Teachers, especially history teachers, are crucial to helping students realise their role as citizens within our democratic society.

Typically, Australian democracy is an exercise in national unity; In 2024 it represented an airing of divisions. Racial, regional, and economic fissures were aired, yet at the same time we also saw the highest number of democratic elections in world history (nearly 100).

The failure of the Voice to Parliament Referendum - which involves the whole voting population changing an element of the constitution - was a blow to Anthony Albanese’s Labor government – whose first pronouncement was an expressed intention to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. For Indigenous communities, various leaders commented that this failure set efforts of First Nations recognition in the Australian constitution back another generation.

In this zeitgeist, more moderate political perspectives that advocated inclusion were marginalised; Indeed, this was something of a trend in many democratic events and elections around the world that suggested a surge in authoritarian approaches to government. The most notable of these was the election of Donald Trump on a platform that challenged immigration and championed protectionism, but it also extended to the populist politics of India’s Nehrendra Modi, Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, and the overturning of the ANC’s post-Apartheid dominance of South African politics by Cyril Ramaphosa.

Education and democracy have been linked since ancient times; in Australia, the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) declaration foregrounds the role of schools and teachers in encouraging active and informed community membership. But the gap between policy and practice in this respect is a wide one, and it is often the case that teachers feel unsure about how to actually enact this goal.

We tackle this problem in a tripartite process. First, we propose that civic values can be taught by cultivating historical consciousness, which itself is framed by an intention to develop moral consciousness. Moral consciousness is developed by engaging with moral principles and ethical judgements. This can be done effectively by engaging with and interpreting historical examples. These conditions seed the way that democratic consciousness can then be generated in schooling contexts. In theory, we argue that these ingredients, used well, will increase the likelihood that students will be disposed towards becoming engaged democratic citizens.

Our second proposition is that by clarifying the conditions about how historical consciousness can be cultivated in tandem with moral consciousness, there will be a higher likelihood that curriculum will be implemented with consideration to how types of pedagogy can be tailored so to predispose citizens towards forms of social justice that will benefit themselves and others. This ethos works against the aspects of history curriculum which are incorporated but exclusionary, such as elements that perpetuate settler-colonial narratives and/or omit significant Indigenous political actions (like the Tent Embassy or the Yirrkala bark petitions).

The methodologies that we propose can focus analytical thinking on challenging the status quo of inequities and inequalities that currently exist in Australian society. To articulate these points we interrogate how case studies might work as part of teaching about climate change action and a future case study of the failed Voice to Parliament Referendum from 2023.

We also intend this article as part invitation, part provocation: For teachers to become curriculum makers, by shifting their practices to include dialogic forms of pedagogy as part of embodying democratic principles. This step involves enacting practices that connect learning experiences with practices that inform present and future community involvement as part of engaging people connected with schooling towards a just future.

A vote for Australian democratic consciousness: teaching civics through history by David Nally (University of Newcastle, Australia), Steven Kolber (Flinders University, Australia) and Keith Heggart (University of Technology Sydney, Australia) is part of the HERJ Series Democratic resilience and regression in history education since 1945 and published in History Education Research Journal, volume 21

David Nally has previously held roles coordinating HSIE Faculties and Gifted and Talented Programs at various schools in Sydney. His PhD research, based at the University of Newcastle, focuses on Post-Truth, the impacts of its related issues (such as misinformation, inequalities and AI) on education, and how educators can address them.

Steven Kolber is a teacher, lecturer, policy writer and researcher, with interests in improving outcomes for teachers. He was a proud public school teacher for 12 years, being named a top 50 finalist in the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize. His most recent publication, ‘Empowering Teachers and Democratising Schooling: Perspectives from Australia’, co-edited with Keith Heggart showcases teachers and academics’ insights. Steven has represented teachers globally for Education International, at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the OECDs Global Teaching Insights, and UNESCOs Teacher Task Force 2030.

Keith Heggart is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Director of the Centre for Research on Education in a Digital Society (CREDS). Keith's passion lies in civics, citizenship, and digital learning, and his work spans research, teaching, and leadership in these fields.

pedagogy curriculum democratic consciousness history teaching democratic education