EDFD647 Nurturing Connections for Learning in the Early Years of Schooling

10 cp

Early childhood is a period of rapid development and learning. Diverse social and cultural relationships shape the young child’s identity and learning. It is crucial for educators in the early years of schooling to nurture connections for holistic learning and build strong foundations for each child’s continuing success as a lifelong learner. This unit takes a broad and holistic approach to teaching and learning in the early years of schooling. The ecology of childhood, past and present socio-cultural themes and interdisciplinary influences on early childhood education are examined from Christian, ethical and professional perspectives. Advocacy for the learner is advanced through the notion of building effective partnerships within a community that supports lifelong learning and promotes continuity of learning. Contemporary directions, trends, issues and challenges are examined through three interconnecting lenses, historical, present and a futures perspective. A range of powerful reflective processes are used to challenge educators to critically reflect on their own assumptions about learning in the early years of schooling and to name and critique connections between new conceptions of knowledge and practical applications within their own work situations.

 

EDFD648 Engaging the Learner in the Early Years of Schooling

10 cp

This unit examines approaches to curriculum decision-making and pedagogy that engage young children in quality learning experiences throughout the early years of schooling. It examines contemporary early childhood. It explores the educator’s role in promoting and nurturing young students as lifelong learners and engaging them as active participants in their own learning. The unit explores and critiques contemporary early childhood learning theories and curriculum directions, associated research and evidence based practices within the broader political, social and cultural contexts of teaching in the early years of schooling. Educators are challenged to search for and to create knowledge that may inform and direct curriculum decision-making and approaches to pedagogy that actively engage young students in worthwhile learning experiences, in ways that support and promote each student’s continuing development as a lifelong learner.

 

EDFD649 Research Project Part 1

10 cp

Units EDFD649 and EDFD650 are one semester only; and combined, they are equivalent to unit EDFD617 Research Project which is a 20 cp unit.

EDFD650 Research Project Part 2

10 cp

Units EDFD649 and EDFD650 are one semester only; and combined, they are equivalent to unit EDFD617 Research Project which is a 20 cp unit.

 

EDFD651 Social Justice: A Whole School Approach

10 cp

This unit contributes to the formation of a knowledge base for understanding inclusive Catholic schooling. The unit explores the foundations that underpin the characteristics of inclusive and cohesive Catholic school communities. In particular the unit aims to develop in educators an understanding of schools as places of inclusion, built on Gospel values as expressed in Catholic social teaching. The unit embraces the definitions of access and equity in the broadest sense. It explores the role of the educator as change agent and identifies skills required to assist in the ongoing transformation of Catholic schools as places of equity in which whole school approaches to social justice permeate the curriculum, structures and processes and impact on educational outcomes.

 

EDFD652 Issues in Wellbeing in Inclusive Schooling

10 cp

This unit provides opportunities for the development of exploratory and investigatory skills, knowledge and abilities essential for the growth of healthy and inclusive school communities. The unit explores the processes of research, legislation and policies relating to access, equity and community capacity building. The unit has a particular focus on the role of the school in relation to poverty and social disadvantage, the development of social capital, barriers to access and inclusion and the nature of school community partnerships.

 

EDFD653 Foundations in Social and Emotional Learning

10 cp

This unit provides an overview of the multi-factored environmental processes and personal skills components of student wellbeing. These components are underpinned by pro-social values that help shape personal wellbeing and social responsibility to others. It includes guidelines for establishing classroom and school environments that are protective, positive and foster student wellbeing. The environmental protective processes include a focus on establishing peer, school and teacher connectedness, strong family-school links, enhancing students’ meaningful participation in school and community life, and reducing the incidence of bullying and other antisocial behaviours. Reference to current educational principles and policies that inform practice in fostering student wellbeing such as the National Safe Schools Framework and National Framework for Values Education will be made.

 

EDFD654 Inclusive Curriculum Frameworks for Social, Emotional and Academic Learning

10 cp

Current research shows a powerful interdependence between students’ engagement in learning and the academic curriculum and their social and emotional wellbeing and resilience (Zins, Weissberg, Wang and Walberg, 2004). This unit provides a critical overview of this literature that explores teaching and learning contexts, processes, strategies and assessment frameworks that promote high academic engagement and academic learning outcomes for all students in all curriculum areas as well as embed the teaching of the personal skills/capabilities of resilience in the academic curriculum. Implications for catering for diverse student populations (including students with special needs and gifted students), and meeting the criteria for inclusive schooling will be addressed. Links to State Standards for Learning such as Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS), NSW Quality Teaching Dimensions, Tasmanian Essential Learnings, and Queensland’s Productive Pedagogies will be made to assist educators to meet their State endorsed frameworks for inclusive schooling.

