Concept Notes
Global Contexts
Global contexts help frame units of inquiry by connecting concepts to the wider world.
Identities and Relationships
Who am I? Who are we?
Students will explore identity; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; what it means to be human.
Possible explorations to develop:
- competition and cooperation; teams, affiliation and leadership
- identity formation, self-esteem, status, roles and role models
- personal efficacy and agency; attitudes, motivations, independence; happiness and the good life
- physical, psychological and social development, transitions, health and well-being, lifestyle choices
- human nature and human dignity, moral reasoning and ethical judgment, consciousness and mind
Orientation in Time and Space
What is the meaning of ‘where’ and ‘when’?
Students will explore personal histories; homes and journeys; turning points in humankind; discoveries; explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from personal, local and global perspectives.
Possible explorations to develop:
- civilizations and social histories, heritage; pilgrimage, migration, displacement and exchange
- epochs, eras, turning points and ‘big history’
- scale, duration, frequency and variability
- peoples, boundaries, exchange and interaction
- natural and human landscapes and resources
- evolution, constraints and adaptation
Personal and Cultural Expression
What is the nature and purpose of creative expression?
Students will explore the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Possible explorations to develop:
- artistry, craft, creation, beauty
- products, systems and institutions
- social constructions of reality; philosophies and ways of life; belief systems; ritual and play
- critical literacy, languages and linguistic systems; histories of ideas, fields and disciplines; analysis and argument
- metacognition and abstract thinking
- entrepreneurship, practice and competency
Scientific and Technical Innovation
How do we understand the worlds in which we live?
Students will explore the natural world and its laws; the interaction between people and the natural world; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on communities and environments; the impact of environments on human activity; how humans adapt environments to their needs.
Possible explorations to develop:
- systems, models, methods; products, processes and solutions
- adaptation, ingenuity and progress
- opportunity, risk, consequences and responsibility
- modernization, industrialization and engineering
- digital life, virtual environments and the information age
- the biological revolution
- mathematical puzzles, principles and discoveries
Globalization and Sustainability
How is everything connected?
Students will explore the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the relationship between local and global processes; how local experiences mediate the global; reflect on the opportunities and tensions provided by world-interconnectedness; the impact of decision-making on humankind and the environment.
Possible explorations to develop:
- markets, commodities and commercialization
- human impact on the environment
- commonality, diversity and interconnection
- consumption, conservation, natural resources and public goods
- population and demography
- urban planning, strategy and infrastructure
Fairness and Development
What are the consequences of our common humanity?
Students will explore rights and responsibilities; the relationship between communities; sharing finite resources with other people and with other living things; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Possible explorations to develop:
- democracy, politics, government and civil society
- inequality, difference and inclusion
- human capability and development; social entrepreneurs
- rights, law, civic responsibility and the public sphere
- justice, peace and conflict management
- power and privilege
- authority, security and freedom
- imagining a hopeful future
Cross-Subject Concept Notes
Several terms recur as key concepts and/or related concepts across multiple subject groups but are given materially different definitions in each guide. These are not errors — each subject grounds the concept in its own discipline — but units that combine subjects (or that move a concept between groups) should make explicit which definition is in play. This list is not exhaustive; it covers the divergences noticed while compiling the Glossary.
Form
- Key concept (generic/Mathematics): “the shape and underlying structure of an entity or piece of work, including its organization, essential nature and external appearance.”
- Sciences (related concept): “the features of an object that can be observed, identified, described, classified and categorized.”
- Design (related concept): “the overall shape and configuration of a product… aesthetics, shape, colour and texture.”
- Language acquisition (related concept): “the linguistic structure communication may take… grammatical, lexical and phonological.”
Four largely independent definitions — physical/structural (generic, Sciences, Design) versus linguistic (Language acquisition).
Related glossary entries: Form (key concept), Form (Sciences), Form (Design), Form (Language acquisition)
Function
- Sciences (related concept): “a purpose, a role or a way of behaving that can be investigated; a mathematical relationship between variables.”
- Physical and health education (related concept): “the action or role that something is specifically designed for or used to do,” voluntary or involuntary.
- Design (related concept): “what [a solution] has been designed to do and how effective it is at enabling that action to be performed.”
- Language acquisition (related concept): “the purpose and/or use of communication.”
PHE and Design definitions are close in spirit (designed purpose); Sciences adds a mathematical-relationship sense; Language acquisition narrows “function” to communicative purpose only.
