Family Court of Western Australia - Essay Example

ORDER NUMBER 122404 Assignment: To conduct a literary search of SECONDARY SOURCES and prepare an annotated bibliography that examines whether or not communications by the Family Court of Western Australia (judgments, how to appear, etc.) with its’ clients is enhanced by, or suffers because of, civics education in Western Australia. 1. Introduction: The task here comprises a number of different elements, namely: a) A literary search for appropriate Secondary Sources; b) the preparation of a bibliography with relevant annotations; c) to consider the value of communications by the FCWA; and d) civics education in relation to FCWA processes. 2. Selection of sources for the assignment: Sources were selected with a view to covering as many aspects of the subject matter as possible, bearing in mind that the bibliography is limited to ten items and that these should include four scholarly and six non-scholarly articles. For the sake of logical progression, the items are arranged according to subject matter based on the two main categories so as to represent Family Court topics on the one hand and Civics and Citizenship education on the other hand. 3. THE BIBLIOGRAPHY. SECTION A: ARTICLES DEALING WITH THE FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE FAMILY COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Preamble: Initially the jurisdiction of the Family Court of Australia was defined by section 31 of the Family Law Act of 1975 and the focus was described as “matrimonial causes”, with jurisdiction covering the dissolution of marriages as well as matters arising from such cases, including agreements, decrees, orders, maintenance arrangements, etc. With regard to Children, the Family Law Reform Act of 1995 brought some significant changes an important one being that the terms and concepts of “guardianship, Custody, and Access” were replaced and are now embodied in new terms such as “Parental Responsibility”, “Residence”, “Contact” and “Specific Issues Orders”. The Reforms are based on the fact that the Court recognises the basic Human Rights of Children and acknowledges that the “Child’s Best Interests” must be served at all times. The Family Court also deals with the property of separating families. In order to achieve its goals the Family Court endeavours to provide the highest possible level of user-friendly access to its facilities. Foremost among measures employed in this regard would be the variety of communications available to clients and their families and which are accessible via all forms of modern communication systems. Information is provided in respect of access, step-by-step guides, telephone services, publications and counselling professionals. i) Kerin, Paul and Paul Murphy (1998). Overview of an Emerging Model of an Integrated Family Court System. Paper presented at the Eighth Australian Institute of Family Conference, Melbourne, 12-14 February, 2003. Annotation: The paper describes an innovative Pilot Project of the Family Court of Western Australia. The project, which started in July 2001, is known as Columbus. The aim was to case-manage individual cases – particularly those where there were allegations of violence and/or abuse and with a serious element of risk for the children of the family. Columbus became a catalyst for a number of important changes. Court Officials and Counselling Service Staff of the Court gained new insights and skills in these very complex scenarios of family break-ups and litigation. The need to liase more closely with internal as well as outside service providers, such as counsellors, social workers, psychologists, and other experts, brought a greater feeling of common purpose and it was soon clear that a potential model of an integrated family court system was beginning to emerge. The Family Court of Australia was intended to be seen as a “helping court” with an informal and user-friendly approach, but this soon changed as formalising occurred naturally in response to intense emotional circumstances which would inevitably arise in cases of family especially where prevailing legal activities tended to result in adversarial stances on the part of litigants. It was felt that the system was still limited and the Family Court on its own could not achieve outcomes that would benefit all parties, but particularly the children. In view of the growing number of applications for divorce and threat of disintegration of society, it was felt that greater use should be made of professionals from the social sciences, including psychologists, social workers, and child specialists. The Columbus project was developed to assist and encourage separated parents to acknowledge the debilitating effect of their actions on the children and to assist them with finding solutions to their differences without recourse to prolonged litigation. The ideal is for the Family Court to become an agent for therapeutic jurisprudence and this is the particular focus of the Family Court of Western Australia which operates as an independent court of the State with a number of permanent staff members and with a wider sphere of activity with regard to family matters. Columbus recently became a fully-fledged Legal system with expanded jurisdiction to include greater involvement in the management of individual cases, the appointment of effective children’s representatives for each case, who must pursue the best possible outcomes for the involved children. Allegations of abuse are regarded as a priority and all such cases must be investigated expeditiously. Protocols for sharing of information and experience with other government departments and private service providers are being developed so that all possible resources can be used in conflict resolution and other family matters. The Columbus Project has become a centre for interdisciplinary research and there are plans for the Court to eventually broaden its jurisdiction to include cases of substance abuse. ii) Nicholson, Alastair and Margaret Harrison. [2000]. Family Law and the Family Court of Australia: Experiences of the First 25 Years – [2000] MULR 30; (2000) 24 