10 cp

This unit is the first in a six-unit study sequence in the Education Studies Major. The preservice teacher will begin to address the critical questions about the role of early childhood settings and schools in educating for a more just and equitable society, and in particular the mission and nature of Catholic schools in our society.

This unit focuses on fundamental concepts and theories within a critical reflective approach which deepen understanding of children and school aged young people as individual persons and members of social groups. All students will consider and critique a range of theories concerning the physical, cognitive and psychosocial aspects of development and will examine ideas and debates about the context of development with specific reference to family, childcare, school, peers, culture and diverse social contexts, as well as developmental differences and disabilities. The unit emphasises the importance of preservice teachers developing an informed, theoretical framework; one that acknowledges different ways of knowing and different world views including Indigenous ways of knowing. Information Communication and Learning Technologies (ICLT) for the development of skills and applications for learning will be introduced.