Contact details
Head of Department: Maria Chatfield
Telephone: (07) 4081 5218
Email: mchat20@eq.edu.au
The Humanities and Business department provides students with essential life skills. Students have the opportunity to acquire a range of critical, personal and interpersonal skills that will continue to serve them well as they progress into their adult life and become active and informed citizens.
Coursework
In Junior Secondary, programs follow The Australian Curriculum focusing on developing essential learning skills. The course delivery becomes more challenging as students progress through the middle phase of learning and is designed to develop and foster the skills and abilities required of independent learners.
Students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 are engaged in the Australian Curriculum studying History, Economics and Business, Civics and Citizenship and Geography. Key learning areas centre on the human fascination with the way people interact with each other and the environment.
Business (Year 9 and 10 Elective)
Business is multifaceted. It is a contemporary discipline with representation in every aspect of society including individuals, community and government. Business, as a dynamic and evolving discipline, is responsive to environmental changes such as emerging technologies, globalisation, sustainability, resources, economy and society.
The study of business is relevant to all individuals in a rapidly changing, technology-focused and innovation-driven world. Through studying Business, students are challenged academically and exposed to authentic and real-life practices.
Geography (Year 9 and 10 Elective)
Geography teaches us about the significance of 'place' and 'space' in understanding our world. These two concepts are foundational to the discipline, with the concepts of environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale and change building on this foundation. By observing and measuring spatial, environmental, economic, political, social and cultural factors, geography provides a way of thinking about contemporary challenges and opportunities.
Teaching and learning in Geography are underpinned by inquiry, through which students investigate places in Australia and across the globe. When students think geographically, they observe, gather, organise, analyse and present data and information across a range of scales.
Justice and Power (Year 10 Elective)
Justice and Power focuses on the interaction between society and the legal system and how it regulates activities and aims to protect the rights of individuals, while balancing these with obligations and responsibilities. It is aligned with the Civics and Citizenship learning area in Humanities. Students examine Australia's roles and responsibilities within the international context, such as its involvement with the United Nations. Students also study the purpose and work of the High Court. They investigate the values and practices that enable a democratic society to be sustained.
In the senior school students have the opportunity to specialise in the following areas:
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (11/12 General)
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies recognises, and is a study of, the two distinct and diverse Indigenous groups in Australia: Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As these are the oldest living cultures in the world, this study is relevant for all students and is fundamental to an understanding of a shared Australian identity. It also makes students aware of diversity and complexity in Aboriginal cultures and Torres Strait Islander cultures through an approach that informs an understanding of the past, present and future.
Ancient History (11/12 General)
Ancient History is concerned with studying people, societies and civilisations of the past, from the development of the earliest human communities to the end of the Middle Ages. Students explore the interaction of societies and the impact of individuals and groups on ancient events and ways of life, enriching their appreciation of humanity and the relevance of the ancient past. Ancient History illustrates the development of some of the distinctive features of modern society which shape our identity, such as social organisation, systems of law, governance and religion. Ancient History highlights how the world has changed, as well as the significant legacies that exist into the present.
Business (11/12 General)
Business is multifaceted. It is a contemporary discipline with representation in every aspect of society including individuals, community and government. Business, as a dynamic and evolving discipline, is responsive to environmental changes such as emerging technologies, globalisation, sustainability, resources, economy and society.
The study of business is relevant to all individuals in a rapidly changing, technology-focused and innovation-driven world. Through studying Business, students are challenged academically and exposed to authentic and real-life practices.
Geography (11/12 General)
Geography teaches us about the significance of 'place' and 'space' in understanding our world. These two concepts are foundational to the discipline, with the concepts of environment, interconnection, sustainability, scale and change building on this foundation. By observing and measuring spatial, environmental, economic, political, social and cultural factors, geography provides a way of thinking about contemporary challenges and opportunities.
Teaching and learning in Geography are underpinned by inquiry, through which students investigate places in Australia and across the globe. When students think geographically, they observe, gather, organise, analyse and present data and information across a range of scales.
Legal Studies (11/12 General)
Legal Studies focuses on the interaction between society and the discipline of law. Students study the legal system and how it regulates activities and aims to protect the rights of individuals, while balancing these with obligations and responsibilities. An understanding of legal processes and concepts enables citizens to be better informed and able to constructively question and contribute to the improvement of laws and legal processes. This is important as the law is dynamic and evolving, based on values, customs and norms that are challenged by technology, society and global influences.
Social & Community Studies (11/12 Applied)
Social & Community Studies focuses on personal development and social skills which lead to self-reliance, self-management and concern for others. It fosters appreciation of, and respect for, cultural diversity and encourages responsible attitudes and behaviours required for effective participation in the community and for thinking critically, creatively and constructively about their future.
Students develop personal, interpersonal, and citizenship skills, encompassing social skills, communication skills, respect for and interaction with others, building rapport, problem solving and decision making, self-esteem, self-confidence and resilience, workplace skills, learning and study skills.
Certificate II in Tourism
Tourism has become the world's biggest industry and its potential impact on societies and their economic and ecological future is enormous. The tourism industry is one of Australia's fastest growing industries, and has assumed increasing importance in Australian society and is a source of expanding employment opportunities in the Cairns area. This course is aimed at students who seek employment in the tourism industry.
Certificate I & II in Workplace Skills
The Certificate II in Workplace Practices is a course that provides entry level skills for students entering Business Services job roles. Students carry out a range of basic procedural, clerical, administrative or operational tasks that require self-management and technology skills. They perform a range of mainly routine tasks using limited practical skills and fundamental operational knowledge in a defined context. If you plan to work in an office; run your own business; get some part time work while studying or obtain help organising yourself for your studies then this is the course for you.