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 high-quality differentiated teaching and personalised learning approaches. Evidenced-based, research-informed scholarly practice is promoted in careful planning, delivering and evaluating universally designed programs to engage all students in achieving their goals, particularly those often marginalised.
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. The unit will explore trans-disciplinary strength-based and family-centred early intervention approaches for children and young people with a range of needs, such as autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities, learning difficulties and child protection. Through exploring evidence-based practice and current research pre-service teachers will develop expertise in early intervention and transition approaches.
The aim of this unit is to assist pre-service teachers to develop an advanced understanding of early intervention aims, practices and outcomes for children and young people with diverse learning needs. Intervening early to support children in their early years to transition from pre-school to school, from primary to secondary school and into post-school options, has mutual benefits designed to optimise their development and learning across home, school and community contexts.
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.
Apply a broad understanding of the theory of trans...
Learning Outcome 01
Synthesise coherent and advanced knowledge of earl...
Learning Outcome 02
Critically analyse and evaluate current early inte...
Learning Outcome 03
Content
Topics will include:
- Philosophy underpinning inclusive educational practice; definition, aims and research-informed outcomes of trans-disciplinary, strength-based, family-centred early intervention and transitions.
- Early intervention practices for children and young people with complex, multiple or profound disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual, physical, sensory disabilities and learning difficulties.
- Current best practice in early intervention and service delivery; National Disability Insurance Scheme;
- Diverse approaches to early identification and assessment; Nationally Consistent Collection of Data;
- Inclusive and specialised learning and teaching frameworks and approaches; augmentative strategies; teaching students with communication /language disorders theory and research
- Legislation, policy, programs and provisions in early intervention, including Disability Discrimination Act, Disability Standards for Education; specialist staff and services;
- Key issues, including: funding; access to services; misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis; misunderstandings; social rejection; diverse cultural perspectives of disability and parenting; poverty.
- Useful evidence-based resources and key services to support professional practice and learning.
- Individualised family service plans and interagency agreements including transition planning.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to pass this unit, pre-service teachers are required to submit and participate in all assessment tasks.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 Case Study of an organisation...
Assessment Task 1
Case Study of an organisation providing early intervention and transition services (note this could be undertaken through review of online information), including description of the organisation and its aims, the specific services provided, eligibility to access services from this organisation, the costs to families or other users (e.g. teachers) to use services, transdisciplinary and family-centred practices, and other key information. The case study should include transition planning, recommendations for consolidation and improvement and interagency agreements.
50%
Assessment Task 2 Annotated bibliography and rec...
Assessment Task 2
Annotated bibliography and recommendations for a specific area of early intervention practice - either an area of service delivery focus such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, or an issue influencing early intervention, e.g. collaborative planning, assessment or promoting skill development.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit. This may involve a combination of online and multi-mode delivery, on a weekly basis across a 12-week semester or in intensive mode. Students should expect to participate in a range of the following: online engagement, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations and group discussions, both online and live webinars, self-directed study activities and assessment tasks.
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
ACECQA CURRICULUM SPECIFICATIONS
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following specific knowledge:
Representative texts and references
Required text(s)
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. Early Years Learning Framework https://www.acecqa.gov.au/acecqa-approved-learning-frameworks-version-2.0-communications-toolkit
Australian Curriculum Student Diversity https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/student-diversity/
Recommended references
Allen, K., Cowdery, G., & Johnson, J. (2015). The exceptional child: Inclusion in early childhood education (8th ed.). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
Churchill, R., Apps, T., Batt, J., Beckman, K., Grainger, P., Keddie, A., et al. (2022). Teaching: making a difference. (5th ed.). Wiley.
Cook, R. E., Klein, M. D., & Chen, D. (2014). Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special needs (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
Douglas, S. (2020). Promoting Caregiver Coaching Practices Within Early Intervention: Reflection and Feedback. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(1), 21-27.
Dunst, C. (2017). Research Foundations for Evidence-Informed Early Childhood Intervention Performance Checklists. Education Sciences, 7(4), 78.
Faulconbridge, J., Hunt, K., Laffan, A., & EBSCOhost. (2019). Improving the psychological wellbeing of children and young people: Effective prevention and early intervention across health, education and social care. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Hughes-Scholes, C., & Gavidia-Payne, S. (2019). Early Childhood Intervention Program Quality: Examining Family-Centered Practice, Parental Self-Efficacy and Child and Family Outcomes. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(6), 719-729.
Leadbitter, K., Aldred, C., McConachie, H., Couteur, A., Kapadia, D., Charman, T., & Green, J. (2018). The Autism Family Experience Questionnaire (AFEQ): An Ecologically-Valid, Parent-Nominated Measure of Family Experience, Quality of Life and Prioritised Outcomes for Early Intervention. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(4), 1052-1062.
McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L. (2012). Inclusion: effective practices for all students (2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
Overton, T. (2016). Assessing learners with special needs: an applied approach (8th ed.). Pearson Education.