EUN649 Policy in Indigenous Australian Education


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Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Unit code:EUN649
Credit points:12
Equivalent:EUZ649
Assumed Knowledge:

It is assumed that students understand educational practices in education settings and have practitioner experiences within a related education field or support profession.

Anti-requisite:EUQ658
Coordinator:Shanelle Fiaalii | s.fiaalii@qut.edu.au
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.

Overview

In this unit, you will develop your understanding of policy eras that have shaped the treatment of Indigenous Australians since 1788, ending with a focus on present-day policy initiatives. The unit content will specifically investigate the role of education in delivering policy intentions and the impact this has had, and continues to have, on Indigenous Australians and their ways of knowing. These understandings will contribute to the development of your own critical practice in Indigenous Australians education.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

  1. Discuss policy and impacts on Indigenous Australian education with professional peers by interacting in a community of practice.
  2. Evaluate the impact of policy, past and present, on Indigenous Australian education.
  3. Critically analyse specific educational contexts in relation to the impact of policy, past and present, on Indigenous Australian education initiatives.
  4. Propose and justify actions that will enhance outcomes for Indigenous Australian learners.
  5. Source and evaluate scholarly and professional literature related to the impact of policy, past and present, on Indigenous Australian education.

Content

This unit will cover the following:

  • Indigenous Australians education practices
  • European understandings of education
  • Contact experiences of education experiments
  • Education as delivered from 1788
  • Role of education in delivering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy since 1788
  • Current paradigms of Indigenous Australians education
  • Critiques of current paradigms

Learning Approaches

In this unit you will learn through engaging in the following:

  • Online modules incorporating video, story-sharing, artwork and text content and reflection spaces
  • Weekly readings
  • Weekly yarning gatherings either face-to-face or online
  • Online community of practice
  • Authentic assessment tasks for applying your knowledge of the unit content in real-world scenarios.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:

  • a range of formative exercises discussed and undertaken throughout the unit
  • feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
  • comments about summative assessment work included with your grade
  • general summative assessment feedback posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas site.

Assessment

Overview

There are two assessment tasks in this unit:

1. Community of Practice - this task draws on your understanding of the impact of policy, past and present, on Indigenous Australian education initiatives in a community of practice through research, evaluation, and discussion.

2. Case study - this task connects analysis of the impact of policy, past and present, on Indigenous Australian education initiatives with your educational context to propose actions that will enhance outcomes for Indigenous Australian learners.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Community of Practice

You will create a PowerPoint presentation containing screenshots of your contributions to the community of practice in Modules 2-6 of this unit. You will discuss the examples to showcase your developing knowledge of each module, your positive interaction with peers, as well as the selection and evaluation of scholarly and professional literature, and evaluation of the impact of policy on Indigenous Australian education. This PowerPoint presentation must contain your portrait video delivering this presentation. Authentication of authorship will occur through a Q&A session and through weekly contributions to the Community of Practice in Canvas.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Weight: 50
Length: 10-minute PowerPoint presentation plus Q&A
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 8
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 5

Assessment: Case study

You will take on the role of an educator wanting to improve the experiences of Indigenous Australian learners in your context. To do this, you will produce a case study for your leadership team analysing how your context is a product of past and present policies relating to Indigenous Australians and education. Explain tensions in future policy directions for Indigenous Australians and education that are relevant to your context, and navigate critical issues to propose actions that will enhance outcomes for Indigenous Australian learners.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Weight: 50
Length: 2500 words
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 13
Related Unit learning outcomes: 2, 3, 4

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

There are no resources that are required to be purchased for this unit. Resources will be available in the unit's Canvas site.

Risk Assessment Statement

During this unit, you will discuss sensitive topics with your peers that may have significant impact and meaning to you, your peers and/or your teaching team. There may also be images of deceased Indigenous people. The teaching team will aim to create a supportive and safe environment for all students enrolled in the unit. They will also support you to develop the appropriate skills to engage in these conversations in an appropriate and respectful manner to ensure a positive experience for all students. If you are concerned that the content of a unit may impact your completion of the course, please see the unit coordinator. You can also access free student counselling through QUT Counselling via the QUT Student Homepage.

Course Learning Outcomes

This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.

EU60 Graduate Certificate in Education

  1. Discuss and evaluate advanced discipline-specific knowledge related to professional educational practice.
    Relates to: ULO2, Community of Practice, Case study
  2. Critically analyse and evaluate activities, contexts, and phenomena related to professional practice in the discipline of education.
    Relates to: ULO3, Case study
  3. Design and justify innovative solutions to authentic problems of educational practice through the application of discipline-specific knowledge and skills.
    Relates to: ULO4, Case study
  4. Source and evaluate scholarly and professional literature and apply it to educational contexts and scenarios.
    Relates to: ULO5, Community of Practice
  5. Employ a range of communication modes to transmit knowledge, skills, and ideas to others.
    Relates to: ULO1, Community of Practice

EU74 Master of Education

  1. Discuss, evaluate, and integrate advanced discipline-specific knowledge related to professional educational practice and research.
    Relates to: ULO2, ULO5, Community of Practice, Case study
  2. Critically analyse and evaluate complex activities, contexts and phenomena related to professional practice and scholarship in the discipline of education.
    Relates to: ULO3, Case study
  3. Design and justify innovative solutions to authentic problems of educational practice, drawing on discipline-specific knowledge and skills to lead and influence positive change.
    Relates to: ULO4, Case study
  4. Employ a range of communication modes to transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to specialist and non-specialist audiences in professional and scholarly contexts.
    Relates to: ULO1, Community of Practice