Rural Pedagogies PG (12202.1)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
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Rural Pedagogies PG
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Intensive
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Education
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Teacher Education Post Graduate Level Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit builds upon the unit Understanding Rurality to develop an understanding of, and expertise in, situating curriculum and pedagogy in rural contexts. This unit expands educators classroom and leadership skills in situating practice in rural contexts to drive improved student outcomes and purposeful school and system change. Educators are provided strategies to share practice and to plan approaches to sustain improved pedagogy in a range of rural educational contexts. Drawing on the evolving research into rural pedagogies educators examine the organising principles of the curriculum and approaches to contextually relevant curriculum enactment, identification and engagement with rural knowledges and community connections, as well as assessment practices. The unit uses expert case studies to unpack and model the characteristics of rural pedagogies from exemplar sites of practice. The focus progressively moves from reflecting and reviewing rural pedagogic practice to implementing and evaluating those practices. Teachers and school leaders report on the learning that has been developed through the professional learning that underpins this unit. There is an expectation that the learning will be celebrated through shared practice, providing teachers and schools in the rural professional practice community the opportunity to identify skills and processes that have been successfully applied. Additionally, the unit further develops skills in communication, reflection, and evaluation to enable educators to implement and sustain pedagogic change to improve student outcomes.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Critically examine perspectives on curriculum and pedagogy and their application in rural contexts;
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the way curriculum and pedagogy is enacted in response to local contexts;
3. Evaluate the characteristics of rural pedagogies and their implications for rural contexts; and
4. Design professional practice in response to local rural contextual needs.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Intensive Dr Philip Roberts
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Required readings will be made available via the unit CANVAS page

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. 

Special assessment requirements

Normally an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit.

Provision of valid documentation

Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Reading and private study: 70 hours

Workshop and online participation:  30 hours

Assessment tasks:    50 hours

Participation requirements

There is a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. Your participation in online tutorials and engagement with the online activities will enhance your understanding of this unit's content and therefore the quality of your assessment responses. Lack of participation may result in your inability to satisfactorily pass assessment items.

Regular online "drop in" sessions will be scheduled to support your progress. Regional study hub days will also be scheduled across the program. While attendance at these is not required they are provided to support your learning.

Required IT skills

Students will need to be proficient in the use of word processing and online applications, use of recording technology is encouraged. 

Artificial intelligence services must not to be used for assessment or assessment preparation by students unless explicitly allowed in the assessment instructions for an assessment task published with the assessment task and/or in the unit outline. That is, an artificial intelligence services may only be used if:

  • its use is authorised by the unit convener as part of a specified
    assessment task, and
  • it is used in the way allowed in the assessment instructions and/or unit outline, and
  • its use is appropriately referenced, meaning that students must reference the use of AI in their assessment in the same way as they reference other source material.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Theoretical Foundations

The theoretical foundations of this unit conceive of rurality as socially constructed, multiple, and positioned marginally in an implicit comparison to the metropolitan norm. From this position the unit understands professional practice in rural settings to be contextually bound, and distinct to practice in other settings.

Research Led Education

This unit involves research-led education. There are active researchers delivering this unit who are able to engage students in deep and active learning and transmit to students their passion for the research they are carrying out. The unit has been developed with a reference panel from the NSW DoE comprising rural principals, leaders and RRRSS Unit.

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