 

EDFD655 Leading Whole School Wellbeing

10 cp

This unit explores the literature that offers guidelines on research based practice for prevention programs and approaches aimed at enhancing student well being and creating caring and safe school communities. The critical review will also draw on effective management of change including distributed leadership and strategies to support and energise staff, and the development of collaborative school cultures that facilitate whole school wellbeing and transformative learning communities. This unit will inform educator’s own practice in facilitating whole school coordinated prevention practices and conducting action research in their own educational setting.

 

EDFD656 Wellbeing for Educators

10 cp

Teachers are among the most frequently encountered positive role models in the lives of young people. Students’ social and emotional wellbeing is significantly influenced by their teachers’ social and emotional wellbeing (Hargreaves and Fullan, 1998). This unit draws on current evidence based practice in Positive Psychology to facilitate teacher wellbeing and resilience and enhance their moral leadership, their engagement and productivity in their work, and their sense of social responsibility, purpose and meaningfulness in both their personal and professional life. Positive Psychology is the study of positive emotions, positive character and positive institutions (Seligman, 2002; Peterson and Seligman, 2004). It focuses on the empirical measurement and intentional cultivation of wellbeing, strengths and virtues and spirituality and meaning in life. Implications of these practices for developing schools as positive organisations/ learning communities underpinned by ethically just principles and practices will be addressed.

 

EDFD705 Research Problem Exploration in Context

20 cp

Australian research on The Doctoral Experience concluded “that time taken for topic (or problem) definition was clearly seen as needing to be reduced”. This unit aims to assist candidates to clarify their research problem by analysing the context from which it is derived and by deconstructing the tentative conceptual issues to illuminate and amplify the problem. Candidates will be introduced to and guided to use a comprehensive array of data bases and be mentored through critical reflective experiences to generate a logical narrative, culminating in the justified articulation of their research problem as they appreciate it at this early stage. This understanding in turn is employed flexibly in the incipient investigation of the scholarly literature to produce a literature map with a major annotated literature framework accompanying it. The framework represents an initial synthesised understanding of the substantive content knowledge which underpins the research pursuit. This stage is the prerequisite of the conceptualised literature review to be attempted in the following unit. The outcome of this unit is the basic scaffolding for three chapters of a thesis or dissertation.

 

EDFD706 Literature and Theoretical Critique

20 cp

Examiners’ reports of theses and dissertations frequently identify the unsatisfactory nature of research literature reviews. Too often examiners comment upon an over-focus on rhetorical literature to the neglect of the empirical, presented as a list of semi-coherent conclusions. This unit will engage the candidate, in close consultation with his/her supervisors in identifying the appropriate literature. From the concepts embedded in the problem articulation and by synthesising the relevant literature, the candidate will generate a conceptual framework which allows the literature to illuminate suitably an understanding of the problem as well as, where appropriate to generate defensibly the research question. The end product represents a complex re-conceptualisation of the substantive knowledge matrix embedded in nurturing a sophisticated appreciation of the research problem.

 

EDFD707 Research Paradigms, Methodologies and Methods

20 cp

In writing a research thesis or dissertation it is imperative to communicate comprehensively and justify the research design underpinning the study. Thus clarity, coherency and comprehensiveness of the research design are pivotal. The purpose of this unit is to assist students to construct the design chapter of their thesis or dissertation. The unit addresses the need to develop and defend a theoretical framework and research methodology generated from the research problem, an issue identified by examiners as often lacking in the design chapter. Likewise, the unit guides candidates to argue logically for a research design based on the justified research questions. This unit along with personalised support from the candidate’s supervisor will tailor specific learning to meet the individual candidate’s needs for their design chapter. As a result some students may be engaged for prolonged periods of personalised tutorial work with a staff member who has particular expertise in a specific area unique to the candidate’s problem.

