Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Incompatible
EDFD227 Partnerships: Inclusive and Diverse Learning , EDAC225 Family Studies and Disability
Unit rationale, description and aim
Special Education is one of the more challenging, dynamic, growing areas of education and is reflected in early childhood, primary and secondary learning contexts with many students with disability and diverse needs requiring personalised learning approaches. In this specialisation, pre-service teachers are encouraged to work collaboratively with students, their families and other professionals to build whole-of-community networking, designed to improve each student’s cross-curricula lifelong learning outcomes and wellbeing.
This unit enables pre-service teachers to draw on broad and specific knowledge of inclusive education in catering for students with disability, challenging behaviours and learning difficulties. Pre-service teachers will consider the form and nature of collaborative partnership within schools and the broader community. Pre-service teachers will apply their knowledge to develop skills to enable establishment and maintenance of collaborative partnerships with students, parents, families, colleagues, other professionals, medical specialists and community members in the development of Individualised Planning Documents [i.e. Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Individual Learning Plans (ILPs)]. Strategies that support effective communication, conflict management, relationship building and person-centred practice will be covered. Consideration of partnerships will include opportunities for pre-service teachers to investigate and critically reflect on the complex nature of teachers’ work to support families effectively and promote continuity of learning for students with disability, challenging behaviour and learning difficulties. Pre-service teachers will apply critical thinking and judgement to analyse issues related to ethical, legal and professional responsibilities of teachers, including inclusive practice and advocacy for students and their families. Diverse and dynamic contexts of family life with an individual with a disability will be examined. Relevant framework approaches will be used to develop awareness of principles and concepts informing service provision, appropriate adjustments, inclusion, and partnerships that support access, participation, inclusive and diverse learning for students with disability, in collaboration with their families, carers and other professionals.
The aim of this unit is to assist pre-service teachers to develop an understanding of processes to build collaborative partnerships, team work and wrap-around services for students with disabilities and their families.
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 | Reflect on and critically analyse ethical, legal, professional and complex responsibilities of teachers, including inclusive practice and advocacy for students with disability, challenging behaviours and learning difficulties and their families, and the use of collaboration to enhance professional practice, including the development of Individualised Planning Documents (APST 1.5, 1.6, 3.5, 4.4, 7.1; ACECQA A6, A7, C5, D1, D4, D5, E3, F4) | GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO2 | Examine the form and nature of collaborative partnerships within schools and the broader community, including safe and effective online collaboration, and apply this knowledge to the consideration of how partnerships are built and maintained in ways that support families and promote participation and learning for all students (APST 3.5, 3.7, 7.3; ACECQA A6, A8, C5, D1, D4) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO3 | Identify the diverse and dynamic nature of family life, especially in relation to families experiencing diverse contexts and particular disability support needs (APST 7.3; ACECQA A5, A6, A7, C5, D1, D4) | GC1, GC5, GC6, GC9, GC11 |
| LO4 | Develop awareness of principles and concepts informing service provision, inclusion, early intervention, adjustments and support strategies for diverse range of families, with reference to application of relevant legislative and professional requirements, including Disability legislation and understanding of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and requirements for the Record of School Achievement and Higher School Certificate (APST 1.5, 4.1, 4.4, 7.4; ACECQA A5, A6, A7, C5, D1, D4, D5, F4) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO5 | Reflectively synthesise ideas and present work in ways that incorporates the relevant use of ICT and that meets required tertiary standards (APST 1.5, ACECQA E3) | GC1, GC2, GC4, GC5, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11 |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
1.5 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. |
1.6 Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of legislative requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability. |
3.5 Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement. |
3.7 Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process. |
4.1 Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. |
4.4 Describe strategies that support students’ well-being and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements. |
7.1 Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession. |
7.3 Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers. |
7.4 Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice. |
ACECQA Curriculum Specifications
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following specific knowledge:
A. Child development and care A5. Wellbeing and safety early intervention A6. Diversity, difference and inclusivity A7. Learners with special needs A8. Transitions and continuity of learning (including transition to school) |
C. Teaching pedagogies C5. Catering to children with diverse needs and backgrounds |
D. Families and community partnerships D1. Developing family and community partnerships D4. Socially inclusive practice D5. Culture, diversity and inclusion |
E. History and philosophy of early childhood E3. Ethics and professional practice |
F. Early childhood professional practice F4. Development advocacy |
Content
Topics will include:
- The form and nature of collaborative partnership within schools and the broader community.
- Investigation of various opportunities for teachers to effectively support families and promote continuity of learning for students with disability, challenging behaviours and learning difficulties.
- Ethical, legal and professional responsibilities of teachers including requirements for the Record of School Achievement and Higher School Certificate
- Examples of inclusive practice and advocacy for students, families and the teaching profession.
- Experiences of collaboration with peers and participation in group based tasks.
- Collaborating with families in which there is a member with disability and diverse support requirements.
- Principles and concepts informing service provision, inclusion, and support strategies for a diverse range of families.
- Application of legislative requirements and differentiated teaching strategies that support participation and learning for inclusion and demonstrate understanding of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Pre-service teachers will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to progress and demonstrate their understandings in this unit. Participants will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to support learning, including: online engagement, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations and group discussions, both online and face-to-face, self-directed study activities and assessment tasks. Some participation in appropriate educational settings may be required.
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.
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Such procedures may include, but are not limited to, essays, reports, examinations, student presentations or case studies.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1 Partnership artefact and reflection: Artefact This assessment task requires the development of a communication package that draws on a range of communication strategies and communicates to families an important aspect of education and learning for their child with a disability. The aim of this package is that it could be used to create partnerships with parents and provide key advice and information on their child’s education program with reference to how it applies to relevant inclusive principles, practices and frameworks. Reflection on the process of creating the communication package and what the expected outcomes of using such an artefact with the parents would be. Indicate ways in which this artefact could be adapted to be used with diverse families. | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO5 |
Assessment Task 2 Folio: Present a folio of resources that indicate the form and nature of inclusive community collaborative partnerships. Present an analysis of how these resources could:
| 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Assessment Task 3 Research-informed critical analysis paper Critical analysis of chosen issue or topic within the area of partnerships and family studies that support inclusive and diverse learning, drawing on the literature relevant to this unit. Consider ethical, legal and professional responsibilities of teachers and how these can be applied to practices of educators. The critical analysis should synthesis the importance of partnerships in the following elements of teaching:
| 40% | LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Representative texts and references
Barbour, C., Barbour, N., & Scully, P. (2011). Families, schools and communities: Building partnerships for educating children (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Bowes, J., Grace, R., & Hodge, K. (2012). Children, families and communities: Contexts and consequences (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Berger, E. H., & Riojas-Cortez, M. (2012). Parents as partners in education: Families and schools working together (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Cologon, K. (n.d.). Is inclusive education really for everyone? Family stories of children and young people labelled with “severe and multiple” or “profound” “disabilities.” Research Papers in Education, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2020.1849372
Dempsey, I., & Nankervis, K. (Eds.). (2006). Community disability services: An evidence-based approach to practice. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
Deppeler, J., Loreman, T., Smith, R., & Florian, L. Eds.). (2015). Inclusive pedagogy across the curriculum. Vol. 7, International perspectives on inclusive education. Bingley, UK: Emerald Insight. (e-book)
Foreman, P., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (Eds.). (2017). Inclusion in action (5th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.
Gavidia-Payne, S. (2020). Implementation of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme Experiences of Families of Young Children With Disabilities. Infants and Young Children, 33(3), 184–194. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000169
Gestwicki, C. (2016) Home, school and community relations (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Hyde, M., Carpenter, L. & Dole, S. (2017). Diversity, inclusion and engagement (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Porter, L. (2008). Teacher-parent collaboration: Early childhood to adolescence. Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Press.
Rockwell, R. E. Andre, L. C. & Hawley, M. K. (2010). Families and educators as partners (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Scully, P. (2018). Families, schools and communities: Building partnerships for educating children (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Seligman, M. & Darling, R.B. (2007). Ordinary families, special children: A systems approach to childhood disability (3rd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Trivette, C. M., Dunst, C. J., & Hamby, D. W. (2010). Influences of Family-Systems Intervention Practices on Parent-Child Interactions and Child Development. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 30(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121410364250