Melbourne University Library, available from www.austli.edu.au/au/journals/MULR/2000/30.html. Annotation: This article is significant in that one of the authors is the Honourable Chief Justice (AO RFD) meaning that information in the article will be taken from personal experience and insights gained into the development and implementation of laws relating to families and, eventually, the establishment of the Family Court. The brief outline of the historical background is useful in that it is possible to appreciate more fully the advantages and benefits that were made available through the introduction of the Family Law Act in 1975 and the establishment of the Family Court to provide for the special needs of parties involved in marriage problems, keeping in mind particularly the well-being of children. The authors point out that one of the main features of the Family Law Act is that it introduced an entirely new concept in terms of a no-fault form of divorce and a holistic approach to dispute resolution and care of affected children. The Family Court would have its own permanent staff, consisting of legal as well as counselling professionals and it would, in addition, provide such holistic services as can be beneficial to all parties by making use also of outside professionals. In the acknowledging the fact that children’s needs are to be the greatest priority in all cases of marital break-ups, the court also provides for the appointment of representatives for children where this is deemed desirable by the Court. The authors also point out that the Family Law Act and the Family Court are not primarily about divorce and that separating couples will be provided with all possible means for reconciliation, but that, where divorce is going to happen any way, there will be mechanisms to deal with all relevant aspects such as property distribution, arrangements for children, maintenance and support. One of the main ideals of the Family Court and Family Law is to preserve the institution of marriage wherever possible and, whatever happens, it must make every effort to ensure that children will be treated with dignity and respect and that they will be seen as actors in the process in their own right and that they should be allowed to have a say in their own affairs. In this regard, the Family Court provides for the appointment of child representatives where appropriate. Although the Family Court and Family Law is not primarily about divorce, there are provisions for dealing with aspects of divorce such as principal rights, duties, powers and liabilities between spouses and between. The Family Court is aware of the fact that parties in marital conflict have to contend with a very different experience that those in other kinds of civil disputes – this mainly due to the intensely emotional nature of the event and the fact that the parties will have to maintain contact after settlement and that such contact will be ongoing and reasonable if there are children. The authors see the establishment of the Family Court as an important step towards achieving better family and social relationships and better outcomes for the children of divorced parents. In comparison the generalist courts do not adequate regard for marriage disputes and children’s affairs. Generally speaking, also, family legal matters are not particularly popular amongst generalist lawyers. The authors also recognize that there will always be some cause for criticism and concern, but that the Family Court and Family Law can be flexible enough to cope with changing circumstances and changing societal norms and views, to quote from the conclusion: “As always, there is always much happening in the Family Law area and the Family Court is constantly striving to improve its methods and procedures. The Court will continue to be criticised, often unfairly, because of the nature of its jurisdiction, but it is, and will continue to be, a world leader in the delivery of law services in the 21st century.” (p.19) iii) Chisholm, Richard.(2000). Children’s Participation in Family Court Litigation. A paper delivered at the International Society of Family Law, 10th World Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 9-13 July 2000. Australian Journal of Family Law 197-218. Retrieved from Google Scholar, 04/27/06, 12h31. Annotation: The author of this article is a judge of the Family Court of Australia, obviously a person well-qualified to discuss the complex matter of child participation. A subject that might appear to be quite simple and straightforward to the lay person, but one which becomes more and more complex once the finer details are examined. The author mentions the fact that traditionally discussions of this nature tend to focus on potential disadvantages rather than potential advantages and, as he says: “So I thought it might be useful to draw up lists of ways in which children might participate, and ways in which participation might be good for them or bad for them” (p. 197). The author believes that such speculation about children’s participation in various kinds of cases could lead to further knowledge and wisdom and that this would assist decision-makers who have to decide whether children should participate and if the answer is “yes” (which he suggests it should be), then there would have to be fresh decisions each time in order to cater for circumstances in each individual case. During pre-trial stages basic principles are established with a view to providing for the best possible outcome for all, though the welfare of the child is always of primary importance. In seeking for a suitable answer to the question of child participation, the author suggests that it is necessary to consider all aspects of chldren’s rights and though their rights are recognised, there are times when it is not appropriate to burden them with the responsibility of adult rights for it is important to acknowledge the special position of children and the fact that they have a right to privacy and childhood. as well as respect and dignity. If they are to participate in a court action involving parents, many of their rights could be jeopardised or