Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Unit rationale, description and aim
Education is a dynamic set of processes, an endless recalibrating of what should be learned, how it should be taught, how it should be assessed, and what is its end purpose. Theorists, theologians, politicians, philosophers, and social commentators have differing views, and agreement often seems hard to find. Opportunity to engage directly with leading scholars, theologians, policy makers, and practitioners can be limited, particularly for educational leaders who are often engaged in busy professional lives.
This unit is presented as a series of seminars across the semester, supported by related scholarly readings and online resources. Topics and speakers will be determined each year in consultation with educational leadership scholars in the National School of Education, in consultation with the La Salle Academy and Catholic education partners. Availability of speakers will also inform the final shape of topics and modes of presentation. The first and second assessments engage students in a critical review of seminar topics, and the final assessment explores the practical implications of ideas explored across the presentations.
The aim of this unit is to engage students directly and critically with contemporary leaders, educationalists, theorists, theologians, and philosophers.
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.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Appraise significant priorities and challenges for their educational leadership context and practice ( APSP 3, 4) | GC2, GC7, GC8 |
| LO2 | Use scholarly literature to critically analyse these priorities and challenges ( APSP 4) | GC7, GC9, GC11 |
| LO3 | Synthesise diverse perspectives from literature and seminar presentations to guide development of practical leadership responses ( APSP 3, 4) | GC1, GC2, GC8, GC11 |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARD FOR PRINCIPALS - PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
This unit addresses the following Professional Practice:
APSP 3 – Leading improvement, innovation, and change Principals work with others to produce and implement clear, evidence-based improvement plans and policies for the development of the school and its facilities. They recognise that a crucial part of the role is to lead and manage innovation and change to ensure the vision and strategic plan is put into action across the school and that its goals and intentions are realised. |
APSP 4 – Leading the management of the school Principals use a range of data management methods and technologies to ensure that the school’s resources and staff are efficiently organised and managed to provide an effective and safe learning environment as well as value for money. This includes appropriate delegation of tasks to members of the staff and the monitoring of accountabilities. Principals ensure these accountabilities are met. They seek to build a successful school through effective collaboration with school boards, governing bodies, parents and others. They use a range of technologies effectively and efficiently to manage the school. |
Content
Topics will vary year to year, based on evaluation of contemporary social, political, philosophical, and ecclesial developments.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit will be offered as a series of seminars that are presented both live and recorded for students unable to attend. It is anticipated each seminar would be presented from across different campuses of the university, based on availability of speakers at the time, consistent with the national identity of the university. Stimulus and support materials will be available through the Learning Management System. Students will engage in pre-reading or access to online resources (blogs, podcasts, social media) relevant to the annual seminar topics.
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.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment will relate directly to the achievement of the outcomes above. There are three graded assessment tasks. The first and second tasks will be critical reviews of the seminar topics. The third task synthesises the critical reviews and draws from this synthesis to construct a practical response to the challenges presented in the seminars.
The assessment strategy used allows students to demonstrate their knowledge related to perspectives on wellbeing in a creative and practical manner. In order to pass this unit, students are required to successfully complete all assessment tasks regardless of their mode of enrolment.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1 Critical essay identifying the significance of seminar one for contemporary educational leadership | 30% | LO1, LO2 |
Assessment Task 2 Evaluation of Assessment 1 in light of further insights on the challenges/priorities drawn from seminar two contemporary educational leadership. | 30% | LO1, LO2 |
Assessment Task 3 Develop a personal response to the challenge and its relevance to personal educational leadership context. | 40% | LO3 |
Representative texts and references
Biesta, G. (2022). World-centred education. Routledge.
Block, P., Brueggemann, & McKnight, J. (2016) An other kingdom: Departing the consumer culture. John Wiley & Sons.
Dean, T. (2021). How we became human, and why we need to change. Pan Macmillan.
Giroux, H. (2022). Pedagogy of resistance: Against manufactured ignorance. Bloomsbury.
Haesler, D. (2021). The act of leadership: A playbook for leading with humility, clarity and purpose. Wiley.
Milligan, S., Luo, R., Kamei, T., Rice, S., & Kheang, T. (2020). Recognition of learning success for all: Ensuring trust and utility in a new approach to recognition of learning in senior secondary education in Australia. Learning Creates Australia.
OECD (2020). What students learn matters: Towards a 21st century curriculum. OECD Publications.
Walsh, L., Glesson, J., Cutler, B., Rickinson, M., Cirkcony, C., & Salisbury, M. (2022). What, why, when and how: Australian educators’ use of research in schools. Q Survey Summary 01/2022. Q Project, Monash University. https://doi.org/10.26180/17192990
Yunkaporta, T. (2019). Sand talk: How indigenous thinking can save the world. The Text Publishing Company