Key facts
UNE unit code: EDCX335
*You are viewing the 2025 version of this unit which may be subject to change in future.
- Not offered in 2025
- Yes
- No
- No
- 6
Unit information
At a time when there is great public interest in educational standards and outcomes, this unit will equip you with insights into the debates and challenges which have defined the Australian education system.
With an understanding of the nature of historical study, you will explore Australian education from colonial days to the present and develop an understanding of ways that institutional education has helped shape society in Australia since 1788.
You will broaden your knowledge of the Australian education system, including theories of schooling, state and school formation in colonial Australia, expansion and school reform, state aid’s fall and rise, and the experiences of migrant and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. This unit also provides insights into teacher unions, the expansion of universities and current debates. These topics will be investigated not only in historical terms, but with reference to sociological, political, cultural and policy analyses of Australian education.
Intensive schools
There are no intensive schools required for this unit.
Enrolment rules
Notes
Please refer to the student handbook for current details on this unit.
Unit coordinator(s)
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
- use critical inquiry skills to examine theories of schooling and to evaluate evidence and interpretations of the history of Australian education;
- place the origins and development of schooling in Australia in their historical, political, social and cultural contexts;
- discuss the expansion and retraction of diversity in Australian education in relation to financial, political, institutional and curricular power; and
- identify and evaluate contemporary issues and debates in Australian education in relation to their historical, political, social and cultural contexts.
Assessment information
Assessments are subject to change up to 8 weeks prior to the start of the teaching period in which you are undertaking the unit.
Title | Must Complete | Weight | Offerings | Assessment Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Assessment 1 | Yes | 50% | All offerings | Essay.Students in the BEdStuds complete 3000 words, all other students complete 2000 words. No. Words: 2000/3000 |
Assessment 2 | Yes | 50% | All offerings | Essay.Students in the BEdStuds complete 3000 words, all other students complete 2000 words. No. Words: 2000/3000 |
Learning resources
Textbooks are subject to change up to 8 weeks prior to the start of the teaching period in which you are undertaking the unit.
Note: Students are expected to purchase prescribed material. Please note that textbook requirements may vary from one teaching period to the next.
A History of Australian Schooling
ISBN: 9781742371825
Campbell, C. and Proctor, H., Allen and Unwin 2014
Text refers to:
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