EUQ642 Career Development and Professional Practice


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Unit Outline: Session 1 2024, QUT Online, Online

Unit code:EUQ642
Credit points:12
Equivalent:EUN670, LCN621
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 consider lifelong learning within the context of career. You will develop knowledge and skills which will enable you to lead the delivery of career development programs to a wide ranging clientele. The importance of effective and theoretically based career programs in preparing all individuals for lifelong career decision-making has long been recognised. As a practitioner, you need to develop skills to create innovative and flexible programs which will meet individual needs and have a solid theoretical foundation as the basis of your practice. You will consider the means by which varied theories and models of career development can inform your practice. This unit will enable you to make connections between the theoretical foundations laid down in EUQ641 and the construction of effective career development programs which foster personal understandings of career, encourage individual construction of career and which are appropriate for diverse groups.

Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Demonstrate a knowledge including understanding recent developments in the field of career development and professional practice (CLO1.1).
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of research principles and methods relevant to career development and professional practice (CLO1.2).
  3. Demonstrate cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories and to apply established theories to different bodies of knowledge or practice relating to career development and professional practice (CLO2.2, CLO2.1).
  4. Use communication and technical research skills to justify and interpret theoretical propositions, methodologies, conclusions and professional decisions of professional career development practitioners to specialist and non-specialist audiences (CLO2.3).
  5. Demonstrate technical and communication skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about professional career developments that contribute to professional practice or scholarship (CLO2.4).
  6. Demonstrate application of knowledge and skills with creativity and initiative to professional planning (CLO3.1).
  7. Apply knowledge and skills to plan and execute a substantial research based project, capstone experience or piece of scholarship on career development issues and programs (CLO3.2).

Content

This unit will cover the following topics:

  • The application of career development theory to career development programs;
  • An overview and evaluation of existing career development programs including their paradigm base;
  • The development and delivery of career education programs for specific cohorts and contexts and the opportunity to reflect on your own theoretical basis for career practice; and
  • The current trends in the labour market; information and resource management and the role of the professional career development practitioner.

Learning Approaches

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

  • Online modules
  • Online discussions
  • Readings
  • Activities
  • Evaluation exercises.

During the unit you will be required to understand, critically reflect, analyse, synthesise and apply the presented concepts to your own practice as a professional career practitioner.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will gain feedback in this unit by participating in regular online discussion forums and collaborative learning activities with peers and the teaching team. You will receive feedback on your contributions which will directly relate to and inform both pieces of assessment. Assessment will receive criteria based grading and comments and the criteria will be considered by the cohort prior to assessment submission.

Formative feedback in this unit will include feedback on a career development program needs analysis, designed to support your learning and to provide a foundation for both assessment tasks.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment in this unit enables you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of career development theory as a basis for program development and to apply this knowledge practically.

Assessment 1 requires you to develop a proposal for a career development program, relevant to your work context and to provide a justification for this.

Assessment 2 requires you to develop a career development program for your work context and to write a discussion paper which outlines the parameters of this program.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Program Proposal

Development of a proposal which advocates for the establishment and implementation of a Career Development program which is specific to your work context. Support your proposal with a brief Powerpoint presentation (10-15 slides) which provides an overview of your key arguments.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 50
Length: 3000 words in total (500 words for the Powerpoint presentation)
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week 5
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4

Assessment: Career Development Program and Discussion Paper

Write a discussion paper which outlines a career development program you have designed for a specific cohort. Discuss key elements of this program including: The rationale and goals for this program; The stakeholder group and current trends in labour markets; Theoretical underpinnings and learning approach; Career management strategies and resources; Assessment and evaluation strategy.

Submit an overview of the career development program you have created. Provide an outline of the topics or units in this program (not a fully developed program). Submit one fully developed lesson plan which is representative of those you would deliver within this program.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Weight: 50
Length: 3000 words
Individual/Group: Individual
Due (indicative): Week
Due Assessment week
Related Unit learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

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.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

Access to the Internet

Resources

The following resource materials will be used throughout the unit.

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

McCowan, C., McKenzie, M., & Shah. (2017). Introducing career education and development: A guide for personnel in educational institutions in both developed and developing countries. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

 

 

 

Recommended text(s)

Arthur, N., Neault, R., & McMahon, M. (Eds). (2019). Career theories and models at work: Ideas for practice. CERIC. 

McMahon. (2015). Ideas for career practitioners : celebrating excellence in career practice  Australian Academic Press.

Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2021). Career development and systems theory: Connecting theory and practice (4th ed.). Brill.

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with general participation in this unit. Workplace Health and Safety protocols associated with computer use will apply.

Course Learning Outcomes

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

EQ60 Graduate Certificate in Education

  1. Demonstrate a body of knowledge including understanding recent developments in the field of education (CLO 1.1).
    Relates to: ULO1
  2. Use cognitive and critical reflection skills to demonstrate mastery of theoretical knowledge and professional practice or scholarship in the field of education (CLO2.1).
    Relates to: ULO3
  3. Demonstrate technical and communication skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments that contribute to professional practice or scholarship (CLO2.4).
    Relates to: ULO5
  4. Demonstrate application of knowledge and skills with creativity and initiative to new situations in professional practice and/or for further learning with high level personal autonomy and accountability (CLO3.1).
    Relates to: ULO6

EQ71 Master of Education

  1. Demonstrate a body of knowledge including understanding recent developments in the field of education (CLO1.1).
    Relates to: ULO1
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to the field of education (CLO1.2).
    Relates to: ULO2
  3. Use cognitive and critical reflection skills to demonstrate mastery of theoretical knowledge and professional practice or scholarship in the field of education (CLO2.1).
    Relates to: ULO3
  4. Demonstrate cognitive, technical and creative skills to investigate, analyse and synthesize complex information, problems, concepts and theories and to apply established theories to different bodies of knowledge or practice in education (CLO2.2).
    Relates to: ULO3
  5. Demonstrate communication and technical research skills to justify and interpret educational theoretical propositions, methodologies, conclusions and professional decisions to specialist and non-specialist audiences (CLO2.3).
    Relates to: ULO4
  6. Demonstrate technical and communication skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments that contribute to professional education practice or scholarship (CLO2.4).
    Relates to: ULO5
  7. Demonstrate application of knowledge and skills with creativity and initiative to new situations in professional educational practice and/or for further learning with high level personal autonomy and accountability (CLO3.1).
    Relates to: ULO6
  8. Demonstrate ability to apply knowledge and skills to plan and execute a significant piece of research-based scholarship in the field of education (CLO 3.2).
    Relates to: ULO7