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CEFA School Parliaments CEFA School Parliaments (CSP) is a major civics education project, which CEFA offers to both primary schools and secondary schools across Australia. CEFA School Parliaments empower students to become knowledgeable, responsible, engaged and active citizens. CEFA School Parliaments re-create Australia’s democratic system within the school and the students are the central players. Students are involved in creating a structure that reflects the Australian system of government. Forming political parties, students conduct elections; produce school newspapers and debate issues relevant to them, their communities, Australia and the world. Students take on the roles of parliamentarians, advisers, and parliamentary officers, ministers for special projects, committee members, journalists and cartoonists. There are several ways to implement a CSP as every primary and secondary school in Australia is different. The CEFA School Parliament can involve the whole school or be contained within a special project for specific year-groups. It can be run as an extra-curricular civics activity, during lunchtimes or after school hours, or be organised within the teaching of certain required subjects and courses. CEFA assesses and then advises and helps the school and its teachers to find an appropriate pathway. CEFA can offer CEFA School Parliaments not only to individual schools, but to clusters of schools and to alternative learning communities including groups for youth leadership, indigenous education, environmental, culturally-diverse, health and fitness, multicultural and talented children projects. CEFA has received significant recognition for CSPs including featured articles in major educational journals, accreditation for professional teacher development, state and federal educational authority endorsements, media and community recognition and support from eminent Australian leaders and ambassadors. Benefits of implementing a CEFA School Parliament To students as Australian citizens Participants develop an understanding of responsible and active civics values, so important to life-long participation in our Australian democratic community. Students learn about our history, democracy, system of government and constitution. Through CEFA School Parliaments, students become educated about Australian values including freedom of speech, voting, our rule of law and teamwork. CSPs make politics, the electoral process and democracy relevant to students and allow them to experience an adult world while still at school. They take on personal responsibility within school and their families. CEFA School Parliaments enable students to actively participate at a young age in positions of responsibility as well as engage in active understanding of modern issues relating to civics, citizenship and values.
To teachers and schools in fulfilling curricular requirements CEFA School Parliaments are designed as grass roots whole-of-school civics and citizenship, values education projects intended to eventually engage the majority of students in a school community, not only the academic elite. A CSP is highly experiential and addresses outcomes outlined in state and territory syllabuses. It encompasses cross-curricular activities across all Key Learning Areas, and can successfully create a multidimensional learning experience for the whole school. It immerses participants in a continual learning process, which can last for their whole school life and foster a desire for life-long learning and interest regarding civics and citizenship. It incorporates self-directed learning, and student ownership of the learning process to create an optimal educational experience.
For detailed instructions and resources on how to implement a parliament in your school please follow the appropriate links below: |
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