Policy, Ethics and Professionalism

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Teacher candidates engage with research-based multi-media case studies of the diverse roles and contexts of the early childhood professional using critical discourse analysis. The case studies focus on the effects of the systemic dimensions of the profession (e.g. regulations, governance, code of ethics, rights of the child, sources of funding, marketing and policy development) for professional discourses, practices and possibilities. International selection of the case studies highlight different approaches to the governance of early childhood services, expose students to contemporary policy debates, and support them as global citizens to evaluate how best to take an ethical and socially just professional stance on those debated within their own local context. The principles of critical discourse analysis are applied to extend on and deepen key dimensions of being critically reflective professionals.

To gain skills in working within a community of practice and researching, analysing and taking a stance within professional debates, students work in small case teams to develop a research-based advocacy case study that examines a contemporary debate (e.g. the effects of increasing corporatism, regulation and professionalism on teacher autonomy) and how it is shaping professional discourses, possibilities, constraints and dilemmas.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject teacher candidates will be able to:

• Examine the changing role of early childhood professional as an advocate for children’s rights and social justice for diverse families in diverse contexts.
• Consolidate their skills as critically reflective professionals capable of creating and sustaining ethical and socially just communities of practice to enhance children’s learning and well-being.
• Investigate contemporary professional debates (e.g. around the privatisation of early education or the development of nationally mandated curriculum) and articulate a research-based and ethical position on those debates and their implications for socially just teaching and learning in early childhood.
• Explore, contrast and critique Australian and International research related to early childhood policy development and guidelines for quality teaching and learning.
• Develop in-depth knowledge about the diverse administrative skills and reporting requirements required to work in a range of positions within a multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse early childhood field.

On completion of this subject, teacher candidates will have the knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to:

• Be skilled communicators who can effectively articulate and justify their professional practices as ethical and knowledgeable agents of changes;
• Be flexible and able to adapt their professional roles and responsibilities through knowing how to investigate and learn within changing policy and legislative contexts;
• Understand how to establish and sustain a professional community of practice with colleagues on the basis of research evidence;
• Work in multi-disciplinary, culturally diverse teams with skills in cooperation, communication and negotiation;
• Engage in debate on current and emerging local, national and international polices affecting their professional roles and responsibilities.
• Have a conscious personal and social values base for critically reflecting on, practicing and innovating as professionals within the early childhood field.