Unit rationale, description and aim
Contemporary education offers stories of hope, healing, and communal life, yet they exist within wider narratives about the purposes of education that can prioritise individualism, consumerism, uncritical scientism, or materialism.
This unit establishes a critical dialogue between Catholic social teaching, non-materialist ontologies (including indigenous), and contemporary educational policy and pedagogical discourses (e.g., Mparntwe Declaration, UN Sustainable Development Goals, OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030, virtual and augmented realities, social and emotional learning, entrepreneurialism). It critiques use of research, data, and epistemic privilege in education policy, measurement, and evaluation.
This unit aims to develop skills in critique of contemporary educational discourse. Students develop confidence in crafting and telling their own educational narrative.
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.
Describe contemporary perspectives on purposes of ...
Learning Outcome 01
'EDLE654 - Leadership in Context: Educational Narratives and Literacies for Learning Communities - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Critically analyse discourse on use of data and ev...
Learning Outcome 02
'EDLE654 - Leadership in Context: Educational Narratives and Literacies for Learning Communities - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Evaluate these discourses in light of Catholic soc...
Learning Outcome 03
'EDLE654 - Leadership in Context: Educational Narratives and Literacies for Learning Communities - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Create and present a personal statement of educati...
Learning Outcome 04
'EDLE654 - Leadership in Context: Educational Narratives and Literacies for Learning Communities - Graduate Capabilities v2 - '
Content
Topics will include:
Purposes of Education
- Social, philosophical, ecclesial, political visions of the “common good”
- Policy framing
- OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030
- UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Mparntwe Declaration – National goals for education
- National agreements and policy architecture
Ontological narratives of educational purpose
- Homo economicus and eudaimonia
- Relationality and individualism
- Datafication and performativity
- Transcendence and non-materiality (including indigenous ontologies)
Leadership as storytelling
- Subjectivity and reflexivity
- Auto-ethnography
- Digital narrative
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate achievement of each of the learning outcomes. Assessment tasks build on each other through a developmental and applied approach and provide students with the opportunity to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes and professional standards and criteria consistent with University assessment requirements.
Learning in this unit requires students to develop personal responses to wider educational policy and discourse as a manifestation of Catholic social teaching. Assessment 1 requires students to describe and critically evaluate contemporary discourse about the purposes of education through the framework of Catholic social teaching. Assignment 2 requires students to develop a coherent statement of educational leadership philosophy in response to Assessment 1. Students must also express ways in which this is enacted in practice.
The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are mapped to demonstrate the achievement of the learning outcomes and the related academic and professional standards. In order to pass this unit, students are required to successfully complete both assessment tasks regardless of their mode of enrolment.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Critical Evaluation Critical ...
Assessment Task 1: Critical Evaluation
Critical evaluation of contemporary discourses on data and evidence in light of Catholic social teaching.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Digital Story/Artefact or Podc...
Assessment Task 2: Digital Story/Artefact or Podcast
Digital story/artefact/podcast of personal philosophy and its practical implications in leading discourse on data and evidence in learning communities.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is offered in offered in multimode and uses a constructivist learning approach to support students in the development of knowledge, skills, and critical insights. Students begin with critical examination of core policy documents governing education in Australia. This broadens to consider the wider discourse on the purposes of education, including critique of political, social, cultural, and economic perspectives. Discussion and case study methods are employed to evaluate these, complemented by evaluation of scholarly theory and research findings. Students are the challenged to articulate and present a coherent statement of educational philosophy in the form of a digital artefact.
This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the teaching period, comprising directed tasks and self-study.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Lead
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, students should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Lead standards:
Australian Professional Standard For Principals - Professional Practice
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, students should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Professional Practice standards: