YEARS 11 AND 12 ACADEMIC INFORMATION HANDBOOK

HUMANITIES LEARNING AREA

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE – ATAR COURSE

The Accounting and Finance ATAR course aims to make students financially literate by creating an understanding of the systems and processes through which financial practices and decision making are carried out, as well as the ethical, social and environmental issues involved.

 

Through engagement with the course, students develop an understanding of the fundamentals on which accounting and financial management are based. Many students will find themselves self-employed and there is a high probability that they will have to engage in some form of accounting practices. Having an understanding of these practices enables them to analyse their own financial data and make informed decisions based on that analysis.

 

In a rapidly changing world, the impact of technology on financial and accounting practices has been vast. The use of computer systems for record keeping, and the communication of financial data is already vital, and will continue to shape future careers.

 

Year 11

Unit 1

The focus for this unit is on double entry accounting for small businesses. Students apply their understanding of financial principles, systems and institutions to manage financial information and make decisions in a variety of small businesses. Students develop an understanding of the rationale for the use of particular conventions and principles and the consequences of disregarding them. Students record and process financial information using the double entry system and apply the principles of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Students learn about the various forms of business organisations adopted by small business.

 

Unit 2

The focus for this unit is on accrual accounting. Students apply financial systems and principles to the operations of businesses and distinguish between cash and accrual methods of accounting. Students prepare and analyse financial reports for a variety of types of business organisations and become familiar with the main aspects of electronic processing of financial data. Students learn of the role and functions of the professional accounting and financial associations.

 

Year 12

Unit 3

The focus for this unit is on internal management for business. Students prepare and interpret budgets and performance reports in relation to forecasting a business’s future. The unit distinguishes between internal and external reporting requirements. Decision-making processes using cost accounting techniques are a feature of the unit. The unit focuses on critical analysis of financial information. The unit also explores the importance of short and long term planning for business.

 

Unit 4

The focus for this unit is on Australian reporting entities and how they are regulated by the Corporations Act 2001. The Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of General Purpose Financial Reports (The Framework) and the Accounting Standards are used in the preparation of the financial statements for a reporting entity. The financing options of larger entities are identified and evaluated, particularly in relation to conformity with basic principles, including profitability and stability. The unit addresses corporate social disclosure issues and ethical behaviour within corporations.

ECONOMICS – ATAR COURSE

You will be influenced by Economics as a citizen for your lifetime. Economics is a key discipline in many professional occupations and careers.

 

Economics investigates the choices which all people, groups and societies face as they confront the ongoing problem of satisfying their unlimited wants with limited resources. Economics aims to understand and analyse the allocation, utilisation and distribution of scarce resources that determine our wealth and wellbeing. Economics develops the knowledge, reasoning and interpretation skills that form an important component of understanding individual, business and government behaviour at the local, national and global levels.

 

The Economics course develops reasoning, logical thinking and interpretation skills demanded by the world of work, business and government. The learning experiences available through studying this course explore the knowledge, values and opinions which surround the complex range of economic events and issues facing our community, such as unemployment, income distribution, business strategy and international relations.

 

Year 11

Unit 1: Microeconomics

This unit explores the theory that markets are an efficient way to allocate scarce resources, using real world markets with an emphasis on the Australian economy. When the forces of demand and supply do not allocate and price resources in a way that society would regard as efficient, equitable or sustainable, market failure can occur. Students examine examples of market failure along with a range of government policy options that can be applied to achieve more desirable outcomes. Students are also introduced to the language of economics and the use of theories and models to explain and interpret economic events and issues.

 

Unit 2: Macroeconomics

This unit explores the government’s role in a modified market economy and Australia’s recent (the last ten years) and contemporary (the last three years) macroeconomic performance. The cyclical fluctuations in the level of economic activity result in changes in the levels of output, income, spending and employment in the economy which, in turn, have implications for economic growth, inflation and unemployment. Students examine the role of government, through its spending and taxing powers, which can affect the allocation and price of resources, and the level of economic activity by targeting economic objectives.

 

Year 12

Unit 3: Australia and the global economy

It explores the interdependence of Australia and the rest of the world. Australia is a relatively open economy and, as such, is influenced by changes in the world economy. It explores the linkages between economies and the concepts of globalisation, trade liberalisation and protection in relation to the Australian economy. Students examine Australia’s trade, the recording of international transactions and the impact of these transactions on the Australian economy.

