A revised Stage 6 Society and Culture Syllabus (2013), endorsed by the Board of Studies in August 2013 replaces the current Stage 6 Society and Culture Syllabus (1999). The revised syllabus will be implemented for Preliminary course students commencing in 2014. The first HSC Society and Culture examination based on the new syllabus will be 2015.

The amended Stage 6 Society and Culture Syllabus is available to download from the syllabus section of the Board’s website.

The following related documents are also available:

• Guide to the Stage 6 Society and Culture Syllabus
• Stage 6 Society and Culture Syllabus Consultation Report.

The revised Stage 6 Society and Culture Syllabus maintains the structure of the previous syllabus, including the HSC Core plus elective depth studies format. The Personal Interest Project (PIP) remains a feature of the course.

Key amendments to the syllabus include the following:

• objectives have been reduced from 9 to 7 and outcomes reduced to 10
• significant updates to reflect the contemporary nature of society including a ‘contemporary context’ to be integrated within each topic and an increased focus on technology, including communication technologies
• HSC Core content is more explicit and teachers, students and examiners can now be more certain what can be appropriately examined and assessed
• content in each topic is organised in a consistent structure with a focus, outcomes, integrated course concepts, contemporary context, a ‘nature of’ study related to the topic and a focus study
• the future section in the Core and each depth study is now focussed on the near future (5 to 10 years)
• Section 8 of the syllabus has been revised to provide more explicit information on the concepts, social and cultural research methods, ethical research and social and cultural literacy
• a new HSC depth study, Social Conformity and Nonconformity, has been developed. It focuses on the formation and influences on the attitudes and behaviours of groups and their members, factors influencing conformity and responses to non-conformity
• the Work and Leisure HSC depth study has been deleted.

The revised syllabus can be implemented using resources currently available, as they continue to be relevant. Existing Society and Culture teaching programs may be modified to meet the requirements of the revised syllabus and many existing units of work can form the basis of effective programs. There is a wide range of resources, including freely available web-based resources and those currently available in schools to assist the teaching of the revised syllabus.

For further information:
Lindsay Swan
Board Inspector, Human Society and Its Environment
lindsay.swan@bos.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8150