Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pathways and Praxis: Designing Curriculum for Aspirational Programs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
University Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend

Abstract

As lecturer/researchers, we use documents mapping the design process, and our own reflections as the basis of a case study of curriculum design for the Associate Degrees of Arts and Education, pathways programs at Deakin University in Australia. In this way, we view curriculum as both personal and political, rather than as a package to be delivered. In this chapter, we share our inspirations, practices and constraints, so that other lecturers and researchers may use our insights in further thinking, teaching and learning in this area. We believe that reflexive attention to the curriculum design process, especially in neoliberal contexts in which a delivery model is foregrounded, highlights institutional challenges that complicate achieving the rhetoric of success for pathways students. We argue that these complexities need to be acknowledged, so that barriers to innovative curriculum design and enhanced student participation can be more fully understood before they can be tackled.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allie, S., Armien, M. N., Burgoyne, N., Case, J. M., Collier-Reed, B. I., Craig, T., Deacon, A., Fraser, D. M., Geyer, Z., Jacobs, C., Jawitz, J., Kloot, B., Kotta, L., Langdon, G., le Roux, K., Marshall, D., Mogashana, D., Shaw, C., Sheridan, G. & Wolmarans., N. (2009). Learning as acquiring a discursive identity through participation in a community: Improving student learning in engineering education. European Journal of Research in Engineering Education, 34(4), 359–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Qualifications Framework Council. (2013). Australian qualifications framework. In A. Q. F. Council (Ed.) (2nd ed.). Canberra: Australian Qualifications Framework Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. (2003). The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy, 18(2), 215–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (2007). Consuming life. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, K. (2010). Background paper for the AQF Council on generic skills. In A. Q. F. Council (Ed.). Canberra: South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • CAST. (2016). CAST. Retrieved 14 March, 2016, from http://www.cast.org/

  • Churchill, R., Godhinyo, S., Johnson, N. F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Lowe, K., et al. (2016). Teaching: Making a difference (2nd ed.). Milton: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. (2013). The neoliberal cascade and education: an essay on the market agenda and its consequences. Critical Studies in Education, 54(2), 99–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devlin, M., Kift, S., Nelson, K., Smith, L., & McKay, J. (2012). Effective teaching and support of students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds: Practical advice for teaching staff. Sydney: Office for Learning and Teaching.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmiston, B. (2014). Transforming teaching and learning through active dramatic approaches. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gale, T. (2010). Putting social inclusion in its place: Three principles for pedagogic work. Pathways 10 conference: Creating space for people with disabilities in tertiary education (pp. 1–15). Southbank Institute of Technology, Brisbane, QLD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gale, T., & Tranter, D. (2011). Social justice in Australian higher education policy: An historical and conceptual account of student participation. Critical Studies in Education, 52(1), 29–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gale, T., Hodge, S., Parker, S., Rawolle, S., Charlton, E., Rodd, P., Skourdoumbis, A. & Molla, T. (2013). VET providers, associate and bachelor degrees, and disadvantaged learners: Report to the National VET Equity Advisory Council (NVEAC). Australia: Strategic Centre for Research in Educational Futures and Innovation (CREFI), Deakin University, Australia. Retrieved February 2 2016, http://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/365198/disadvantaged-learners.pdf

  • Gearon, M., Kostogriz, A., & Miller, J. (2009). Culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms: New dilemmas for teachers. Bristol/Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilardi, S., & Guglielmetti, C. (2011). University life of non-traditional students: Engagement styles and impact on attrition. The Journal of Higher Education, 82(1), 33–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haggis, T. (2006). Pedagogies for diversity: Retaining critical challenge amidst fears of “dumbing down”. Studies in Higher Education, 31(5), 521–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy, I., & Woodcock, S. (2015). Inclusive education policies: Discourses of difference, diversity and deficit. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(2), 141–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, K. (2015). The social inclusion meme in higher education: Are Universities doing enough? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(3), 303–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kift, S. (2009). Articulating a transition pedagogy to scaffold and to enhance the first year student learning experience in Australian higher education: Final report for ALTC Senior Fellowship Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kift, S. (2010). First year experience and curriculum design: Transition pedagogy as 3rd generation FYE. In Charles Sturt University student engagement forum (pp. 1–64). Brisbane City: Charles Sturt University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kloot, B., Case, J. M., & Marshall, D. (2008). A critical review of the educational philosophies underpinning Science and Engineering foundation programmes. South African Journal of Higher Education, 22(4), 799–816.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loo, R., & Thorpe, K. (2002). Using reflective team journals to improve individual and team performance. Team Performance Management, 8(5/6), 134–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, D., & Case, J. M. (2010). Rethinking ‘disadvantage’ in higher education: A paradigmatic case study using narrative analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 35(5), 491–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. (2002). Researching your own practice: the discipline of noticing. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meuleman, A.-M., Garrett, R., Wrench, A., & King, S. (2015). ‘Some people might say I’m thriving but…’: Non-traditional students’ experiences of university. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(5), 503–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, K., Creagh, T., Kift, S., & Clarke, J. (2014). Transition pedagogy handbook: A good practice guide for policy and practice in the first year experience at QUT (2nd ed.). Brisbane: QUT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Penn-Edwards, S., & Donnison, S. (2014). A fourth generation approach to transition in the first year in higher education: First Year in Higher Education Community of Practice (FYHECoP). The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 5(1), 31–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinar, W. F. (2011). What is curriculum theory? New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radnor, H. (2002). Researching your professional practice: Doing interpretive research. Buckingham/Philadephia: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, L., & St Pierre, E. A. (2008). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials (pp. 473–499). Los Angeles: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slee, R. (2013). How do we make inclusion happen when exclusion is a political disposition? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17(8), 895–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. (1987). The everyday world as problematic. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. (2005). Institutional ethnography: A sociology for people. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. (2011, February 18). Institutional ethnography. Seminar presented at Deakin University, Melbourne.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies, 2(4), 419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, R. W. (1949). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheelan, S. B., Davidson, B., & Tilin, F. (2003). Group development across time: Reality or illusion? Small Group Research, 34(2), 223–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    Lucinda McKnight & Emma Charlton

Authors
  1. Lucinda McKnight
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emma Charlton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lucinda McKnight .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts, International Studies Department, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia

    Cintia Inés Agosti

  2. Australian School of Applied Management, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Eva Bernat

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

McKnight, L., Charlton, E. (2018). Pathways and Praxis: Designing Curriculum for Aspirational Programs. In: Agosti, C., Bernat, E. (eds) University Pathway Programs: Local Responses within a Growing Global Trend. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72505-5_12

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-72504-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-72505-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation