Unit rationale, description and aim
Pre-service teachers must develop awareness of the increasingly complex social, political, and economic contexts in which they will work, as well as be conscious of, sensitive to and skilled in responding to sociocultural diversity and the unique family, community and societal experiences children and young people bring to their learning.
This unit develops pre-service teacher understanding of the historical context, policy frameworks, legislation and sociocultural factors influencing learners and learning in Australian settings, including First Nations peoples and communities. Pre-service teachers will draw on recent scholarly literature, educational policies and sociological concepts to inform their knowledge and understanding of some of the key contemporary issues facing children, young people, schools, early learning settings and the broader community. They will engage in critical self-inquiry to consider positionality, biases and assumptions and how these impact on learners from diverse communities and groups. Pre-service teachers will think critically about intercultural development and how to engage with culturally safe and supportive practices, including practical examples for use in educational contexts.
The overall aim of this unit is to develop the critical thinking skills required for researching, analysing, applying and reflecting on evidence-based approaches and strategies that support diverse school contexts and inclusive educational settings.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Explain the relationship between social factors – ...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply reflexive thinking to their own identity, po...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse the impact of historical and contemporary ...
Learning Outcome 03
Apply critical thinking skills to the use of key s...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
· Sociological imagination; how social factors influence the life of an individual in society
· Positionality and understanding one’s place within societal structures
· The role of sociology in supporting effective learning environments and experiences
· Equity for diverse learners in educational contexts; including assumptions and biases
· Strengths-based approaches to families and communities
· Social class and educational disadvantage; cultural and social capital
· Social theories for education; ideology, discourse and hegemony
· Neoliberalism and democratic purposes of education
· Colonialism and ongoing structural racism in education
· Multiculturalism in educational contexts; reflexivity, positionality, and equity
· Intercultural education; culture, ethnicity, religion, and difference
· Decolonising education; Indigenous experiences and learning in formal contexts
· Culturally safe and supportive teaching & learning spaces
· Multilingualism in educational contexts; language and power, strengths-based approaches
· Language, culture and education; culturally responsive and relevant pedagogies
· Gender, education and school-based violence; stereotypes, performativity
· Working effectively with families and school communities; diversity and partnerships
· Contemporary public, political and research discourses about teachers and teachers’ work
· Teachers’ individual and collective efficacy in contemporary agendas
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks and their weightings enable pre-service teachers to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of educational sociology and the role of cultural responsiveness in engaging diverse learners in Australian communities and educational contexts. The knowledge and skills developed will support pre-service teachers to demonstrate learning of: 4.2 – Cultural responsiveness, and foundational knowledge of diverse learners, families and communities.
The assessment tasks are sequenced to support progressive development of content. There is an early low-stakes hurdle task that reviews unit content and engagement. Opportunities will be provided in class to support diverse learners.
Assessment Task 1 engages pre-service teachers in scaffolded self-inquiry and reflexive thinking about their own positionality and privilege using critical thinking to consider culturally and contextually appropriate approaches to teaching in local communities.
Assessment Task 2 is a final examination that will test pre-service teachers’ knowledge and its application in thinking about teachers’ work in response to complex contemporary contexts.
The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes. To pass this unit, students must complete all assessment tasks and achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50%.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Online Quiz Complete an onlin...
Assessment Task 1: Online Quiz
Complete an online quiz to show understanding of content covered in the early part of the semester. You must score 80% or better to complete this task. You will be allowed unlimited attempts.
Complete/Incomplete
Assessment Task 2: Written Reflective Analysis ...
Assessment Task 2: Written Reflective Analysis
Prepare a written reflexive statement that analyses your personal experiences with schooling/education within community, including local First Nations communities. Use critical self-inquiry to consider your positionality, biases and assumptions. Drawing on the research literature, identify your approach to intercultural development and practice in educational settings and how you would engage with families and communities. Provide examples of practices that you would use in working in educational settings with diverse groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners.
50%
Assessment Task 3: Examination Complete a final ...
Assessment Task 3: Examination
Complete a final examination, including a range of multiple-choice and/or short-answer questions that cover unit content. The examination will be scheduled within the final examination period.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The learning in this unit is inquiry-based, learner-focused and student-centred. Emphasis is placed on pre-service teachers as adult learners with responsibility for their own learning and who are capable of problem-solving. Pre-service teachers will be scaffolded in self-inquiry to reflect on the influence of diverse contexts of learners and their learning.
