Unit rationale, description and aim
Speech pathologists play an important role in working with communities to support and advocate for communication and swallowing as fundamental human rights. By partnering with communities, speech pathologists can design evidence based preventative, promotional and/or educational initiatives that respond to identified community needs and assets. Research and project-based work are core competencies required by Speech Pathology Australia at entry into the profession.
In this unit, students will examine the role of speech pathologists in advocating for, and creating, environments that support equity and participation . Students explore how communication and swallowing needs are connected to human rights, ethics, human dignity, and the Common Good.
Through community engagement, students will develop their understanding of respectful, reciprocal and effective community based practice.
Additionally, this unit contains a learning outcome from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (HCF, 2014) specifically addressing the HCF cultural capability – Clinical presentations.
Overall this unit aims to develop students’ understanding of speech pathology practice across individual, targeted and population level services, with a particular emphasis on community level and public health approaches.
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.
Analyse what contributes to a community, the role ...
Learning Outcome 01
Utilise research, scientific process, and particip...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate understanding of the role of speech pa...
Learning Outcome 03
HCF 9.3* Apply local epidemiology and population h...
Learning Outcome 04
Engage in participatory approaches to working with...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
Public Health
- Human rights, health/education/disability policies
- Tiers of service provision: universal, population, targeted and specialized/individual
- Public health (universal and population provision), the Common Good and Ethics
- Speech pathology, public health and health promotion
Frameworks and models that support community-centred practice
- ICF in the context of community centred practice
- Social determinants of health: role of social determinants in the development and maintenance of communities, diversity and intersectionality
- Access and equity
- Speech pathology and environmental factors
- Culture and culturally responsive practice
- Sustainable development goals
- Principles of community-based rehabilitation: global and local considerations
Scientific process in community/public health
- Defining Community and Community-centred practice
- The scientific process and community/public health
- Undertaking a needs and asset assessment/analysis
- Consulting and collaborating with groups and services through participatory and co-design approaches
- Building a community profile
- Using evidence to support project development
Community-centred projects
- Developing strategic partnerships; building capacity
- Strategies and processes for development and implementation of community projects
- Monitoring and evaluation of community-centred projects
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment 1 (Community profile: individual task). This assessment enables students to apply research skills (literature searching, analysis and synthesis, data collection, analysis, integration and interpretation) and audience‑appropriate communication skills to demonstrate their understanding of a community.
Assessment 2 (Community project: group task). This assessment enables students to work in a group to consult with a community. Students will identify assets and opportunities related to communication and/or swallowing within a given community, and barriers and facilitators to participation. They will then plan a project to target the support of communication and/or swallowing at a community level.
Assessment 3 (Reflection: individual task). An individual reflection task enables students to reflect on how theory and their community engagement experience has informed their understanding of the role of speech pathologists in working with communities.
In order to pass this unit students must demonstrate achievement of every learning outcome, obtain a minimum mark of 50% for the unit and pass the hurdle assessment
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Community profile (individual task)...
Assessment 1: Community profile (individual task)
Enables students to apply research skills and audience-appropriate communication skills to demonstrate their understanding of a community.
35%
Assessment 2: Community Project (group task) Ena...
Assessment 2: Community Project (group task)
Enables students to work in a group to identify assets and opportunities related to communication and/or swallowing within a given community. Student will then plan a project to target the support of communication and/or swallowing at a community level.
35%
Assessment 3: Reflection (individual task) Stude...
Assessment 3: Reflection (individual task)
Students will be enabled to reflect on how theory and their community engagement experience has informed their understanding of the speech pathology role in community-centred practice.
30%
Ungraded Hurdle: Community Consultation and Commu...
Ungraded Hurdle: Community Consultation and Community Engagement
Students must attend community engagement sessions and contribute to community engagement activities, as specified in the unit outline.
Pass/ Fail
(Ungraded Hurdle)
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit uses a service‑learning approach to help students explore the role of speech pathologists in community‑engaged practice. Students will build their understanding of the scientific method and learn how it can be applied in community‑based projects. They will use this knowledge to design a public health project related to speech pathology, then reflect on this experience.
Learning activities include a mix of online self‑paced content and interactive tutorials. Online materials introduce key concepts, while tutorials provide opportunities for discussion, collaboration, and applying learning in small groups. Students will also engage with community partners, allowing them to develop practical skills in teamwork, communication, and project development.
This unit involves 150 hours of learning which includes face‑to‑face and online activities, independent study, interactive learning, and assessment tasks. This unit also includes around 25 hours of community engagement which are directly linked to the unit learning outcomes and assessment requirements.