What is the Bystander Effect?

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• critical thinking
• communication
• curiosity
• empathy
• ethical understanding
• problem solving
• reflection
• social skills

Australian Curriculum (v9.0) content description:

Year 9 & 10 Health and Physical Education

• Refine, evaluate and adapt strategies for managing changes and transitions (AC9HP10P02)

Victorian Curriculum content description:

Year 9 & 10 Health and Physical Education

• Plan, implement and critique strategies to enhance the health, safety and wellbeing of their communities (VCHPEP149)
• Critique behaviours and contextual factors that influence the health and wellbeing of their communities (VCHPEP151)

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding, Intercultural Understanding, Personal and Social Capability 

Relevant parts of Year 9 & 10 achievement standards from the Australian Curriculum: Students can evaluate how attitudes and beliefs about equality, respect, diversity and inclusion influence the nature and quality of relationships. Students propose and justify strategies to manage online and offline situations where their own or others’ health, safety, relationships or wellbeing may be at risk. They apply and evaluate leadership approaches, collaboration strategies and ethical behaviours across a range of movement contexts.

Relevant parts of Year 9 & 10 Health and Physical Education achievement standards from the Victorian Curriculum: Students can analyse the impact of attitudes and beliefs about diversity on community connection and wellbeing. Students identify and analyse factors that contribute to respectful relationships. They compare and contrast a range of actions that could be undertaken to enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing.

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

• Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

• Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

• Device capable of displaying audio-visual material
• Writing materials/a laptop for each student 
• Teacher Resource 1 - video

These resources were created in collaboration with Courage to Care, a not-for-profit organisation that educates Australians about the dangers of discrimination, including antisemitism and racism. Courage to Care Upstander Programs take inspiration from real-life extraordinary acts of courage. Based on the idea that ordinary people have the power to make a positive difference to the lives of others by being Upstanders, the program inspires people to make a real difference in their community by standing up and taking action, creating real change.

Courage to Care offers face-to-face Upstander Programs at schools in most states. Delivered by teams of skilled and dedicated volunteers, Upstander Programs feature inspiring testimonies from Holocaust Survivor Speakers, promote acceptance of diversity within the community, and transform bystander behaviour by inspiring participants to become Upstanders.

Upstander Programs encourage participants to become aware of their potential to make a positive difference and offer practical tools for standing up against bullying and prejudice by empowering participants to take positive action - in the schoolyard, workplaces, and in our communities. Find out more about booking an Upstander Program in your school at couragetocare.org.au.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium to High - This lesson requires teachers to facilitate class discussion sensitively. There is an activity that asks students to reflect on any wrongdoing they may have witnessed at their school. Teachers will need to feel confident about managing this activity and its associated class discussion. We highly recommend teachers read through the lesson content and Teacher Content Information before delivering this lesson.