compromised, especially if there is also a history of family violence Considering the FlA’s focus on the best interests of children, the author finds no mention about actual child participation, though it does provide for mechanisms for discovering what their wishes might be, such as: obtaining them from a family report written produced by independent agent as stipulated by the Court, or via the child’s appointed representative. There are also provisions for interviews with a judge but not regarded as particularly beneficial seeing that judges don’t necessarily have training in the necessary skills. Children can be called as witnesses but not to give evidence against either parent. When it comes to preparation for trial, children can be interviewed by an appropriately trained person but since the majority of parental responsibility cases are settled pre-trial, the child is not often involved in decisions about himself/herself. Disadvantages of participation – could result in too much responsibility on the child, could erode parental authority and make residence management more difficult, thus further stress for the child as there could be retribution, manipulation and any number of other risks as a result. In spite of all the potential difficulties, the author feels that there are many benefits to be obtained from child participation, such as: parents can become more aware of the impact of their actions; the child’s needs can help them to focus on better planning for the child’s happiness and future stability; sometimes the child can see solutions to quandaries about parenting and sharing of responsibilities after separation. Sometimes a mediator, being a third party with training, could be in a better position to listen to the child’s wishes and concerns and to convey these to the parents and the Court. The author concludes by proposing that children must be listened to and they have a right to know and that these two objectives must be pursued and facilitated in every possible way in order to ensure better outcomes for the children of divorcing parents. In the matter of appointing a child representative, experience has shown that there is still a lot of room for improvement. The contribution of child representatives has been found to be disappointing due to the fact that the representative rarely obtains information directly from the child and hardly ever asks about the child’s wishes and suggestions and even when he/she does, children feel that their wishes are not taken seriously enough and that often they are not even conveyed to the parties concerned. On the other hand, if the child is asked to give evidence, it is difficult to protect him from cross-examination by a parent or parent’s lawyer and this could be extremely harmful in the aftermath. In the case of violence or abuse, participation could actually place the child in grave danger. In the final analysis, it is clear that children should be acknowledged, their views respected, and their wishes conveyed and they must be informed all the way about what is going on and how their situations could change in the future. iv) Hay, Alison. (2003). Child Protection and The Family Court of Western Australia: The Experiences of Children and Protective Parents. Paper presented at the Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or Alternative Resolution Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology and held in Adelaide, 1-2 May 2003. Annotation: According to this paper, there is evidence to show that resolving child protection cases is becoming the core business of the Family Court. Cases with an element of domestic violence are constantly on the increase and sexual abuse cases are not far behind in terms of numbers and complexity due to inherent element of secrecy and very real risk factors for the child as well as the protective parent. Evidence can be hard to obtain and difficult to articulate, especially by the child victims. Agencies other than the Family Court would include the Territory Statutory Child Protection Agency and Court experts. Even so, allegations are not always investigated and sometimes no action is taken even where evidence is available, thus leaving it all up to the Family Court to investigate and to determine intervention of the abuse through residency and contact proceedings. Mechanisms for obtaining evidence from children are in place in the Family Court, including experts such as an appointed child representative – though these are not always satisfactory if they do not listen to the child’s evidence, views, and wishes. Considering that there is obviously and always room for improvement, the study objective of this paper is to explore the experience of children and their protective parents as they are assessed for the Family Court where there are allegations of abuse or violence. As is the case with so many of the other studies in this field, there are disappointing experiences with regard to child representatives and other assisting experts. The setting of this study is the Family Court of Western Australia which is unique in that it was established independently and particularly to deal with the dissolution of marriages in the State and to deal with decisions regarding property, child residency, and contact. Methods for the study included interviews with children and protective parents as well as with child and family counsellors and therapists. The Court experts had assessed all the participants; Allegations of abuse and violence were important factors for including the participants in the study. Questions were formulated to gain information with regard to children’s experiences and perceptions after assessment. No case would be identical to another, but what they did have in common would be experiences of abuse and the kind of court assessment that is demanded in such cases. Results showed that there were the usual concerns about representatives and court experts and the worry that their expressed evidence and wishes would not be respected. Also interesting was the fact that participants had not been informed about the nature of proceedings nor about methods and reasons for assessment. The