Less than a third of Year 10 Students and just under half of Year 6 students in Australia meet proficiency levels for understanding civics and citizenship, including on Australia’s political and legal systems.
A corresponding survey of the same students found that Year 10 students are significantly less trusting of the media, social media, the police and law courts.
This year group’s interest in civic issues, including politics, has also fallen since 2019.
The results are disappointing and alarming.
But can we really expect more from these students, given what they witness in politics on the domestic and world stage?
Take what they see in federal parliament, such as during Question Time, or via social media or snippets on TV. If they see much of it at all, anymore.
They’re likely to see politicians attacking each other, creating divisions on key issues that require collaboration and bipartisan support.
Indeed, the immediate response to these findings from the major parties indicates at least a little of what might be going wrong.
The results are “another example” of the Albanese government “failing” young Australians, according to Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson.
Henderson went on to hint at “indoctrination” occurring in classrooms getting in the way of civics education (there is no evidence of this), furthering comments Dutton himself made suggesting that primary school teachers prioritising conversations about diversity over maths.
“Only a Dutton government will lead the reforms to ensure classrooms are places of education, not indoctrination,” Henderson said in the response to the “alarming” test results.
In the mainstream media – a vast majority of which is now concentrated in the hands of one man and his family, who are no longer Australian citizens – students are seeing how individual Australians are derided for their stance on multiculturalism or the climate emergency, or for making an embarrassing mistake, or for having previously made negative comments about the current US president.
And now in 2025 when current students look internationally, students are seeing an even further break down norms and standards in the once most celebrated democracy in the world. In the United States, a convicted felon can not only run for president as his party’s nominee but go on to win the popular vote and continue to bully and belittle those he doesn’t agree with, even after he becomes president.
They’ll see how the richest people in the world can become unelected decision-makers in politics, and how the richest man in the world can quickly tear apart programs supporting the poorest people in the world.
As for the girls in year 6 and year 10, won’t see enough of themselves in policymaking roles in Australia and internationally. And when they do, they may see the gendered abuse and harassment female politicians are facing, which research shows has increased significantly since 2019. And for those from an ethically diverse background? They’re even more unlikely to see their communities represented.
The test, by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), was taken by students from 600 school nationally, answering question across the two year groups
It covers an understanding of Australian democracy, policy systems and civic processes, with the latest results being the lowest recorded since 2004. The test of proficiency means for year 10 students means they can understand key elements of the justice system, the reason for compulsory voting and role of media in democracy, among other things.
In the age of misinformation, disinformation, AI and what we see on social media being increasingly controlled by the individual preferences of those at the helm of such platforms, a basic understanding of how democracy works has never been more important.
School curriculums must be updated to reflect these needs and updated to support students in accessing information relevant to their voting preferences – and an understanding how that information has been shared, the risks of misinformation and where it may have been manipulated and the role of algorithms in referencing certain messaging and issues over others.
The politicians, meanwhile, could do a much better job of setting a standard that gets students excited about democracy and the institutions that underpin it. The major parties could promote the value of have diversity in those represented, especially with a Year 6 and Year 10 student in 2025 being far more likely to have an ethnically diverse parent than the current class of Federal MPs.
But that would take courage, given the current political environment, and courage is not something students can expect to see much of from those who hold power.