Understand this cross-curriculum priority

Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia

Introduction

The Asia region exerts significant influence globally and in Australia. Young people need to develop the knowledge, skills, capabilities and attitudes to effectively navigate and contribute to our regional neighbourhood.

Asia is our part of the world. Knowing, understanding and growing engagement with Asia are foundational for young people as Australia seeks to strengthen its ties in the Asia region. Australians require intercultural understanding, empathy and confidence to contribute to, and understand, Asia–Australia engagement.

To know Asia and its diversity, students need an insight into the societies, beliefs, histories, cultures, languages and environments of the nations within the region. They need to develop understanding of the region’s contemporary challenges and opportunities. Knowledge, understanding and active engagement between Australia and Asia counteract unintended assumptions and stereotypes, and build positive relationships when guided by critical thinking, respect and reflection.

Students develop understanding that Asia’s global significance and strategic influence continue to expand. Asia is the most populous region in the world, home to two-thirds of the world’s people. The region is the largest producer and consumer of goods and services in the world. Current historic shifts in global innovation networks and economic, security and technology systems, alongside global environmental and social challenges, heighten the need for Asia–Australia engagement.

Australia increasingly seeks opportunities to engage with Asia strategically, politically, culturally and economically. People, environments, economies, technologies, transport and communications systems, security, cultures and histories of Asia and Australia are interdependent. These deep connections are reflected in historical relationships developed over thousands of years, and contemporary relationships. Popular culture can provide opportunities for Asia–Australia engagement, particularly through the arts and media.

Connection and collaboration are essential for young people to understand Asia–Australia engagement. The opportunities provided by travel initiatives, study programs, the internet and online forums generate diverse cultural perspectives and experiences. Students become informed and active citizens across local, regional and global communities, and contribute to Australia’s social, intellectual and creative capital.

Defining Asia

Asia can be described in terms of cultural, religious, historical and language boundaries or commonalities.

Different geographical definitions can be applied to Asia to identify subregions:

North-East Asia includes China, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea.
South-East Asia includes Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam.
South Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Central Asia includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
West Asia includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

Note: Short country names rather than official country names have been used.

Different geographic regions of Asia, or parts of it, can also be referred to:

Asia-Pacific describes countries across Asia, inclusive of Australasia and the Pacific Island nations.
Indo-Pacific includes the combined Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, and the land masses that surround them.
ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) includes nations which are part of a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising the 11 South-East Asian nations with Australia included as an ASEAN partner.

Structure

The Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia cross-curriculum priority is based on 3 sets of organising ideas:

Figure 1: Framework for the Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia cross-curriculum priority

Knowing Asia and its diversity

This emphasises the need to appreciate the backgrounds, experiences, stories, religions, beliefs and perspectives within and among the nations of the Asia region. It is supported by understanding Asia and Australia’s interconnected environments, natural, managed and constructed, and the political, financial and technological systems that drive relationships.

Understanding Asia’s global significance

This examines the ways in which different significant nations in Asia have effected change. People are central to global developments, with human endeavour expressed through aesthetic, creative, political, economic and scientific pursuits. Highlighting key individuals, events, developments or nations reinforces how they have contributed to Asia’s global significance.

Growing Asia–Australia engagement

This includes the relationship-building contribution of Australians with Asian heritage and explores how active connections between students and Asia’s diverse communities can be deepened. Interaction builds empathy, respects cultural and linguistic differences, and leads to collaborative opportunities and outcomes. These active connections provide the lived experiences of global citizenship for young Australians, including through popular culture, and nurture relationships that reflect the historical and contemporary interdependency of Australia and the nations of Asia.

Key connections

Cross-curriculum priorities support and deepen student engagement with learning area content and are best developed within the context of learning areas.