information had to be obtained informally either from the protective parent or just by observing and forming personal conclusions. The lack of information and the unprofessional attitude of assessing experts seemed to interfere with the process of establishing the facts of the matter seeing that there would have been an element of suspicion fear of manipulation and revenge. Expressions of confidence in assessing persons were rare. Experts appeared to be uninterested and possibly even bored with “hearing the same old story.” as it seemed to the participants. All the children reported that the Family Court had a detrimental effect on their lives. Of particular concern was the fact that the Court would invariably insist on contact with the offending parent and there were even fears that the child would be forced to live with a violence or abusive parent. Children’s perspectives on their representatives were mostly negative and it emerged that in some cases the child had never met the person or at other times the representative seemed to have no interest in their concerns or even in the risks that they could be exposed to. All the children felt that their views and concerns were ignored by the Court. Responses of protective parents were similar to those of the children and they also reported concerns about accusations of brainwashing, threats of losing their children to the other parent, or being sent for psychiatric observation and exposing the child to Mothers reported feeling that the court was dismissive of their concerns, that they were inclined to minimise their experiences and that as a result they felt insecure and more vulnerable than ever. In concluding, the author finds that many of the complaints and accounts of negative experiences were valid and that this would indicate that further reforms were essential and that greater care should be taken in selecting and training of child representatives and assessment experts. v) Smith, Anne B. and Megan M. Gollop. (2003) What Children Think Separating Parents should know. Melbourne Journal of Politics, Vol. 29. Retrieved April 28 from Questia Database: http://www.questia.com, 10h25. Annotation: The author sets out to investigate the views of children by way of direct interviews with children whose lives have been affected by divorce and separation. Based on information so obtained, the author can identify certain themes and impressions that seem to surface in one way or another during interviews. The strongest theme has to do with information and the fact that most of the children feel deprived and bewildered because they don’t know what is happening and how events will affect them. Consequently the predominant view amongst children is that they are vulnerable victims who are not given an opportunity to take part in matters of great concern to them. They are not impressed that decisions are made on their behalf without any input or advice being sought from them. The paper demonstrates that children are quite capable of taking part as social actors rather than as permanent victims. They have definite concerns and perfectly valid views about themselves and their parents and could provide valuable advice with regard to arrangements for their future. In view of their findings, the authors recommend that psychologists and other child experts can play a valuable role in encouraging the Court to take their views into account for the benefit of the children and, eventually for the benefit of society as They can name over 200 research projects that prove that children from divorce have a higher probability of adverse outcomes, poorer performance at school, greater health risks and possible anti-social behaviour. It is felt that all of these effects could be minimised if recent research is taken into account in order that children will be treated in accordance with their needs and requirements. The findings in this paper echo so many of the findings of other writers and researchers and, taking into account what is known about children and society in these modern times, it seems that the recommendations for improvement are so natural and straightforward that one can only wonder as to why it is necessary to wait for research results in the first place. SECTION B: ARTICLES DEALING WITH CIVICS AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION. vi) Dobozy, Eva. (2003). Teaching Democracy and Human Rights: A Curriculum Perspective. Journal of Australian Studies, (77), 31+. Retrieved April 29, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/p44 Annotation: “Democracy and Human Rights” are words frequently heard in the 21st Century and it seems they are used in almost any context or circumstance and not unusually it seems that the user wishes to make some kind of statement, firstly, about himself and then about whatever he might be referring to at the time. In this practice there is a danger that the words are bandied about so often that the concepts themselves could lose value in the process. In this regard it would be useful to provide some kind of definition to re-inforce and refresh the original meanings of the words in the public mind. In this article, as in the aims and objectives of its subject, the curriculum, there is some level of elucidation of the concepts. Even so, as the author states, there are always going to be variant interpretations, all depending on the background and outlook of the interpreter. And it is this quite relative nature of Democracy and Human Rights which teachers find so challenging if not intimidating. The author here is concerned not only with the nature of the subjects themselves, but also with the way in which the curriculum is developed and presented. In her discussion of some of the approaches, she considers whether the subjects should be taught from the a constitutional perspective, from an authoritarian perspective, or possibly as a flexible value system which can adapt to requirements of multicultural communities. In other words, as the author says, it might be best to offer the subjects as an integrated and process-oriented, rights-based educational system. Seeing that this description does not provide a teacher with some kind of substantial subject matter, the author offers a kind of working definition: “Democratic citizenship may be characterised as the fluid, multi-faceted and necessary glue between two simultaneous abstract and concrete concepts, namely that of an individual person and that of a group of people (community or society) to whom this individual person belongs through some form of membership. It is the relational possibilities between the individual and the group, community and/or society grounded in common life and within one or multiple spheres such as political, socio-economic and cultural, or the collective and civil, which constitute the extent of democratic citizenship.”