Unit rationale, description and aim
Preservice teachers benefit greatly from considering the larger social goals, methods, challenges and contexts of education through the study of historical and contemporary theories of education and educational philosophies.
This unit provides a broad, historical and philosophical introduction to the philosophy of education, from ancient thought to contemporary challenges, enabling teachers to reflect critically upon the assumptions embedded in current practice and reason more critically about contemporary debates. What is education for, and what are its key goals? What are some key understandings of education, and its place in a good society, in key thinkers such as Plato, Augustine, Rousseau or Dewey? How does education contribute to the formation of human persons, and what is its contribution to social ends and the common good? What are the intellectual and wider skills and virtues that teachers should be aiming to model, teach, and cultivate in students, and what other goals such as freedom, equity, and inclusion should we pursue as educators? In order to raise fundamental issues, key historical texts are examined with a view to current implications and the work of contemporary theorists.
The aim of this unit is to support pre-service teachers’ understanding of educational philosophies that continue to inform and influence contemporary education.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.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 key historical and modern philosophies of ...
Learning Outcome 01
Analyse competing understandings of the means and ...
Learning Outcome 02
Reflect critically and constructively on teaching ...
Learning Outcome 03
Critically examine contemporary social, cultural a...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics may include:
- philosophies of education from ancient and modern, Western and global traditions.
- philosophical considerations of the place of education in the good society, and the moral and legal dimensions of education.
- Education and the human person (the cultivation of skills and virtues, cultural transmission, etc.).
- competing philosophical understandings of teaching, learning, and their goals.
- intercultural and first nations' perspectives on education and schooling.
- contemporary challenges to education (e.g. globalisation, educational governance; equity, justice and fairness; inclusion; belonging).
- education and the demands of constant technological innovation, including AI.
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass this unit, students are required to achieve an overall minimum grade of pass (50%). The assessment strategy is designed to enable students to display achievement of all learning outcomes.
To assure assessment in the age of Gen AI, as well as enhance authenticity, assessment is integrated with engagement in class. This involves written activities that assess understanding of key concepts and debates about the philosophy of education, as well as discussion with peers and the production of individual pieces of work. Application of these debates to contemporary issues is emphasised.
Task 1 asks students to demonstrate understanding of key historical and modern philosophies of education, thus enabling achievement of Learning Outcome 1 and providing a foundation for subsequent learning outcomes. Task 2 invites students, in collaboration with others, to reflect critically and constructively on the goals of education and means of achieving these ends in contemporary contexts. The focus of this task is on enabling students to display achievement of Learning Outcomes 1 and 2. In Task 3, students critically reflect on their range of learning across the unit, and apply key insights to contemporary challenges for education. Task 3 enables students to display achievement of all four learning outcomes.
Overview of assessments
Short written responses on competing philosophies...
Short written responses on competing philosophies of education.
20%
Collaborative written assignment, completed in gr...
Collaborative written assignment, completed in groups, examining means and goals of teaching and learning.
30%
Written examination applying course learnings to ...
Written examination applying course learnings to contemporary issues facing education.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit has been designed to require approximately 150 hours of learning in total across the teaching period. It positions pre-service teachers as adult learners with responsibility for their own learning and who are capable of problem solving. The learning in this unit is inquiry-based and learner-focused.
A variety of teaching and learning approaches will be used to meet the learning outcomes, utilising combinations of face-to-face and/or online learning. This includes learning activities such as reading, reflection, discussion, formative writing tasks, and engagement with webinars, podcasts, recorded lecture materials and video resources. Asynchronous communications via the unit’s Learning Management System site also contribute to the overall learning environment.
Lectures and/or online modules will interactively explain and explore key problems and ideas addressed in the unit. Tutorials involve discussion, analysis and shared application of this material with the aid of education-based case studies. Active learning and engagement is thereby encouraged, in the process of consolidating key content, applying knowledge to problem-solving tasks, and developing skills in analysis and evaluation. In this way, students also gain an understanding of the diverse points of view of their peers.