EDUC4801
Politics of Education: Creating Sustainable Communities
10 Units
Not available in 2014
Previously offered in 2009
This course looks at the political dimensions of education, at the macro- and micro-levels, and the inherently political role of education in creating sustainable communities for the present and future. Based on the premise that the context of education is fundamentally political and politics is inherent to education, this course examines and compares the envisaged and actual role of education in the creation of sustainable communities in Australia and in different parts of the world. Using approaches to analysis from the field of comparative and international education, and sociology, this course takes account of different political ideologies, governance structures, cultural contexts, power, and the associated range of competing interests, in a bid to better understand and explain the potential role of education systems, and their teachers, to contribute to local and global communities. The focus of the course also addresses key issues related to sustainable communities, like diversity, privatisation, bureaucratisation and teachers' professional identities, from micro- and macro-political viewpoints.
| Objectives | Upon completion of this course, students will be expected to: 1. demonstrate an understanding of macro and micro-political dimensions of education 2. demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which ideologies, governance structures and competing interests shape education and communities 3. demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by the creation of sustainable communities in macro- and micro-political realms 4. understand and apply comparative education and sociological analyses to the study of these dimensions of schooling in different countries 5. elaborate a coherent understanding of the State, the school, and individual teachers as powerful political instruments to create sustainable communities |
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| Content | This course introduces students to: 1. the macro- and micro political dimensions of education 2. political ideologies, governance structures, power, and competing interests 3. comparative and international education and its role in national and cross-national studies of educational phenomena 4. the idea of school as a political instrument and as inherently political 5. the macro- and micro-political roles of education in creating sustainable communities |
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| Replacing Course(s) | N/A | ||||
| Transition | N/A | ||||
| Industrial Experience | 0 | ||||
| Assumed Knowledge | EDUC2103 would be advisable but is not essential. | ||||
| Modes of Delivery | Flexible Delivery / Student Centred Learning | ||||
| Teaching Methods | Case Study
Email Discussion Group Lecture Student Projects Tutorial |
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| Assessment Items |
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| Contact Hours | Lecture: for 12 hour(s) per Term for Full Term Tutorial: for 24 hour(s) per Term for Full Term |