. (p.1-2). In the light of this description of the subjects, the author sees policy as a process and not an event and seems to believe that all aspects of citizenship and democracy can be seen to be fluid and constantly changing. Whether this approach will facilitate the teaching of the subject and so promote greater feelings of citizenship and a general desire to comply with social and national requirements remains to be seen. vi) Gore, John (1998). Revisiting Values Education – The Role of Civics and Citizenship Education. Paper for the Pacific Circle Consortium Conference, Colima, Mexico, 21 April, 1998. Annotation: The paper deals with the problems relating to the teaching of values in the context of modern multi-cultural communities. Some conference members said that there could no longer be any point in trying to teach values seeing that every possible topic that could be construed to cause offence or to infringe on the rights individuals or groups or could be regarded as controversial in one way or another, had to be avoided. What remained was said to be limited to some knowledge and some skills. Teachers had been exposed to threats of violence or termination of work contracts and felt there was no need to risk their livelihoods for the sake of a subject with so many negative connotations. In view of the difficulties of presenting values as a component of the school curriculum the author considers a three-part classification of values which might serve to bypass some of the obstacles in the way of teaching, as described by Edwin Fenton in 1967: “1. Behavioural. In practical terms it can be understood that a teacher cannot tolerate bad behaviour that disrupts lessons because teaching needs order and not chaos; good behaviour facilitates learning and that is what the school and the teacher are there for; 2. Procedural. Values that relate to a way of thinking that is central to a particular discipline, such as an enquiry method, or a scientific method, or literary criticism methods. Procedural values are not subject to consensus and teachers rely on these procedures in the teaching of all their subjects. 3. Substantive: This has to do with changing communities and their own particular customs and beliefs. These substantive maters are likely to be community based. Whatever the curriculum or the approach of a particular teacher, the presentation of values as a subject is never going to be a simple matter and there is always going to be a need to consider the context in which the teaching event takes place. The teacher will have to be aware of all the possible implications ramifications of what is being taught. Values in the school curriculum also included concepts such as character and virtue, both of which have become more difficult deal with in the classroom. In the field of civics education, the author finds that many Australians, youngsters and adults, have very little interest or knowledge of civics and politics. He reasons that this could be due to the fact that the civics and citizenship curriculum is based on historical perspectives rather than current issues of general interest and concern. vii) Threadgold, Steven and Pam Nilan. 2003. Young People, Habitus and Opinions about Politics. Melbourne Journal of Politics, Vol. 29. Retrieved from Questia database 29/04/06: http://www.questia.com. Annotation: The authors describe Bordieu’s concept of Habitus as that part of the person that is derived from a particular outlook towards society and the place where the outlook is formed. It endeavours to explain how individuals become who they are and and how and why they engage in certain practices. The elements that contribute to the formation of the Habitus would be family, friends, education, biological and geographical factors and race and gender. The habitus, then, determines how we deal with situations and circumstances and it would also include both durable as well as transposable values and dispositions. These values would be obtained from personal and general cultural history, the kind that would remain with the person irrespective of place or time. Habitus informs the relationship between structure and agency and defines the approach to any particular social setting. In examining the Habitus of young people today, the author finds that there is a sense of neglect in terms of politics, a feeling that politicians are not concerned about issues that are important to young people and ordinary citizens in general. This feeling of cynicism is generally found to be greater in settings with a lower level of social and economic capital. The author feels that the an understanding of the influence of cultural capital is vital if there is to be any progress towards creating and maintaining stable communities in multi-cultural regions, especially where youth unemployment is high and the younger populations tend to become disillusioned and volatile. Cultural capital informs distinctions between richer and poorer and creates an awareness of an invisible but potentially divisive gap. viii) Docket, Sue and Mella Cusack. (2003). Young Children’s Views of Australia and Australians. Childhood Education, Vol. 79. Retrieved from Questia database: http://www.questia.com, 27/04/06. 