The learning and teaching strategy for this unit is based on a constructivist approach that recognises that learning builds on pre-existing understandings and is shaped by learners’ personal development and sociocultural context. The learning and teaching strategy encourages active learning and engagement. Teaching strategies will consolidate the learning of content, apply knowledge to problem-solving tasks and develop analytical and evaluation skills. The learning and teaching strategy is achieved through a range of learning activities such as reading, reflection, discussion, and engagement with webinars, podcasts and video resources.
ACECQA Curriculum Specifications
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) standards:
Relating to
Social and emotional development
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3
Relating to
Child health, wellbeing, safety and protection (including safe sleep practices)
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Relating to
Diversity, difference and inclusivity
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3
Relating to
Children with diverse needs and backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Relating to
Contemporary society and pedagogy
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3, LO4
Relating to
Contemporary theories and practice
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO3
Relating to
Professional identity and development
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3, LO4
Relating to
Socially inclusive practice
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO4
Relating to
Culture, diversity and inclusion
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level standards:
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Core Content
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the AITSL Core Content:
Relating toThe research evidence that shows the positive impact of engaging with communities and families to drive successful outcomes for First Nations students and teach what appropriate engagement with families and communities can look like in practice.
Relevant learningLO1, LO3, LO4
Relating toExplicitly teach the concept of cultural safety and explore practical examples of what it can look like in a classroom context.
Relevant learningLO1, LO4
Relating toThe concept of positionality through engagement in critical self-inquiry for both academic writing and as a core mechanism of effective ongoing professional teaching practice.
Relevant learningLO2
Relating toThe concept of ongoing intercultural development and the importance of self-reflection and reflexivity as ever-evolving career practices.
Relevant learningLO2, LO4
Relating toAbout the cultural diversity within classrooms and communities in Australia, and in the local context, to understand and value the perspectives of diverse groups including EAL/D and First Nations students.
Relevant learningLO1, LO3
Relating toHow biases and assumptions about diverse groups and worldviews affect practices, behaviours, and attitudes in the classroom and how these biases adversely impact specific groups.
Relevant learningLO1, LO2, LO3
Relating toThe research evidence that outlines the most effective approaches for engaging with families to promote learning appropriate to student stage of learning.
Relevant learningLO1, LO3, LO4
Representative texts and references
Recommended reference
Apple, M. (2014). Official knowledge: Democratic education in a conservative age (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Australian Children’s Commissioners and Guardians (2019). National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. https://childsafe.humanrights.gov.au/national-principles.
Ball, S. J. (2006). Education policy and social class: The selected works of Stephen J. Ball. Routledge.
Bargallie, D., Fernando, N., & Lentin, A. (2023). Breaking the racial silence: putting racial literacy to work in Australia. Ethnic and Racial Studies, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2023.2206470
Blair, N. (2015). Aboriginal Education: More than adding perspectives. In Noelene L. Weatherby-Fell (Ed.). Learning to Teach in the Secondary School. Cambridge University Press, pp.189-208.
Burgess, C., Tennent, C., Vass, G., Guenther, J., Lowe, K., & Moodie, N. (2019). A systematic review of pedagogies that support, engage and improve the educational outcomes of Aboriginal students. Australian Educational Researcher, 46(2), 297–318. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-019-00315-5
Gobby, B., & Walker, R. (Eds.). (2022). Powers of curriculum: Sociological aspects of education (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Lareau, A. (2015). Cultural Knowledge and Social Inequality. American Sociological Review, 80(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414565814
Lowe, K., Harrison, N., Tennent, C., Guenther, J., Vass, G., & Moodie, N. (2019). Factors affecting the development of school and Indigenous community engagement : A systematic review. Australian Educational Researcher, 46(2), 253–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00314-6
Macaulay, L. (2023). “She just saw me - she didn’t teach me”: The perspectives of Australian Sudanese and South Sudanese youth on the student/teacher relationships in Australian schools. The Australian Educational Researcher, 50, 1323-1341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00554-z
Mills, C., & Gale, T. (2010). Schooling in disadvantaged communities: Playing the game from the back of the field. Springer.
Mourad, Z. (2022). “Her scarf is a garbage bag wrapped around her head”: Muslim youth experiences of Islamophobia in Sydney primary schools. Ethnicities, 23(1), 46-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968211069192
Moloney, R., Harbon, L., & Oguro, S. (2024). Teaching for linguistic diversity in schools: Student wellbeing and achievement. Cambridge University Press.
Tait, G. (2023). Making sense of mass education (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Welch, A.R., & Connell, R. (2022). Education, change and society (5th ed.). Oxford University Press