Units: ED Education (6000 level)

* Includes non-ED required units

RM6010 Research Methods
This unit provides a broad exposure to the principal forms of social science research used in educational and related contexts. As such, it provides a basic foundation in research design, methods, data collection and data analysis for higher degree students planning to proceed to a dissertation or thesis. At the same time, it offers a general understanding of research design and methodological issues for educational leaders who may be required to commission investigations or approve proposals for study by others, and who need to be able to interpret and critically evaluate the findings of published research. Students gain experience in a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques which can be used by practising professionals to carry out individual or team-based action-research into issues arising from their own work settings, organisations, or wider professional activities. Emphasis is on differentiating between, and making appropriate and justified choices among, the principal paradigms or methodological approaches used by contemporary educational researchers.

ED6031 A Psychological, Social and Emotional Needs of Students
The complexities of students psycho-social development and emergent needs will be examined within the context of specific issues that emerge in the psychology literature.

ED6031 B Ministry and Mission in Education
This module explores issues related to the theology of mission and its pastoral implications, particularly those related to evangelisation and ministry.

ED6031 C Ways of Knowing
This module aims to assist students to think critically about knowledge and education. It explores 'foundations' of knowledge and how knowledge is gained. The debate over evidence, truth and the distinction between Knowledge and belief is discussed. It examines evidential claims and kinds of knowledge.

ED6031 D Teaching Standards and Professionalism
This module explores the complex issue of standards and competency frameworks, their implications for teachers' work and the extent to which adoption of standards of teaching impacts on the concept of teacher professionalism.

ED6031 E Perspectives on Curriculum
This module explores a range of views that reflect the changing face of curriculum. Particular issues will be canvassed including (but not limited to) holistic curriculum, politics of decision making, curriculum leadership.

ED6031 F Politics and Finance of Australian Education
This module explores key issues in the politics of Australian education, focusing on the role of government in education and the impact of funding arrangements on the provision of school education. Analysis of the philosophical basis of reforms and restructuring initiatives will be considered.

ED6300 Advanced Directed Individual Study (Doctor of Education)
This unit provides the student with the opportunity to develop and follow through a nominated study program on an individual basis and outside the usual classroom mode of instruction. The unit allows the student to explore in depth the range of issues most closely associated with their intended area of research. By the end of this unit, the student should have completed substantial reading and reflection in the area selected.

ED6508 Schools as Organisations
This unit provides an introduction to organisational behaviour in education through the examination of schools as organisations. The unit focuses on the application of systems, administrative and management theory and practice, and in particular examines the conceptual and theoretical foundations of organisation behaviour and its practical relevance to the management of Catholic schools. The syllabus will consider the evolution of organisational management theory and the links between the concepts of leadership; motivation; change; conflict management; decision making; climate; and organisational effectiveness in relation to the practical implications for individual and school performance. Emphasis is on the examination of practical management problems and the application of relevant management concepts to assist in their resolution.

ED6610 Improving Teaching: Classroom Observation and Research
This unit is addressed to teachers and educational administrators who wish to improve the practice of teaching by examining and reflecting on the potential value and limitations of using structured observational data and classroom research to describe, understand and improve classroom life. Students explore ways of improving teaching through the use of structured observation and feedback and learn how to design and validate appropriate observational instruments and measures for their own classroom or research purposes. Particular attention is given to synthesising findings from selected studies in co-operative learning, teacher expectations, students perceptions of teaching and classroom climate, student motivation, homework, preventative classroom management, and questioning for thinking. Assignment work provides the opportunity for students to apply acquired knowledge and skills in their own professional situations.

ED6670 Strategic Management in Education
This unit provides a systematic introduction to (a) the philosophical and conceptual underpinnings of contemporary strategic planning and management as these have been applied in the business and not-for-profit sectors, (b) what the available literature has revealed about the strengths, limitations and shortcomings of different planning approaches, and (c) what appear to be the principal lessons for effective practice in this area. Emphasis is on the application of the techniques of strategic thinking, needs assessment, strategic planning and the management of strategic innovation to the resolution of needs or challenges facing educational systems, individual schools or areas/strands within schools in the emerging contexts of devolution and competition. Students are required to work individually and in collaborative groups to develop and justify a formal strategic plan for addressing a group-defined challenge or organisational opportunity.

ED6671 Strategic Leadership for Contemporary Catholic Schools
This unit is designed for teachers or educational administrators already in leadership roles, and also for those soon to be serving in those roles. The unit comprises modules that address: Religious Leadership and the Mission of the Catholic School; Leadership for Learning; Strategic Leadership and Management in the new Millennium; Human Resource Leadership; Organisational Leadership; Personal Dimensions of Leadership; and What parents expect of Catholic Schools. The unit includes an international perspective of educational leadership.

ED6690 Adult Learning and Teaching Processes
This unit explores the ways in which adults acquire knowledge and make meaning of it for themselves. Students consider the various theories of learning applicable to adult learning and examine the relevant research findings in the area of adult learning and instructional processes. The unit is based on the systematic examination and application of principles of andogogy (teaching for adult learning) and self-directed, communicative/collaborative and transformative learning and includes the study of practical strategies, based on sound theory supported by research, for facilitating the learning process of adults.

ED6701 Qualitative Research Methods
This unit explores the principal methods and epistemology of contemporary qualitative research in Education and the Social Sciences. It includes study of exemplar research reports in these fields, guided workshop experiences within each genre, and methods of data acquisition and recording. The student is assisted to develop skills in at least one qualitative data analysis computer package (for example, QSR Nudist) and use it as a major analytical and interpretative resource. Working with data relevant to participants' own interests is integral to the unit. Of special interest are issues of validation and generalisability in qualitative research, and approaches for developing "thick" descriptions. The unit requires each participant to gather data and analyse it in at least one of the methodological threads and present this analysis at a standard suitable for publication.

ED6703 Survey Research Methods
This unit focuses on the methodology of survey research, and on the design, construction, field-testing, validation and administration of commonly used survey instruments, including questionnaires and interview schedules. Emphasis is given to structured procedures for survey data analysis and to conventions for data presentation and survey research reporting. The unit provides first-hand experience in the preparation and cleaning of data files, and the formal analysis of survey data using professional-standard software (SPSS-PC) and less-formal, or preliminary, analyses using Microsoft Excel and/or Microsoft Access. Students are required to develop, field test and refine a structured questionnaire and an unstructured interview schedule, create simulated or actual data sets for preliminary analysis, and prepare associated code books for defining data-file layouts, variable names, code values and value labels. Consideration is also given to issues and techniques of survey research sampling and administration, including attention to informed consent, confidentiality and other ethical matters.

ED6970 Co-ordinating Religious Education
In this unit students seek to expand their own professional, educational and spiritual horizons as well as develop skills in promoting religious education experiences for others. The unit focuses on developing the religious educator's understanding and appreciation of what Church documents refer to as, "permanent formation", that is, religious education as a life-long task. Attention is given to developing organisational expertise in structuring professional development programs suited to the variety of needs within school, parent groups or parish.