 

Unit 4: Economic policies and management

It explores how economic actions and policies such as fiscal policy, monetary policy and microeconomic reform operate in the pursuit of the Australian Government’s economic objectives. The changes that have taken place in the operation of these policies in recent times are also examined. Students learn to make informed predictions about the operation of these policies using economic models and past and current key economic data. Students apply the language, theories and tools of economics to develop a critical perspective on the role of these policies in the economy.

GEOGRAPHY – ATAR COURSE

Geography is the study of physical and cultural environments from a spatial perspective. It provides students with the knowledge and skills to observe and describe places on the surface of the Earth, and from a spatial perspective analyse and provide explanations on human and physical phenomena and their complex interactions. They develop a range of skills that help them to understand the physical world, interpret the past, scrutinise the present and explore sustainable strategies for the future care of places.

 

Year 11

Unit 1

The focus of this unit is the understanding of natural and ecological hazards, their impacts and how they can be managed at local, regional and global levels. Management refers to prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

 

Unit 2

The focus of this unit is the process of international integration (globalisation) and is based on the reality that we live in an increasingly interconnected world. It provides students with an understanding of the economic and cultural transformations taking place in the world today.

 

Skills

Posing questions, collecting statistical data and finding trends and solutions are all part of Geography. More than ever the course will require the interpretation and presentation of diagrams, photographs, tables and maps.

 

Units 1 and 2 have one-day fieldtrips.

 

Year 12

Unit 3

The focus of this unit is the changing biophysical cover of the Earth’s surface, the creation of human environments and the resulting impacts on either the global climate or biodiversity. Students will apply the concepts of sustainability to examine and evaluate programs to address these negative impacts.

 

Unit 4

The focus of this unit is the geography of planning cities. Challenges exist in designing cities to be more productive, vibrant and sustainable. Urban planning involves a range of stakeholders that contribute to decision-making and the planning process. The present and future needs of society are addressed by the allocation and reallocation of land uses, improving infrastructure and transport systems and enhancing amenities to meet the different perspectives of stakeholders. Students will examine concepts, processes and roles of planning by comparing Perth with a selected megacity.

 

Units 3 and 4 have one-day fieldtrips.

MODERN HISTORY – ATAR COURSE

Studying the Modern History ATAR course enables students to become critical thinkers and helps inform their judgements and actions in a rapidly changing world. Students are exposed to a variety of historical sources, including government papers, extracts from newspapers, letters, diaries, photographs, cartoons, paintings, graphs and secondary sources, in order to determine the cause and effect, and the motives and forces influencing people and events. Through the process of historical inquiry, students are encouraged to question and evaluate historical sources; identify various representations and versions of history; use evidence to formulate and support their own interpretations; and communicate their findings in a variety of ways.

 

The study of Modern History can lead to careers in: Law, journalism, public relations, television, advertising and multimedia development, literature, publishing, performing arts, archaeology, museum curating, conservation and social work, teaching, travel writing, human resources and industrial relations, policing, criminology, crime detection, politics, public service and local government.

 

Year 11

Unit 1: Understanding the modern world: Capitalism – the American experience (1907–1941)

This unit provides an introduction to significant developments in the modern period that have defined the modern world, and the ideas that underpinned them, such as liberty, equality and fraternity. Key content for this unit includes:

  • The main causes of the rise of capitalism in the USA; The role and impact of significant individuals in the period, key ideas of: theories of capitalism; The impact of WWI, the 1920s, and WWII until 1941; The growth of consumerism; and the shaping of American values, for example, film and fashion, prohibition and the ‘Jazz Age’; The causes of the Great Depression, the impact of capitalism on different groups within American society.

Unit 2: Movements for change in the 20th century: Nazism in Germany

This unit examines significant movements developed in response to the ideas studied in Unit 1 that brought about change in the modern world and that have been subject to political debate. The unit focuses on the ways in which individuals, groups and institutions challenge authority and transform society. Key content for this unit includes:

  • The economic, political and military circumstances in Germany at the end of WWI and how those circumstances contributed to the rise of Nazism; The reasons for the Nazi Party’s rise to power; The nature and effects of key aspects of the Nazi state; Nazi policies of anti-Semitism and the promotion of the Aryan race, the role and impact of significant individuals in Weimar and Nazi Germany; The legacy of Nazism after WWII.

Year 12

Unit 3: Modern nations in the 20th century: Russia and the Soviet Union 1914–1945 (World War I to the end of World War II)

This unit examines the characteristics of modern nations in the 20th century; the crises that confronted nations, their responses to these crises and the different paths nations have taken to fulfil their goals. Students study the characteristics of one nation. An overview of Russia in 1914 as background for more intensive study of the period. The content for this unit includes:

  • the significant ideas of the period, including autocracy, Marxism, communism, Leninism, Stalinism, and collectivisation; the significance of the struggle of Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky for power and the reasons for the success of Stalin; the changes that transformed Russia, including War Communism; the New Economic Policy; the creation of the USSR; the Five Year Plans and how they contributed to state control of the economy, forced rural collectivisation, state-created famine and the modernisation of the Soviet Union; the social/cultural impact of Bolshevism and Stalin’s Cultural Revolution to 1945; the impact of World War II and the methods that enabled the USSR to secure victory; the role and impact of significant individuals in the period, including political, military and social/cultural leaders.

 

Unit 4: The modern world since 1945: The changing European world since 1945

This unit examines some significant and distinctive features of the modern world within the period 1945–2001. This includes changes to the nature of the world order: shifting international tensions, alliances and power blocs; the emergence of Asia as a significant international political and economic force, and the nature of engagement by and with Australia; the nature of various conflicts and regional and international attempts to create peace and security. Key content for the unit includes:

  • an overview, Cold War to 1948; the significant ideas of the period, including communism, capitalism, democracy, containment, peaceful co-existence, détente, glasnost and perestroika, nationalism, and re-integration; the evolving nature and character of the Cold War in Europe from 1948 through to détente; significant developments that followed the end of the Cold War in 1989; the development of European governance and extension of the ‘European Union’, the changing nature of world order in the period 1989–2001, with specific reference to the place of Europe and the European nation states within that world order; the role of significant political leaders throughout the period.

POLITICS AND LAW – ATAR COURSE

Politics and Law is a study of the processes of decision-making concerning society’s collective future. It aims to develop knowledge of the principles, structures, institutions and processes of political and legal systems primarily in Australia. It brings together the judicial, executive and legislative arms of government to demonstrate how society is governed and examines the philosophy and values on which society is governed.

 

Students will be encouraged to participate in the Interschool Mock Trial competition as barristers, witnesses and solicitors. This is held at the Central Law Courts throughout Semester I.

 

Year 11 students have the option to travel to Canberra for a week to visit Old and New Parliament Houses and observe Question Time and participate in committee hearings, the War Memorial, the Electoral Commission, the High Court, the National Portrait Gallery, National Archive and the Sound and Screen Museum.

 

Year 11

Units 1 and 2

The study of Politics and Law will play a significant role in producing informed citizens who understand the processes of decision making concerning society’s collective future. The course also aims to support all students in developing a sense of awareness of their basic legal rights, obligations and duties.

 

The Politics and Law course will allow students to develop knowledge and understanding of the principles, structures, institutions, processes and practices of the political and legal systems, primarily in Australia. The course will, however, encourage students to question, analyse and understand different political and legal systems around the world.

 

Topics in Year 11 include: the electoral systems, political parties, pressure groups, the operation of Parliament, as well as the Court hierarchy and the criminal and civil trial processes in WA. Contemporary political and legal issues/events are the focus of research assignments. 

 

Recent and current events and issues, both at home and abroad, are the focus of class discussions and will allow students to formulate their own opinions about national and international events.

 

Year 12

Unit 3: Political and legal power

Students will examine how the roles of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government maintain and develop the law. Students will consider the influence of individuals, pressure groups, political parties, public opinion, and the media and internal and external factors on law making. There is a close study of the constitution and federalism, the 1975 constitutional crises as well as the High Court and how some of its judicial interpretations affect the federal balance.

 

Unit 4: Rights and governance

Students will examine the ways political and legal systems respond to contemporary civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights issues. Students will examine the ways countries can uphold or undermine democratic principles by examining their political and legal structures, means of exercising power, judicial independence, representation, and the extent of popular participation, natural justice and the rule of law. The protection of human rights abuses are discussed as well as the judicial activism evident in the recent High Court decisions and a study of the protection of human rights in Australia and another country. This has relevance to the present asylum seeker debate. Accountability of the legislature, executive and the judiciary is a key element of this course and the agencies that keep them accountable are examined e.g., CCC, Royal Commissions etc.