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Overview

Course Prescription

Educational issues are pressing concerns in our society. The course will help develop understanding of the background of today's public debates around schooling and will introduce ways in which educational thought and research address big topics.

Course Overview

In Aotearoa New Zealand education has and continues to serve several purposes within our society. And what form and function schooling should serve in addressing societal needs and demands remains a hotly debated issue.

This course acts as an introduction to some of these debates, and the ways in which educational thought and research can be used to understand and critically assess contemporary issues and concerns regarding education today.  

Particular attention is given to the ways in which schooling serves to reproduce and/or challenge existing patterns of inequality in society. Various "isms', including classism, racism, sexism, ableism and colonialism are interrogated in relation to educational policies and practices within the schooling system of Aotearoa-New Zealand. As part of this, scrutiny is given to how contemporary educational structures and systems have and continue to be reformed through policy-making, and through the actions of professionals working in schools. Through this course you will gain a stronger understanding of how and why education remains a matter of significant social concern, and a subject of ongoing, intense political debate.

Importantly you do not need to be training or wanting to be a teacher to take this course. Rather our focus is on situating education within the wider ideological debates which exist in our society.

Key Topics

This course introduces you to some of the key issues, debates and challenges facing our education system in Aotearoa New Zealand at present. Each year we bring in colleagues from across the School of Critical Studies in Education to introduce you to a range of topical and current concerns. This year, this includes questions about identity and belonging, the role/function of a university education, sexuality/sex education, curriculum and knowledge, disability and inclusion, climate change education, and teachers' work. We have chosen these issues because there is significant attention being given to them in the media and by politicians. We seek to explore with you why that might be.  

You will come to see that many of these issues are part of more enduring questions about the role, function and purpose of education in our society. Such questions include ones such as:  

  • Is education a public or private good?
  • What role/relationship does education have to the inequities we observe in our society today?
  • Who is included/excluded in education and why?
  • What learning is relevant/important for young people today?   

You will have an introductory lecture, led by Ritesh on these questions, and this will then be followed by further lectures where these big questions are unpacked further through an examination of specific current issues in education. These lectures will be delivered by a different members of the School of Critical Studies in Education. 

Course Contacts

Course director and coordinator: Dr. Ritesh Shah

You will view lectures from a range of colleagues who are or have been based in the School of Education and Social Practice. Details about each of them will be available on the course Canvas page.

Workload Expectations

You will be expected to spend about 15-18 hours per week of the condensed summer school semester independently viewing lectures (and completing small tasks as part of viewing these), completing assigned readings, and completing or preparing for assessment tasks. This is not timetabled and you will have flexibility on how and when you do this. The workload is quite significant given it compresses what is normally content from a 12 week term into 6 weeks.

In addition you will spend a total of 12 hours over the course of the semester in a face to face workshop (3 sessions of 4 hours each). These are timetabled.




Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Restriction

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience or Online

Lectures will all be asynchronous, online recordings.

Attendance is expected at scheduled and timetabled workshops to complete the course and will not recorded. To ensure you do attend, there will be assessment tasks that are completed during these workshops only, and if you miss them, you will lose out on marks for the course.

The times of these workshops is noted in the course scheduled. It is important that you are available in Auckland to attend all of these workshops (slated for weeks 2, 4, and 6 of the summer school term). Outside of those times you do not need to be in Auckland for this course.


Teaching and Learning Methods

Lectures will be fully online and you will go through them at your own pace, but with the expectation that a certain block of lectures are completed before each face to face workshop session.

Workshop sessions will be an opportunity to engage more in depth with some aspects of the lectures viewed, connect them to assessment tasks, and work towards a final in-person group role play (that is assessed).


Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license. You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Additional Information on Academic integrity

In the age of Generative AI, it would be foolish to not expect students to be using this as part of your learning process. But at the same time, it is important that you are able to critically discern how to use (and not abuse) Generative AI. For the majority of tasks you complete for this course you will be allowed to judiciously use Generative AI tools. But there will be some tasks where I will seek to assess the learning you've gained independent of the support of Generative AI. This means the final exam and the "role play" task will be one where you will need to demonstrate your capacities independent of Generative AI or other assistive digital tools (i.e. translation software).

Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Additional Information on Assessment

To pass this course students must submit all assessments and earn an overall mark of 50%

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type12345

Summer Semester

Yes

Assessment Summary (Summer)

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment ClassificationCourse Learning Outcome Link

Assessment Type To Learning Outcomes Map (Summer)

Assessment Type12345

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

Feedback from prior iterations of the course have led to:

  1. A revised assessment schedule where each assignment scaffolds students to be successful for the next assignments
  2. A focus on contemporary topics and issues which are analysed through a sociological lens
  3. A decision to accomodate additional demands on time which students face over the summer months and to shift lectures online and consolidate face to face workshops into blocks
  4. Framing and organising key issues in education around some wider themes/issues

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor. Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Additonal Information on Special Circumstances

Please reach out as soon as possible with any issues that are precluding your full participation in the class. By bringing this to the attention of the course director early, there are more opportunities for flexibility and affordances to be provided to you.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.