10:55 Annotation: In this project the authors gather information about the impressions of young children using interviewing techniques. The interviews revealed that young children are aware of many aspects of nationality and cultural identity even though they might not be inclined to focus unduly on such matters. As would be natural, children are inclined to observe differences but not to be unduly influenced by any such differences. They may find differences such as language, skin colour, unusual customs temporarily interesting, but such differences would not interfere with their enjoyment of the company of playmates. In terms of nationality, young children seemed to be quite indifferent about this aspect of themselves or of their contemporaries, although some did say that they enjoyed being Australian. The authors consider that civics and citizenship education is important and could assist in establishing identity with the immediate community as well as with the nation. However, they do emphasize the need to ensure that all members of communities should feel that governmental processes are open and transparent and inclusive. ix) Mellor, Suzanne. Australian Council for Educational Project Manager. Solving some Civics and Citizenship Education Conundrums. As the title suggests, the article is aimed at providing some clarification of the complexities of the subject matter in order to assist teachers who might have problems with certain aspects of their mission to train and inform future citizens. The subjects are structured with a view to preparing students to be able to make sound judgements in matters of morality, ethics and social justice. On another level, there is the hope that these teachings will help young people to make sense of their world so that they will be in a position to make constructive decisions about their lives. In response to teachers’ concerns, the article points out that there is a very clear distinction between civics and citizenship subjects. Civics is intended to promote knowledge and understanding of Civic Institutions and Processes whereas Citizenship should provide students with skills and knowledge in preparation for participation in the world that they will enter as adults. The author acknowledges that there are on-going difficulties with regard to promoting the subjects which have a reputation of being irrelevant and boring. For this reason the Department and other agencies are engaged in continuous efforts to improve the curriculum and to make the subject matter more relevant to young people’s particular predicaments and concerns. x) Butler, Catharine, Christopher Rissel, Freidoon Khavarpour. 1998. The Context for Community Participation in Health Action in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 34. Retrieved from Questia Database: http:// questia.com. 27/04/06, 19h50. Annotation: The authors maintain that community participation is one of the cornerstones of the democratic process and that citizens who enjoy the benefits of the democratic system should also be willing to participate in its responsibilities and obligations. In the field of health, various mechanisms have been established to facilitate such community participation and yet, in spite of this and in spite of civics and citizenship education, few Australians are inclined to become involved. The authors find that this lack of interest can, at least in part, be related to the fact that Australians have a tendency to tolerate “big government”, i.e., a government that is instrumental in providing all forms of services for the public. The article goes on to provide useful definitions of ‘community participation’. They trace the present political culture back to the sixties when there were few opportunities for ordinary citizens to take part in decision-making processes and initiative for policy-forming was seen to be within the province of the bureaucratic division of government. In the mean time, however, the entire system of government has changed along with Australian society which has become multi-cultural and which now has a much stronger and more urgent need for community participation in the provision of health services as well as many other services. 4. CONCLUSION : CONSIDERING WHETHER COMMUNICATIOND OF THE FAMILY COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA ARE ENHANCED OR HAMPERED BY CIVICS EDUCATION. The sources in this bibliography were chosen selected with a view to finding answers to the question of whether civics helps or hinders court communications. In Section A of the Bibliography, there are articles that deal with the Family Courts, Family Law, and some of the features of the Courts that are designed specifically to facilitate the resolution of separating spouses and to promote the welfare of the children of these families. The Family Court and Family Law provide for a wide range of communications intended to keep the people adequately informed, and also to inform all the members of involved families to such an extent that they will be familiar with all aspects of Family Court Processes and requirements. In this context it would appear, based on information gained from the articles, that there is very little evidence of civics education having any impact at all on any of the parties concerned. There is no mention of knowledge gained from civics education and no indication that, for instance, children are better informed as a result of receiving civics education at school. In Section B of the Bibliography, the articles focus largely on Civics and Citizenship education. These articles reveal some interesting aspects of the educational process on the one hand and of departmental formulations and expectations. In the field of teaching, there appear to be major problems on many levels. Teachers have problems understanding, interpreting, and teaching the subjects, particularly in the context of multi-cultural school populations where civics and value concepts can cause controversy and confusion. Administrators who compile the curriculum without consulting teachers, have certain definite expectations which, apparently, cannot be met by either students or teachers. Though civics is supposed to promote a better understanding of civil structures and procedures, there is not enough interest or enthusiasm in the curriculum as it is offered at present. Read More