Program Overview

EDLE660 - Global Priorities and Challenges in Educational Thought and Practice

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.

Campus Offering

• Online

Prerequisites

• Nil

Learning Outcomes

To successfully complete this unit, you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes detailed below:

1. Appraise significant priorities and challenges for their educational leadership context and practice.
2. Use scholarly literature to critically analyse these priorities and challenges.
3. Synthesise diverse perspectives from literature and seminar presentations to guide development of practical leadership responses.

Content

Topics will vary year to year, based on evaluation of contemporary social, political, philosophical, and ecclesial developments.

Assessment Strategy and Rationale

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate achievement of each of the learning outcomes. Assessment tasks build on each other through a developmental and applied approach and provide students with the opportunity to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes and professional standards and criteria consistent with University assessment requirements.

• Assessment Task 1: Critical Essay - Critical essay identifying the significance of issues for contemporary educational leadership identified through scholarly readings and seminar/masterclass. (Weighting: 50%)
• Assessment Task 2: Develop a Personal Response - Develop a personal response to the issues and their relevance to personal educational leadership context. (Weighting: 50%)

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. 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.

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.
• Yunkaporta, T. (2019). Sand talk: How indigenous thinking can save the world. The Text Publishing Company.

Locations

• Online

Credit Points

10

Year

2026