Related glossary entries: Function (Sciences), Function (PHE), Function (Design), Function (Language acquisition)
Patterns
- Mathematics (related concept): “sets of numbers or objects that follow a specific order or rule.”
- Sciences (related concept): “the distribution of variables in time or space; sequences of events or features.”
- Language acquisition (related concept): “use of language and style, which can be functional, decorative or social… reflect the unique characteristics of a language.”
Three distinct senses: mathematical regularity, spatial/temporal distribution, and stylistic/linguistic habit.
Related glossary entries: Patterns (Mathematics), Patterns (Sciences), Patterns (Language acquisition)
Models
- Mathematics (related concept): “depictions of real-life events using expressions, equations or graphs.”
- Sciences (related concept): “representations used for testing scientific theories or proposals… simulations used for explaining or predicting processes.”
- Individuals and societies (related concept, Model :econ:): “simplified simulations of certain aspects of the economy,” used because real economies are too complex to experiment on directly.
All three share the general “simplified representation” sense but are framed around different objects (equations, scientific phenomena, economies).
Related glossary entries: Models (Mathematics), Models (Sciences), Model (Individuals and societies)
Perspective
- Key concept (generic, with Language and literature elaboration): “the position from which we observe situations, objects, facts, ideas and opinions… may be associated with individuals, groups, cultures or disciplines.”
- Physical and health education (related concept): “enables the development of different interpretations, understandings and findings… gained through putting yourself in the place of others.”
- Design (related concept): “relates to the point of view of various stakeholders involved in solving a problem… clients, target audiences, focus groups, consumers, manufacturers and experts.”
These are compatible but emphasize different aspects: the key-concept definition is about vantage point in general, PHE frames it around empathy/understanding others, and Design frames it around stakeholder viewpoints in a design process. Individuals and societies also has a discipline-specific “Perspective :hist:” related concept (under History) with its own historical framing.
Related glossary entries: Perspective (key concept), Perspective (PHE), Perspective (Design), Perspective (Individuals and societies, History)
Innovation
- Arts (related concept): “an altered interpretation of, or experimentation with, ideas, techniques and media.”
- Design (related concept): “the successful diffusion of an invention into the marketplace.”
Arts frames innovation as creative reinterpretation/experimentation; Design frames it specifically as the market success of an invention (distinct from “Invention” itself, which Design defines as “an entirely novel product or a feature of a product that is unique”).
Related glossary entries: Innovation (Arts), Innovation (Design), Innovation and revolution (Individuals and societies)
Theme
- Language acquisition (related concept): “a dominant subject, thread or idea that is conveyed through a text form.”
- Language and literature (related concept): “the central idea or ideas the creator explores through a text.”
Minor wording divergence only — both describe the central idea(s) of a text; Language and literature frames it from the creator’s side, Language acquisition from the text’s side.
Related glossary entries: Theme (Language acquisition), Theme (Language and literature)
Communication
The key concept “Communication” (Arts definition, with Language acquisition, Language and literature and Physical and health education elaborations) defines communication as “the exchange or transfer of signals, facts, ideas and symbols… requires a sender, a message and an intended receiver.”
The Language acquisition subject guide also defines “Communication” separately and at much greater length, breaking it into oral, visual and written communication, each described in terms of the receptive and expressive skills (listening/speaking, viewing/interpreting, reading/writing) involved. This describes communication skill areas for assessment/curriculum purposes, distinct from the key-concept definition of communication as a conceptual lens.
Related glossary entries: Communication (key concept)
Sustainability
- Individuals and societies (related concepts, Sustainability :econ: and Sustainability :geog:): both disciplines give the same definition — “the notion of living within our means… central to an understanding of the nature of interactions between environmental, social and economic systems.”
- Design (related concept): “the capacity to endure, which can have environmental, economic and social dimensions,” enumerated via Green/Eco-design, sustainable consumption, design, development, innovation and production.
Both are compatible (environmental/economic/social endurance), but Design’s definition is more abstract and is elaborated through a list of design-specific practices rather than I&S’s “living within our means” framing.
Related glossary entries: Sustainability (Individuals and societies, Economics), Sustainability (Individuals and societies, Geography), Sustainability (Design)
Other divergences
The Individuals and societies related concepts in the Glossary already note, via context, that Causality (cause and consequence), Culture, Globalization and Power each have separate, discipline-specific definitions for Economics, Geography and/or History within that single subject guide — see those entries in the Glossary for details.