Rationale

Contemporary society has complex and at times contrasting expectations of its citizens and communities. On the one hand there is the apparent ease of global communication and connectedness; on the other, there is evidence that many individuals feel socially isolated, alienated or unsafe. How can this be addressed? And how do we build and sustain civil, connected and forward-thinking communities?

VM Personal Development Skills enables students to explore and address important social challenges and questions. Who am I? What is community? How can we improve the health and wellbeing of individuals? What are my goals as an individual and as part of a community? How do I seek and critique reliable information? How do I build meaningful connections with others? What actions can be taken to respond to issues that affect us as a society?

Aims

This study enables students to:

●        develop a sense of identity and self-worth

●        understand and apply concepts that support individual health and wellbeing

●        access, critique, synthesise and communicate reliable information

●        explain the role of community and the importance of social connectedness

●        practise the rights and responsibilities of belonging to a community

●        recognise and describe the attributes of effective leaders and teams

●        set and work towards the achievement of goals

●        work independently and as part of a team to understand and respond to community need

●        evaluate and respond to issues that have an impact on society

●        develop capacities to participate in society as active, engaged and informed citizens.

Structure

This study is made up of four units.

Unit 1: Healthy individuals

Unit 2: Connecting with community

Unit 3: Leadership and teamwork

Unit 4: Community project

Each unit deals with specific content contained in the areas of study and is designed to enable students to achieve a set of outcomes for the unit. Each outcome is described in terms of key knowledge and key skills.

Unit 1: Healthy individuals

This unit focuses on the development of personal identity and individual pathways to optimal health and wellbeing. It begins with concepts of personal identity and the range of factors that contribute to an individual’s perception of self and individual health and wellbeing. Students will use these findings to enhance an understanding of community cohesion, community engagement and how sense of identity may affect outcomes in different contexts. Students will investigate the elements of emotional intelligence and begin to develop an awareness of interrelationships between communities and the health and wellbeing of individuals.

Students will investigate local health-promoting organisations and resources and play an active, participatory role in designing and implementing activities or mechanisms to improve health and wellbeing. This unit highlights the importance of critical and creative thinking and clear communication as individuals explore personal identity and the role of community. Students will examine relationships between technologies and health and wellbeing, and develop tools for analysing the reliability, validity and accuracy of information and the efficacy of health messages.

• Area of Study 1: Personal identity and emotional intelligence

• Area of Study 2: Community health and wellbeing 

• Area of Study 3: Promoting a healthy life

Unit 2: Connecting with community

This unit focuses on the benefits of community participation and how people can work together effectively to achieve a shared goal. It begins with definitions of community and different types of communities at a local, national and global level. Students will look at the relationships between active citizenship, empathy and connection to culture, and individual health and wellbeing. They will investigate the barriers and enablers to problem solving within the community.

In the topic of community engagement, students will seek to understand different perspectives on issues affecting a community. They will reflect on relationships between community issues, social cohesion, and health and wellbeing, and the importance of clear information and communication. Students will investigate how communities may be called upon to support individual members and identify effective strategies for creating positive community change. They will plan, implement and evaluate an active response to an individual’s need for community support.

• Area of Study 1: What is community?

• Area of Study 2: Community cohesion

• Area of Study 3: Engaging and supporting community

Unit 3: Leadership and teamwork

This unit considers the role of interpersonal skills and social awareness in different settings and contexts. Students will examine leadership qualities and the characteristics of effective leaders and how these qualities can be applied to the achievement of goals within personal and community contexts. They will explore key components of effective teamwork and reflect on how to lead and contribute within a team context through a collaborative problem-solving activity. Students will evaluate individual contribution as well as the overall effectiveness of the team.

• Area of Study 1: Social awareness and interpersonal skills

• Area of Study 2: Effective leadership

• Area of Study 3: Effective teamwork

Unit 4: Community project

This unit focuses on student participation in an extended project relating to a community issue. Students will identify environmental, cultural, economic and social issues affecting the community and select one for an extended community project. They will look at past approaches to the selected issue in Australia and elsewhere, consider how they will research information, and formulate an objective to achieve. Students will reflect on how community awareness of a selected issue can be improved. Students will engage in a process of planning, implementing and evaluating a response to a selected community issue. They will conduct research, analyse findings and make decisions on how to present work. Students will consider the key elements (such as emotional intelligence and effective team practices) and considerations (such as safety and ethics) when implementing a community project. Students will present project to an appropriate audience of peers or community members and evaluate the effectiveness of chosen response to the issue.

• Area of Study 1: Planning a community project

• Area of Study 2: Implementing a community project

• Area of Study 3: Evaluating a community project

Satisfactory completion

The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on whether the student has demonstrated the set of outcomes specified for the unit. Teachers should use a variety of assessment tasks and tools that provide a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate the key knowledge and key skills in the outcomes for satisfactory completion.

The areas of study, including the key knowledge and key skills listed for the outcomes, should be used for course design and the development of learning activities and assessment tools. Assessment must be part of the regular teaching and learning program and should be completed mainly under teacher supervision and within a limited timeframe.

All assessment tools for Units 1 , 2, 3 and 4 are school-based. Procedures for assessment of levels of achievement are a matter for school decision.

Entry

There are no prerequisites for entry into Units 1 and 2. Units 3 and 4 will be undertaken sequentially. Students will be introduced to the outcomes for both units at the beginning of the year so they can effectively plan for the latter part of the year and take appropriate actions to be ready for those outcomes.