Unit Outline

The focus of this unit is a theoretical and practical exploration of ethics in relation to education and teacher identity. It encourages you to consider how particular philosophical ideas inform educational values, how these values relate to your identity as a teacher and/or early childhood educator, and how they might be articulated into your own ethical teaching practice. You will gain and apply skills in appraising these ideas and evaluating their impact on educational practice. This process will assist you to arrive at the foundations of your own understanding of the philosophy and ethics of education, which will be built upon as you progress through your degree and teaching career. The rationale for this unit is that your teaching practice is strongly influenced by your philosophical stance on teaching and the ethical implications that flow from this. You will explore these issues by engaging with philosophical theory, critical reflection, ethical reasoning, tutorial and peer discussion, and your assessment tasks.

The unit focuses on three main areas:

1) the development of critical reasoning skills will underlie and be woven through your approach to,

2) teacher identity and its relation to ethics, as well as inform your understanding of,

3) key contemporary issues in the philosophy of education.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Reflect critically on the extent to which education’s character and purpose give rise to ethical duties for teachers
2	Decide how best to apply ethical reasoning principles in relation to your teaching practice, taking into account compliance with professional codes of conduct and relevant legislative and regulatory imperatives
3	Critique the ethical dimension of your engagement with parents and carers, justifying the importance of sensitivity and confidentiality when negotiating strategies to foster their children’s wellbeing
4	Evaluate the impact of recent developments in education ethics and philosophy on teaching, and explain how these might inform the formation of your own professional practice

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	EDU202 OR ESH202 or Admitted to A3E or 43F

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Essay	Week 5	40 %	LO1, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Self-Assessed Engagement Task	Week 13	10 %	LO1
Assessment Task 3:	Case Studies	Week 13	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Essay

Task Description:

What is education for? For whom is it valuable?

Drawing specifically from, and with explicit reference to, Marples’ and Hand’s outlines of the debate surrounding educational aims (Bailey, 2010), the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration, and other scholarly sources, critically discuss education’s purpose and value in relation to the Australian context, examining the underlying ‘philosophy’ that informs the key views.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1, 7.1

Task Length:

1200 words

Due Date:

Week 5

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Articulate a considered, scholarly discussion of the aims of education, taking a range of views into account. Discussion contextualised by reference to contemporary scholarly and professional resources and valid reasons given in support of particular	LO1, LO4
2	Presentation of an insightful, scholarly discussion of the value of education and its key beneficiaries. Valid reasons given in support of the writer's promotion of a particular view, and are contextualised with reference to relevant literature	LO1, LO4
3	Write to third year Bachelor standard (AQF7), consistent with scholarly writing conventions, presenting a well-structured argument and work that is free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and referencing	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Self-Assessed Engagement Task

Task Description:

Details will be provided via MyLO.

Task Length:

100 words maximum

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explanation of scholarly preparation for each week's work	LO1
2	Description of engagement with set learning tasks	LO1
3	Description of scholarly engagement with peers and others	LO1

Assessment Task 3: Case Studies

Task Description:

The major assessment task for this unit will allow you to demonstrate your capacity to apply and communicate your knowledge of key areas of ethical reasoning and decision making, explored in relation to two education-relevant case studies.

The case studies will be derived from your coursework throughout the unit, and designed to accommodate Primary, Early Childhood, HPE, and Vocational/Adult Learning contexts.

Further information will be provided within MyLO throughout the semester.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4

Task Length:

2600 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Take a position on a topic and defend with reference to scholarly literature, appropriate codes of conduct, relevant legislation and policy, and other sources	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
2	Apply a rationally-defensible decision making framework to address ethical problems as they appear in the case studies	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
3	Write to third year Bachelor standard (AQF7), consistent with scholarly writing conventions, presenting a well-structured argument and work that is free of errors in grammar spelling, punctuation, and referencing	LO2, LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.