James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2000

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BR1223:03

Introduction to Issues in Education

Cairns

Also offered at Yarrabah campus.26 lectures, 26 tutorials. First semester flexible delivery.

Available to Tertiary Access Course II students.

This subject, which offers students an overview of key issues in schooling, is framed within a commitment to social justice and the democratisation of schooling and focuses on the educational needs and perspectives of Indigenous Australians. It introduces students to common learnings about educational contexts and is designed to provide insights into the complex interactions between schooling and society, culture and curriculum. Students will study a range of theoretical issues and concepts designed to extend the understandings they have gained through their own experiences, to enable them to explore the systematic and structural inequities within education systems and work towards future possibilities. Within this framework, the theory and practice of language use is also introduced, emphasising how spoken and written texts work in a range of social, cultural and community contexts. The use of language in educational texts, popular media, childrens’ literature and classroom talk is included. It also provides an introduction to the educational significance of current and future developments in computers, communication and information technologies and their relation to schooling.

Learning Objectives:

  1. an ability to discuss current issues in Australian education from Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives;
  2. consideration of the relationship between schooling practices and educational discourses as these relate to students with variable backgrounds and aspirations;
  3. familiarity with current concepts and theoretical positions used to explain student success and failure;
  4. description and analysis of the specific language demands of schooling and selected key issues facing teachers;
  5. an understanding of theories of language structure, development and use and ability to apply strategies to analyse texts;
  6. an examination of the roles of popular culture, media and information technologies in constructing identities. Knowledge and understanding of how this relates to classroom teaching and learning.

Assessment by mid-semester test (40%); written assignment (40%); attendance and participation (20%).

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