EDFD261 - Creating Inclusive, Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit focuses on a commitment to social justice applied to inclusive education and a teacher’s duty of care. Within the context of relevant legislation, national frameworks, policy and curriculum documents, the notion of teaching for social justice, personal safety, and wellbeing is applied to develop the personal and social capabilities and meet the diverse needs of children and young people particularly in the areas of gifted and talented, additional learning and support needs, and those for whom English is an additional language or dialect. The unit develops pre-service teachers’ knowledge and skills to meet relevant professional and ethical requirements, communication and interpersonal skills. There will be a focus on intercultural understandings in working with children and young people, parents and colleagues through a spirit of service and care of children within early childhood education settings, school classrooms and community contexts.

This unit aims to assist pre-service teachers to develop their personal and social capabilities to meet the diverse needs of children and young people particularly in the areas of gifted and talented, additional learning and support needs, and those for whom English is an additional language or dialect.

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.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate an understanding and apply principles of relevant professional and ethical requirements that supports social justice and relevant inclusion legislation, frameworks and policy for early childhood settings, schools, via classroom practice and community involvement (GA2, GA3; APST 1.6, 4,4, 7.1, 7.2; ACECQA A6, B1, C4, C5, D4, D5, E2, E3, F4)

LO2 - demonstrate effective strategies related to the elements of good practice that lead to safe and supportive environments to cater for individual needs and strengths (eg the development of individualised planning documents, i.e. individual education plans, individual learning plans) and including, when appropriate, use of a range of technologies that may support students’ diverse needs (GA2, GA5; APST 1.3, 1.6, 3.1, 3.5, 4.1 4.4; ACECQA A3, A6, A7, C4, C5, D4, D5, E2, E3)

LO3 - demonstrate an understanding of student wellbeing, the implications for learning and teaching and the application of principles of teaching for resilience. (GA2, GA5; APST 4.1, 4.4; ACECQA A3, A4, A5, C3, C5, D4, D5, E2, E3)

LO4 - identify and demonstrate an awareness of practices to enhance protective factors minimising risk for all students, including risks associated with bullying and cyberbullying (GA1; APST 3.5, 4.4; ACECQA A1, A4, A5, C1, C4, C5, D4, D5, E2, E3)

LO5 - critically examine and apply the relevant legislation, systems policies and utilise external agencies within a context of prevention for child protection and duty of care and identify networks which support teachers in dealing with effective inclusion and wellbeing (GA5; APST 1.6, 3.7, 4.1, 4.4, 7.1, 7.2, 7.4; ACECQA A6, A7, C1, C4, C5, D5, E2, E3, F4)

LO6 - design and demonstrate the application of effective learning and support strategies to cater for individual needs, through diversifying the curriculum in an inclusive setting, and catering for children for whom English is not their first language (GA2; APST 1.5, 1.6, 3.5, 4.1, 7.2; ACECQA A4, A5, A6, A7, B1, C4, C5, C6, D3, D4, D5, E2, E3)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:

ACECQA CRITERIA

On successful completion of this unit, students should have progressed in the development of the following ACU graduate attributes:

Content

Topics will include:

• Teaching for social justice

Safe and supportive learning contexts are underpinned by pro-social values of respect, compassion, acceptance of difference, cooperation and friendliness. This theme explores the whole centre/school and class practices that are an expression of these values and studies and critiques national and state policies such as the National Safe Schools Framework and the National Framework for Values in Education.

• Child Protection: Due Care and Wellbeing

Students in this module will develop an understanding of a wide range of child protection issues. They will explore the context of prevention and the implementation of teaching and management practices to reduce risk and enhance protective factors. Legislation and policy in the area of child protection and duty of care is addressed within the context of prevention. The student teachers are prepared as mandatory reporters of students at risk of harm.

• Inclusive Education

This theme discusses and critiques the social justice concept of normalisation and current policies, principles and legislation on anti-discrimination for gifted students and students with disabilities or learning difficulties. It is underpinned by the fundamental principle of inclusive centres/schools that all students should learn together, wherever possible, regardless of any differences or difficulties they might have. This module then explores whole centre/school and class practices that respond to the diverse needs of students with a focus on the task of differentiating the curriculum to accommodate both different styles and rates of learning and to ensure high quality education through appropriate curricula, adaptations to tasks, teaching strategies, resources and the class and centre/school environment.

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: lectures, workshops, tutorials and online activities. The unit may also be linked to the student’s professional experiences through the Community Engagement Program.

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 with a normal expectation of 36 hours of directed study and the total contact hours should not exceed 36 hours. Directed study might include lectures, tutorials, webinars, podcasts etc. The balance of the hours then become private study.

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, online activities, student presentations or case studies. This unit requires that two or three assessment tasks be completed. Task 1 is the common assessment task.

Minimum Achievement Standards

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate the achievement of each learning outcome.

The total of assessment tasks will amount to the equivalent of 4,000 words.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Ashman, A., & Elkins, J. (Eds.). (2012). Education for inclusion and diversity. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2012). Child protection Australia 2010–11. Child welfare series no. 53. Cat. no. CWS 41. Canberra: AIHW.

Foreman, P. (Ed.). (2011). Inclusion in action (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic.: Thomson Learning Australia.

Gregory, G.H., & Chapman, C. (2013). Differentiated instructional strategies: One size doesn’t fit all. USA: Corwin.

Hyde, M., Carpenter, L., & Conway, R. (Eds.). (2010). Diversity and inclusion in Australian schools. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.

Loreman, T., Deppeler, J., & Harvey, D. (2011). Inclusive education: Supporting diversity in the classroom. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin.

Mitchell, D. (2008). What really works in special and inclusive education using evidence-based teaching strategies. London: Routledge.

Rogers, W. (2011). You know the fair rule (3rd ed.). Camberwell, Victoria: ACER.

Smith, C.M.M. (Ed.). (2006). Including the gifted and talented: Making inclusion work for more gifted and able learners. London: Routledge.

Westwood, P. (2011). Commonsense methods for children with special educational needs (6th ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.