In the English curriculum, students explore texts that reflect the rich and diverse cultures, belief systems and traditions of the Asia region, and Asian experiences in and with Australia. Students engage with traditional and contemporary authors, illustrators and texts from across Asia. They investigate the role of literature in developing, maintaining and transforming cultural beliefs and practices, and communicating the rich cultural diversity of the Asia region. They reflect on the intrinsic value of these texts as well as their place and value within contexts and communities.

In Humanities and Social Sciences, students investigate the diversity of cultures, values, beliefs, histories and environments that exists between and within the countries of the Asia region. They learn about how this diversity influences the way people interact with each other, the places where they live, and the social, economic, political and cultural systems of the region as a whole. Students investigate the reasons behind internal migration in the Asia region and migration from Asia to Australia, and develop understanding of the experiences of people of Asian heritage who are now Australian citizens. Students can learn about the shared history and the environmental, social and economic interdependence of Australia and the Asia region. In a changing globalised world, the nature of interdependence between Asia and Australia continues to change. By exploring the way transnational and intercultural collaboration supports shared and sustainable futures, students reflect on how Australians can participate in the Asia region as active and informed citizens.

In Health and Physical Education, the priority of Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia provides opportunities for students to engage with diverse cultures, traditions and belief systems of the Asia region. They develop empathy, respect and interpersonal skills that reflect cultural understanding. Students can examine the diversity of cultural beliefs, practices and experiences across the cultures of the Asia region. They are able to explore the influence these have on identities, interactions and relationships.

Languages provides learning opportunities in combination with the Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia cross-curriculum priority. Students develop knowledge and understanding by engaging with the languages and cultures of Asia, and people of Asian heritage.

The Australian Curriculum: Languages enables students to learn languages of the Asian region and to communicate, interact and explore concepts, experiences and perspectives from within and across Asian cultures. Students develop an appreciation for the place of Australia within the Asian region, including the interconnections of languages and cultures, peoples and communities, and histories and economies. They learn how national linguistic and cultural identities continuously evolve in local, regional and international contexts.

Mathematics provides opportunities to promote students’ awareness of the significant contributions of Asian culture to the historical development and application of mathematical ideas and approaches. This is demonstrated in the use of mathematics in a range of contemporary contexts related to Asia, including art, design, trade and travel.

Mathematics provides content that builds understanding of Asia’s global significance; for example, the development of the Hindu-Arabic and Chinese numerals, number systems and related algorithms, and the use of tools such as abacuses and counting boards for calculation and solving equations. Asian architecture, art and design include key aspects of spatial reasoning and geometry, including symmetry, transformation, recurrence and tessellation.

Technologies provides a range of authentic contexts to explore and appreciate the significant contribution that the people and countries of Asia make to global technological advancement and the impact that Australia’s technological advances have on the countries of Asia. Students can explore how engagement with diverse cultures is facilitated in pioneering research linked to development of innovative technologies and the interconnected technological systems that influence contemporary regional relationships and provide opportunities for collaboration and exchange. This research is exemplified in initiatives designed to solve complex global challenges and push innovative boundaries for new and emerging formats. Continuing collaboration and engagement with the peoples of Asia encourages development of advanced manufacturing processes linked to automotive, electronic and robotic technologies, food and fibre, medical advances and gaming and eSports to support effective regional and global citizenship. Students have the opportunity to understand the important contributions that traditional technologies and the use of local materials and sophisticated craft-based fabrication techniques have made in helping communities in diverse locations to create sustainable modes of existence.

In The Arts, students can examine arts forms and practices that reflect the rich and diverse cultures, belief systems and traditions of the Asia region. They can explore traditional, contemporary and emerging media, forms and practices and relationships between artists and audiences across Australia and Asia. They consider the local, regional and global influence of arts and cultural practices created and experienced across the region. Students can also investigate the role of the arts in developing, maintaining and transforming cultural beliefs and practices, and communicating an understanding of the rich cultural diversity of the Asia region. They reflect on the intrinsic value of these arts works and artists’ practices as well as their place and value within contexts and communities.

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