EDF5667 · Leading positive approaches to behaviour in schools

Overview

This unit draws on prior learning in inclusive education and examines how schools can build positive, neuroaffirming and culturally safe environments in which all learners can engage positively, learn and thrive. You will consider how policies, relationships, routines, and physical and sensory environments shape learners’ experiences of safety, belonging and participation, and you will engage critically with debates about behaviour, discipline and student support in schooling. You will examine how behaviour-focused approaches have been used historically and in contemporary practice, and consider the extent to which these align with or undermine students’ rights, dignity and inclusion and which evidence suggests are the most effective and inclusive. Building on your earlier work with multi-tiered systems of support, you will explore how coherent school-wide approaches can be designed, implemented at scale, and sustained across classroom, school and system levels for all learners including those with complex disability and communication support requirements so that positive learning environments and needs-based support are provided for all without exception. Throughout the unit, you will draw on research evidence and data-based decision-making to design and refine needs-based, relational and strengths-focused supports at universal, targeted and individual levels. The emphasis is on understanding what is happening in context, building communication, social and academic skills, and working collaboratively with students, families, teacher assistants and other professionals to develop sustainable, multi-tiered approaches that enable all students to engage positively, learn and thrive.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. critically analyse research, policy and practice on behaviour, belonging and student support in schools through human rights, inclusive education, neuroaffirming and culturally responsive lenses
2. examine how school and classroom environments, policies and relationships shape students’ safety, belonging, participation and capacity to engage positively, learn and thrive, including for students with complex disability and communication support requirements
3. locate, synthesise and critically evaluate research on approaches to behaviour, belonging and wellbeing, and draw out implications for inclusive practice
4. design evidence-informed, strengths-based and relationship-centred universal, targeted and individual supports within a coherent multi-tiered system of supports
5. design and justify professional learning and collaborative processes with students, families, teacher assistants, colleagues and other professionals to implement, evaluate and refine inclusive, rights-respecting multi-tiered approaches.

Workload

The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Usually, you can expect to engage with: • 12 hours of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities, 24 hours of scheduled learning delivered online via a combination of synchronous and asynchronous directed learning activities, and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study OR • 36 hours of scheduled learning delivered online via a combination of synchronous and asynchronous directed learning activities, and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study^ ^ International students studying in Australia are not permitted to undertake this scheduled learning delivery mode. Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.