| CODE | PSY5632 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Educational Systems Change: School, Classroom and Curricular Organisation | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Psychology | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The need for this unit was always felt, since the students are training to become educational psychologists. However, this need is more urgent now, since it is no longer a requirement that educational psychologist trainees have two years teaching experience prior to entering this professional masters degree. This unit is necessary to help trainees become aware about education systems, the curriculum and their influence on schools and classrooms, with ramifications on children's education as a class and as individuals. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims: - to familiarise students with educational systems locally; - to familiarise students with issues in curricular planning and implementation; - to give students awareness of the numerous changes that the educational system has undergone in the last few years and its implication on education; - to help students gain a critical perspective of these issues. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analyze the complex factors entailed in curriculum development; - Analyze the implications of different curriculum systems on the feasibility of implementation and potential impact on teachers' instruction and children's engagement with learning in schools; - Evaluate the effectiveness of the current organization of the teaching and learning of core subjects in primary and secondary education; - Critically evaluate how curricular policies and educational practices influence teachers' and pupils' involvement and belonging in the educational process; - Critically evaluate the different ways in which educational psychologists can engage in consultation on policy-making and curricular developments in Maltese education; - Critically evaluate how educational psychologists can support teachers effectively in their implementation of the curriculum to reach all students; - Critically analyze the possible causes of school failure being experienced by children in Maltese schools; - Critically evaluate how the current assessment system needs to be changed in order to ensure the use of more assessment for learning for all including those with special educational needs. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate competence in consultation with policy and curriculum makers for the adaptation of policies and curricula to children's needs; - Demonstrate competence in evaluation of curricular issues in their assessment of children’s progress in learning; - Demonstrate competence in effective consultation with schools on curricular policy development and implementation issues; - Critically evaluate the results of their assessments of children within different classroom and school educational scenarios; - Draw up practical and realistic recommendations for parents and carers on how they can support the social, emotional, behavioural and academic development of children that are faced with failure; - Demonstrate competence in giving practical support to teachers and schools in the implementation of the curriculum to enable all students to be engaged and successful. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main text Kelly, A. V. (2009). The Curriculum: Theory and Practice. Sage; London. Supplementary texts Apple, M. 2004 Ideology and curriculum. Routledge; New York. Colin, M. 2004 Key concepts for understanding curriculum. Routledge; New York. Thomas, H. 2006 Understanding and shaping curriculum: what we teach and why. Sage; London. Stern, B. S. and Marcella, K. 2008 Contemporary readings in curriculum. Sage; London. Also various local publications on the Maltese Curriculum mostly available online. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: BPsy(Hons) | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Paul A. Bartolo (Co-ord.) Cynthia Bonnici Nathalie Buhagiar Gottfried Catania Josephine Deguara Karen Grech Esmeralda Zerafa |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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