 

EDFD708 Education and Globalisation

20 cp

Students will explore the inter-relationships between the emergence of globalisation, social change and educational outcomes. The contrasting discourse between internationalisation and globalisation will be examined and major perspectives of globalisation will be analysed. A major feature of the unit will be the impact of modernity and globalisation on the nation state, and the consequences for education and work globally. Particular attention will be given to the rise of global education policies, reflecting accountability, excellence and quality, especially in current educational reforms reflecting privatisation, marketing and academic elitism.

 

EDFD709 Learning, Development and Educational Practice

20 cp

This unit explores the interconnected nature of knowledge and multidisciplinary approaches to learning. It considers a broad and encompassing view of learning that goes beyond the instrumental view of education to one that emphasises continuing development and lifelong learning. The principles and perspectives of diverse learning theories and associated methodologies are examined within the broader political and social contexts of educational practice. Synergies between theory and practice are explored through a critique of traditional approaches to educational practice and alternative types of learning. This unit challenges the candidates to reflect critically on their understanding of the nature of learning and development in terms of their particular research interest through interconnecting lenses. These include their own assumptions and experiences as learners and educators, the experiences and perceptions of others in professional roles within changing educational contexts and the scholarly literature relevant to a particular research interest or problem.

 

EDFD710 Spiritual and Ethical Dimensions of Education

20 cp

Both teaching and learning are moral acts, and their moral dimension invites scrutiny from a variety of philosophical and epistemological perspectives. Hence this unit explores the spiritual and moral dimensions of education. It also offers a framework on the use of various constructs to critique the spiritual/ethical dynamics of education. Issues such as: religion, spirituality, virtues, character, values and citizenship are explored in their educational contexts. A central feature in any spiritual/ethical education is the intention to bring about some form of personal change in students, and not just changes in knowledge and skills; this raises questions about the ethics of such intentions and related practices in terms of respect for individuals and their autonomy, as well as questions about the extent to which educational transactions can be expected to foster change in beliefs, attitudes and values. In addition, the unit considers some ethical issues related to policy, leadership and administration in education as well as ethical issues for research in education.

 

EDFD714 Research Problem Exploration in Context

20 cp

Australian research on The Doctoral Experience concluded “that time taken for topic (or problem) definition was clearly seen as needing to be reduced”. This unit aims to assist candidates to clarify their research problem by analysing the context from which it is derived and by deconstructing the tentative conceptual issues to illuminate and amplify the problem. Candidates will be introduced to and guided to use a comprehensive array of data bases and be mentored through critical reflective experiences to generate a logical narrative, culminating in the justified articulation of their research problem as they appreciate it at this early stage. This understanding in turn is employed flexibly in the incipient investigation of the scholarly literature to produce a literature map with a major annotated literature framework accompanying it. The framework represents an initial synthesised understanding of the substantive content knowledge which underpins the research pursuit. This stage is the prerequisite of the conceptualised literature review to be attempted in the following unit. The outcome of this unit is the basic scaffolding for three chapters of a thesis or dissertation.

 

EDFD715 Literature and Theoretical Critique

20 cp

Examiners’ reports of theses and dissertations frequently identify the unsatisfactory nature of research literature reviews. Too often examiners comment upon an over-focus on rhetorical literature to the neglect of the empirical, presented as a list of semi-coherent conclusions. This unit will engage the candidate, in close consultation with his/her supervisors in identifying and systemising the appropriate literature. A conceptual framework for the research project will be developed from an in-depth study of relevant literature in order to show how the literature illuminates the research problem. In this process detailed research questions are to be generated. The end product represents a complex re-conceptualisation of the substantive knowledge matrix embedded in nurturing a sophisticated appreciation of the research problem.

 

EDFD716 Research Paradigms, Methodologies and Methods

20 cp

In writing a research thesis or dissertation it is imperative to communicate comprehensively and justify the research design underpinning the study. Thus clarity, coherency and comprehensiveness of the research design are pivotal. The purpose of this unit is to assist students to construct the design chapter of their thesis or dissertation. The unit addresses the need to develop and defend a theoretical framework and research methodology generated from the research problem, an issue identified by examiners as often lacking in the design chapter. Likewise, the unit guides candidates to argue logically for a research design based on the justified research questions. This unit along with personalised support from the candidate’s supervisor will tailor specific learning to meet the individual candidate’s needs for their design chapter. As a result some students may be engaged for prolonged periods of personalised tutorial work with a staff member who has particular expertise in a specific area unique to the candidate’s problem.