General Capabilities

Literacy: Is about ones ability to communicate, to share information. There is a wide range of

literacies.

Whether that is self communication to gain insight into ones needs, the thinking skills to develop a strategy to achieve something, reading or asking questions to gather

information or sharing ideas or information with others. It is all about communication.

Numeracy: Is about how much, ones ability to use the appropriate amount. Ability to calculate how much

to use for the desired outcome.

Where this is making a cordial drink, baking a cake, buying a toy or your clothes,

deciding how strong to build something or mixing explosives. Each of these examples

requires more refined, greater skill.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Ones capability to use current technological

tools, especially for communication, establishing connections, accessing information,

calculations and producing products.

Critical and Creative Thinking: This is about one's ability to evaluate and think of alternatives, new,

different approaches. It is important to evaluate both new ideas and provided information for suitability to the intended application.

Personal and Social capability: This includes self awareness, thinking skills, awareness of others, understanding social norms, ability to identify and respond

to emotions within one self and others, as well as communication skills. You may notice an overlap with literacies.

Ethical understanding: Is about right, wrong, values and appropriate actions. Another over lap, this time personal and social abilities.

Intercultural understanding: Is about one's awareness and understanding of different perspectives related to groups of individuals. How this effects

interactions and skills around taking that into account in relationships. An expansion of personal, social, ethical use of thinking skills and literacy.

The general capabilities are to be integrated in to all learning areas.

A booklet on these in the Australian curriculum can be found at http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Pdf/Overview

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Overview/general-capabilities-in-the-australian-curriculum