Pre-requisites

Candidates will have completed four 12 credit point units of coursework including ED990.512 ‘Research Methods in Educational Contexts’ prior to commencing the major project.

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Unit Description

This unit builds on the work developed in Research Methods in Educational Contexts (ED990.512) and involves a 10,000-word research study grounded in the field of professional teaching practice. It is designed for students to develop a deeper understanding of educational issues and prepare students who intend to continue in educational research. The study must address:

· an issue in an area of curriculum, teaching and learning, student assessment and reporting, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, classroom ecology, integrating ICT, leadership in educational contexts, OR

· the experience and professional demands of the educational professionals in the local context, OR

· any issue that appropriately relates to professional practice as described in the Australian Professional Teaching Standards.

The topic must be agreed upon with their supervisor. The approach taken must employ at least one appropriate theoretical lens and involve a rich analysis of the roles, responsibilities and challenges commonly acknowledged in the domain of teaching practice.

Topics could therefore be concerned with intervention, innovation and positive culture change and may involve some variant of action research pending institutional access and ethics permissions. In any event, chosen research topics and findings should potentially be beneficial to relevant educational stakeholders, including (but not limited to) research participants. Other methods may include a meta-synthesis of research, critical ethnography, phenomenological or narrative methodologies. Those involving human participation beyond the scope of the student’s immediate educational role will require ethics clearance from the college HREC and other relevant ethics bodies. Ultimately, the research should inform the student’s professional educational practices.

This project will usually take place within the scope of the 14 weeks of the semester in which the student is enrolled, utilising an appropriate methodology based upon a proposal that has been approved both by their supervising lecturer and the College HREC or their representative.


Unit offerings

Face to face: (Demand based)
Independent/Flexible: Semester 1, 2024 and Semester 2, 2024 (Every Year, Semester 1 and 2)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.