How Well Does the F-10 Australian Curriculum Prepare Students to be Water Literate Citizens?

Abstract

Global water availability and management are persistent challenges to sustainable futures, yet people may have limited understandings of water systems and may hold negative attitudes towards sustainable solutions. With education a mechanism for realising a water literate citizenry, this study asks: How well does the Australian curriculum prepare students to be water literate citizens? McCarroll and Hamann’s (2020) Dimensions of Water Literacy guided a document analysis of Version 9.0 of the F-10 Australian Science and Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) curricula. Findings revealed that concepts related to water literacy were largely confined to the Year 4 Science and Year 7 Geography curricula. In Science, the dimensions of Science and Systems Knowledge and Local Knowledge were through concepts related to the natural and urban water cycle. In HASS, the Hydrosocial Knowledge dimension was privileged, owing to people’s interactions with water. While there were occurrences of Functional Knowledge in both curricula, the organisation of the curriculum according to knowledge and skills does not explicitly focus on the development of students’ positive attitudes and values towards water conservation, nor engage them in individual or collective decision-making and action. Implications for the Australian curriculum and what it means to be a water literate citizen are discussed.