Education
The Education major and Educational Studies minor is offered by the Sydney School of Education and Social Work. Education units can be taken as part of a major in the field, or as unit choices for students taking other majors. If you are interested in taking individual Education units, check the necessary prerequisites listed in the unit of study table.
About the major
Education is the means by which we learn about the world and our place within it. More than this, educational practices shape how we think and play an active role in determining the forms of knowledge, cultural practices and identities that come to matter in society. Education is a meaning making practice.
Education is not only intended for students enrolled in initial teacher education programs, it offers a means by which others may reflect upon their own experiences of learning, and develop a deeper understanding of how schooling, and other types of formal and informal learning, function in society in ways that produce difference, inequality and opportunity.
A major in Education supports you to apply knowledge from diverse fields of study such as Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Psychology, Sociology, and History to problems in education. It will challenge you to become a more informed, critical and active citizen in a world in which knowledge is exploding, and contests over the authenticity of knowledge demand active life-long critical thinkers. The development of these kinds of thinkers is a primary goal of education in democratic societies.
Pathway through the major and minor
A major in Education requires 48 credit points from the Unit of Study table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 12 credit points of 2000-level units
(iii) 18 credit points of 3000-level units
(iii) 6 credit points of 3000-level Interdisciplinary Project unit
A minor in Educational Studies requires 36 credit points from the Unit of Study table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 12 credit points of 2000-level units
(iii) 12 credit points of 3000-level units
First year
In first year you will complete EDUF1018 Education, Teachers and Teaching and EDUF1019 Human Development and Education.
In Semester One EDUF1018 explores ways of knowing and knowledge production associated with the intended and enacted curriculum; the changing nature of teachers' work as reflected in media and popular culture and educational research; why young people who experience racism, homophobia, and other forms of social exclusion do not generally achieve equitable educational outcomes.
In Semester Two, EDUF1019 approaches the study of human development from an inter-disciplinary perspective. Developmental theories, past and present, are open to question and debate. Students are therefore encouraged to engage in this study with critical and creative minds.
Second year
In second year you will complete EDUF2006 Educational Psychology and EDUF2007 Social Perspectives in Education. In Semester One EDUF2006 introduces you to the field of educational psychology, which is centrally concerned with understanding any psychological phenomenon (e.g. thought, emotion, goals, and behaviours) with potential application to education. In Semester Two, EDUF2007 introduces you to the social contexts of education including the impacts of globalisation, and sorting and selecting technologies. Educational inequality is a major theme.
Third year
3000-level units of study are designed to broaden your knowledge of issues related to the study history, sociology, psychology, policy studies, international education and human development.
A compulsory unit for all undergraduate education degrees is EDUF3031 Positive Approaches to Special Education, which is offered in both semesters. Most employers require recently graduate teachers to have had specific training in special education. Department permission is required to enrol in Education Exchange EDUF3553, EDUF3554 or EDUF3557 in either semester.
Honours
Suitably qualified Arts candidates are invited to undertake honours in Education. The honours thesis involves an investigation of a topic of students' choice relevant to their own interests, and will be supervised directly by a member of the faculty. Although the length of the thesis will vary with the nature of the investigation, and length does not indicate quality, the thesis will normally comprise 20,000-25,000 words.
Prerequisites
Students intending to take honours in Education must have achieved a credit average result or higher in an Arts subject area, for example History, Anthropology, etc.
Enrolment
Students enrol in the following Education units of study:
Second Year
Pass units
EDUF2006 Educational Psychology (6 credit points)
EDUF2007 Social Perspectives on Education (6 credit points)
BA Hons units
6 credit points from those Education units offered at 3000 level
Total for Second Year: 18 credit points
Third Year
Pass units
Three units of study from Education 3000-level, including EDUF4020 Education Honours Preliminary. 18 credit points.
Fourth Year
Honours units of study (EDUF4215/EDUF4216). 48 credit points
Total for Fourth Year: 48 credit points
Education General Units
The Sydney School of Education and Social Work has developed a series of general elective units designed specifically to meet the demands of students from all faculties and professions. The electives are intended to provide relevant topics, delivered in an engaging way, and taught by experts.
Available to students across faculties, professions and countries the units focus on the general needs of current students and include a range of topics, including those that can provide the practical knowledge required to apply for employment in a range of contexts.
All units are 6 credit points.
EDGU1001 Creativity, Youth Culture and the Arts
EDGU1002 Youth and Digital Culture
EDGU1003 Diet and Nutrition for Health and Sport
EDGU1004 Young People, Sex and Sexual Health
EDGU1005 Sports Coaching: Theory and Practice
EDGU1006 Texts and Expectations
EDGU2000 Teaching English Internationally 1
EDGU3000 Teaching English Internationally 2
EDGU4000 Teaching English for Academic Purposes
Contact/further information
Educational Studies CORE Units Program Director: A/Prof Debra Hayes
Phone: +61 2 9351 6389
Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Education) Program Director: Dr Minkang Kim
Phone: +61 2 9351 6627
Education Studies GENERAL Units: Education Program Support Team
Phone: +61 2 9351 2634