorporating protocols relating to Welcome to Country and acknowledgement of the traditional custodians of the land
    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
  • identifying essential attributes for individuals working in culturally diverse work contexts
  • investigating the growth of workplaces and enterprise partnerships between Australia and countries of the Asia region
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
Explain how diverse work arrangements are impacting on the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers (ACWSCL039 - Scootle )
  • identifying the challenges for maintaining entitlements and defining responsibilities of workers and employers
  • investigating the factors that impact on professional protocols, behaviour and presentation in diverse work arrangements
  • investigating the effects of diverse working arrangements on how workers and employers take responsibility for environmental quality
    • Sustainability

Year 10 Achievement Standards

By the end of Year 10 students explain the relationship between changing circumstances, learning and 21st century work opportunities and identify the skills needed to manage changes. They evaluate work-related communication tools and analyse the skills and capacities needed for 21st century work including appropriate communication skills, collaboration and teamwork. Students explain the importance of developing entrepreneurial skills and a distinct profile to access and manage 21st century work opportunities and challenges. Students understand the importance of growing self-awareness in improving learning, accessing work opportunities and developing appropriate skills and making more-informed subject and career choices. They analyse emerging 21st century work arrangements and the resultant changing relationships between participants, the opportunities arising and the skills needed for these emerging work arrangements. Students explain the roles of agencies associated with employment support. They outline 21st century approaches to recruitment and selection, and skills required in responding to them. Students explain the benefits of different cultural perspectives in managing work and problem-solving. They identify possible tensions arising in work-related contexts and understand the approaches to resolve conflicts and tensions.

Students process the skills required to manage change and transition. They select learning strategies and career information and sources and evaluate and align their personal capacities. They select and apply appropriate communication methods in a range of contexts. Students form and work in teams on a range of work-related tasks and observe and incorporate the skills needed to work collaboratively. They apply entrepreneurial skills to plan, implement and complete a negotiated action project. Students evaluate their findings, propose actions, make recommendations and present these to an audience of stakeholders. They synthesise increased self-knowledge and career information to school and career-based decisions and create potential career scenarios. Students research a range of information and data to identify trends in work arrangements emerging over time and evaluate agencies and organisations that support various employment situations. Students practise using and responding to 21st century recruitment and selection tools, methods and skills for accessing real and created work opportunities. Students collect and interpret information on different cultural approaches to ways of working. They explain the importance of culturally diverse workplaces to managing work, work relationships and productivity. Students apply conflict resolution methods and skills to work-related contexts.


Year 10 Work Sample Portfolios