Unit rationale, description and aim
With the enactment of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (UN, 2006) alongside the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989), the right to inclusive education is clearly and universally defined. Despite human rights recognition and legal obligations to implement inclusive education, many institutions still benefit, including profit making, from segregation.
This unit focuses on strategies for addressing and preventing discrimination, harassment, and bullying, and ways to promote equity and social justice in the classroom and the school community that are underpinned by the actualisation of the human rights of children. It develops skills in inclusive classroom practice and assessment, as well as community advocacy strategies.
The aim of this unit is to provide students with an awareness, understanding and political will to uphold the rights outlined in the Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disability and the Rights of the Child.
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.
Synthesise an understanding of the rights of stude...
Learning Outcome 01
Implement strategies for creating inclusive learni...
Learning Outcome 02
Synthesise an understanding of the role of assessm...
Learning Outcome 03
Identify strategies for effective collaboration an...
Learning Outcome 04
Exhibit skill in advocacy and leadership to promot...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- International treaties and documents such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, General Comment No.7; General Comment No.4; General Comment No.12
- Local codes of ethical practice in relation to young children (e.g., in law, education, health, etc)
- Current tensions, debates, and research
- Sociology of childhood, child competence and agency
- Children as global rights holders: provision, participation and protection
- Children as active participants and decision-makers
- Working and communicating with diverse children in multiple contexts
- The role of professionals as advocates for young children across a range of disciplines within local, national and international contexts
- Strategies that enhance rights-based practice.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategies used allows students to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes and professional standards and criteria consistent with University assessment requirements.
The assessment tasks relate directly to the achievement of the learning outcomes. Some flexibility may be exercised in the assessment tasks to align with the needs of the students; for example, some students may be working in schools or other educational contexts, in an administrative role or currently on leave from teaching in a school. In order to pass this unit, students are required to successfully complete all assessment tasks and achieve an overall mark of 50% or above.
The assessment tasks involve critique of the module content and independent research. Scope is provided for the student to use reflective processes to connect personal theories with the content and material presented and to critically discuss possible applications and consequences for practice. The content explored in the modules and independent research is to be used to inform and frame the writing of a critical analysis and a strategic proposal.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 Critical analysis of relevant...
Assessment Task 1
Critical analysis of relevant rights related documents and the implications for professional practice
40%
Assessment Task 2 Create a proposal for a proje...
Assessment Task 2
Create a proposal for a project or initiative that demonstrates your skills in advocacy and leadership to promote the rights of students with diverse abilities and create inclusive classrooms.
60%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is offered fully online and uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of the essential knowledge associated with the enactment of a rights respecting framework for supporting children and young people in inclusive settings. Students will explore key issues and develop a deeper contextualised understanding of child rights, voice and agency through online asynchronous activities. Other activities may include lectures and reading, self-directed learning, participant critical reflection against relevant professional standards with particular reference to case studies, engagement with the literature, dialogue and interrogation of concepts, theories and practices, and the application to their current professional contexts.
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.