EDUC 7053NA - Education Issues in a Global Community

Ngee Ann Academy - Quadmester 4 - 2014

This course explores education issues in relation to education in culturally plural societies globally, but with a particular focus on developing countries. The key concepts relate to the `core values (ideologies, ontologies and epistemologies) of different cultures, and how these, with social, political and historical phenomena, construct education systems. Key concepts include cultural diversity and hybridity, gender and sexualities, diasporas, families, religions, languages, subjugated knowledges, hegemonies, assimilation and colonisation. The course in designed so as to facilitate blended delivery. The course has a student-centred learning focus and is, in part, determined by their decision-making process as part of a critical pedagogical approach (Austin et al. 2007: 8 24).

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Course Details

Course Code	EDUC 7053NA
Course	Education Issues in a Global Community
Coordinating Unit	School of Education
Term	Quadmester 4
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	Ngee Ann Academy
Units	3
Restrictions	M Ed students only - Singapore
Assessment	Presentation 30%, reflective component 10%, discussion board entries 30%, Essay (2000 words) 30%

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Linda Westphalen

Email: linda.westphalen@adelaide.edu.au
Phone: +61 (0) 8 8313 3784
Key contact time: (Adelaide time) Tuesdays 1pm - 4pm

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

The aims of this course are:

1. To understand the implications of education issues and policies for families, communities and governments;
2. To understand ‘core values’ (or ideologies) and their replication;
3. To value cultural diversity;
4. To develop students’ skills in analysing policy documents and other texts, as sources of information about education;
5. To develop students’ skills in research and presentation;
6. To develop students’ oral presentation skills;
7. To foster group support and sharing of ideas.

After successfully completing this topic you should be able to

8. Critically assess policies about schools and education in relation to their impacts;
9. Critically analyse theoretical discourses relating to policy creation and enforcement.

In the process, you should also

10. Improve your ability to think critically and form independent judgements;
11. Improve your written and verbal communication skills;
12. Improve your research skills and your ability to use non-lecture and non-prescribed materials;
13. Improve your ability to work independently and to share your results with others.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	1 - 13
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	1, 4, 8, 9.
Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.	5, 6, 7, 13
A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies.	5, 6
A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life.	1 - 13
A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.	5, 6, 10
An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.	1 - 13

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Students will be required, as part of the process for this course, to collect two articles about their topic of choice. These articles will be uploaded to the Discussion Board for the cohort to consider. Students will review one of their chosen articles, and one submitted by another student as part of their Assessment. Please note that once an article has been reviewed, it may not be reviewed a second time.

This course takes as its philosophical focus the work of Paulo Freire, particularly his key text, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Library of Congress, New York, 1970). If you would like to review Freire's work, then do take the time to check out this book, or you could listen to an article by Henry Giroux which explains Freire's approach to education. ('Lessons From Paulo Freire', Chronicle of Higher Education. 10/22/2010, Vol. 57, Issue 9, pB15-B16. 2p.) This is available via the following link:

http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&AN=54945638&site=ehost-live&scope=site

(You will need your University of Adelaide library login to access the file.)
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course has both online and face to face delivery modes. It includes two intensive contact periods (17 - 19 October and 14 - 16 November) taking place in Singapore. The first of these will be devoted to teaching key concepts. The second is geared toward student presentations, which are part of the assessment schedule. In between, students will be required to participate in a Discussion Board, where they will upload two articles for discussion and review. The course will conclude with the online submission of an essay.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

2 x 3 Day intensive face-to-face course = 32 hours
Online Discussion Board activities = 4 hours
Critical review of two articles = 16 hours
Intensive reading = 32 hours
Preparation and delivery of presentation = 30 hours
Issues Essay = 40 hours

Total = 154 hours

Learning Activities Summary

Friday 17th October, 7 - 10 pm

1. Introductions, organisational planning, presentation allocation
2. Review of Course Assessment requirements - critical pedagogy
3. Identities - seminar and workshop

Saturday 18th, 1pm - 8pm

1. Core values and ideologies - seminar and workshop
2. Language, Diasporas and Hybridity - seminar and workshop
3. Sex, Gender and Heteronormativity - seminar and workshop
4. The family - seminar and workshop

Sunday 19th, 9am - 4pm

1. Whiteness and Race - seminar and workshop
2. Religion - seminar and workshop
3. Ability - seminar and workshop
4. Surveillance and control of students, teachers and schools - seminar and workshop
5. Questions intensive

Friday 14th November - Sunday 16th November - Student presentations

Specific Course Requirements

Please note that attendance at workshops is compulsory.

Small Group Discovery Experience

No specific Small Group Discovery Experience is enacted in this course, however students are expected to actively engage with the Discussion Board process, which includes ongoing interactions. In addition, students are expected to actively contribute to the presentations in the second teaching period.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

This course follows criterion-based assessment. This means that student grades are determined by the standard of work in terms of meeting a number of criteria that represent the requirements for a particular course. In other words, work is judged according to a pre-determined standard of task completion rather than by comparing it to the work of other students undertaking the same course.

Summary of Assessment Items and Weightings

1 x 20 - 25 minute presentation (20%)
1 x 300 word reflection on Presentation (uploaded to Discussion Board) (10%)
2 x articles selected by the student and uploaded to Discussion Board (5%)
2 x 300 word review of articles (uploaded to Discussion Board) (30%)
1 x 3500 word essay (30%)
Workshop Participation (5%)

Assessment Detail

1. A power point or prezi presentation (20%) , where students are required to research and present an Education issue or policy evident in their country of origin or in a country of their choice. Students may use interactive media in their presentations as a means to demonstrate their case to others. The seminar presentation takes 20 - 25 minutes, and students are expected to lead others in a discussion of the issues that they have introduced and to answer questions.

A template for the Powerpoint will be provided.

Students will peer assess presentations via a rubric supplied by the convener. Top and bottom marks will be discarded, and marks will then be averaged and added to the convener's mark. This means that peer assessment of the presentations will be 10%.

2. A minimum of three Discussion Board Entries (40%), where students are required to reflect
on the presentations they have presented (300 words: 1 entry - 10%) and online content uploaded by themselves (300 words: 1 entry - 15%) and other students (300 words: 1 entry - 15%).

The reflective entry is a chance to reflect on the presentation - what worked; what didn't work, and gaps or problems with the presentation itself.

The critical review of the 2 articles is where students should explore the claims made in the articles and suggest questions for clarification or gaps/errors in the research. These entries should NOT be summaries of content. Students are encouraged to bring their own knowledge to these reviews. Please note that once an article has been reviewed, it may not be reviewed a second time.

3. Students will be required to select and upload two articles for review (5%) This must be done by Friday 24th October, so that students will have time to complete their reviews.

4. A short essay of 3500 words (30%). Students are required to negotiate with the convener an education issue based assignment with either the same theme or the same regional context as
the presentation. Students may not present on the same country and theme as in their presentation – one or both must be different. The essay must pick up a significant aspect of theory (eg. cultures, hybridity, identity, etc), but can relate to any aspect of education-based policy. The essay should be considered a ‘capstone’ component.

5. Workshop participation (5%). Participation can mean many things: for the purposes of this course, it means asking questions, initiating debates, listening respectfully and otherwise engaging positively with the activities in the first intensive.

Submission

No information currently available.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator