Overview
This unit develops your knowledge and understanding of legislation and policy related to inclusion in educational settings. You will examine representations of diversity and difference in contemporary Australian society and the ways in which stereotypes associated with marginalised groups are constructed and maintained. You will reflect on legislative and policy frameworks; explore ways in which personal assumptions, biases and value positions affect the “labelling” of students from diverse social, cultural and economic groups including students with disabilities; and evaluate the impact of your own socio-cultural backgrounds and belief systems on creating inclusive settings. You will identify barriers to learning for diverse groups including culturally diverse learners and those with special needs and critique strategies for responding to and valuing diversity and promoting social inclusion in educational settings.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Admission to a postgraduate course or completion of 72 credit points in an undergraduate course.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from evaluations
Moodle materials
Review the order of Moodle Topics.
- Explain how difference, dominance and stereotypes related to marginalised groups are constructed and maintained in social contexts
- Identify barriers to learning for diverse groups including culturally diverse learners in order to demonstrate a broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for diverse groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages
- Summarise the legislative framework and key principles and processes described in inclusion policies for educational settings
- Discuss the extent to which Australia can be called an inclusive society and identify and explain the potential impacts on educators’ attempts to promote social inclusion in educational settings
- Critically reflect on the role of educational professionals and the system support structures required to promote successful social inclusion for students from diverse backgrounds, including students with disability and special needs
- Provide a rationale for establishing productive relationships with culturally diverse families and communities and specialist professional groups to support the aims of inclusive educational settings and the development and integration of inclusive teaching practices
- Select and evaluate strategies that promote the development of a learning community through effective management of the classroom environment, fostering positive social relationships and a sense of belonging, and provision of quality learning experiences for students from the full range of abilities and backgrounds, including the needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds
- Describe strategies for meeting the specific learning needs of students with a disability.
Successful completion of this unit provides opportunities for students to demonstrate the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers focus areas of:
1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability
2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process
4.1 Support student participation
4.3 Manage challenging behaviour
4.4 Maintain student safety
6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities
7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements
7.3 Engage with the parents/carers
7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||||||
| 4 - Research | ||||||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
There is no prescribed textbook for this unit.
Reading resources for this unit are a combination of journal articles, book chapters and websites. All reading resources are compiled in the eReading list found in Moodle.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.murket@cqu.edu.au
e.deheaume@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Australian culture and society - what is it?
Chapter
Teachers’ portal (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.)
Making Multicultural Australia for the 21st Century (Board of Studies NSW, 2025)
Racism in Australia (All together now, 2022)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Identity, labelling and the rights of the individual and Legislating for the rights of the child
Chapter
People with disability in Australia (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2025)
LGBTIQA+ glossary of common terms (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2025)
A brief guide to the Disability Discrimination Act (AHRC, n.d.)
Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Australian Government, 2005)
Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Queensland Government [or equivalent site], 2014-2025)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Practicing Inclusion
Chapter
Inclusive Education (Qld Department of Education [or equivalent site], 2025)
Every student with disability succeeding: Ferny Grove State School (n.d.) - video
Code of ethics and conduct (NSW Education Department [or equivalent document/s, 2025)
Backhaus and Vermunt (chapter 7 in Harrison & Sellwood, 2022)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Arguments for and against inclusion
Chapter
Chambers and Forlin (2021)
Brownlow and O’Dell (chapter 2 in Carter, 2019)
Closing the Gap – Implementation plans for your State or Territory (n.d.)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Differentiation
Chapter
Scarparolo and Porta (2025)
Gibbs and McKay (2021)
UDL guidelines graphic (CAST, 2024)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Gifted and talented students
Chapter
Meeting the needs of gifted and talented students (ACARA, 2025)
Lim et al. (2023)
Burkett-McKee et al. (2021)
Carter (2021)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages
Chapter
Education resources (AIATSIS, n.d.)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures (ACARA, 2025)
Shay et al. (2025)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Culturally and linguistically diverse students
Chapter
ACARA – Resources – Student Diversity - EAL/D (n.d.) website
EAL/D students (ACARA, 2025)
Malaeb and Ware (2023)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Challenging behaviour in inclusive classrooms
Chapter
Student behaviour (Qld Department of Education [or equivalent site], 2024)
Positive behaviour for learning (Qld Department of Education [or equivalent site], 2025)
Conway (chapter 5 in Ashman, 2019)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Students with disabilities and Unit Review
Chapter
Part 3 in Hyde et al. (2022)
People with disability – education and skills (AIHW, 2025)
Students with disability (Qld Department of Education [or equivalent site], 2025)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This assessment task requires you to analyse and reflect on the concepts of access, change and formation of attitudes in the context of the work of educators in contemporary Australian settings. To complete this task, you will submit a written response of 1500 words (maximum) that includes each of the sections outlined below.
Definitions of key concepts (200-300words)
Attitudes towards difference and diversity can influence how society and communities experience social inclusion or exclusion. These attitudes can influence access and participation to all aspects of community life including education. In your response to this, define the following concepts:
- stereotype,
- racism
- prejudice,
- social justice.
Be sure to provide an example of each concept in action in Australian society.
The Australian social context - evidence of discrimination or social inclusion (300-400words)
The media is often said to reflect our society and portrays difference and diversity within the community through the way that different groups or people are characterised in advertisements, film or television programs, news reporting and people employed as presenters.
Using examples from a range of media texts demonstrate the extent to which Australia can be called an inclusive or exclusive society.
You will need to demonstrate an understanding of how this affects students, particularly those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds (APST 1.4, 2.4).
How do media representations of discrimination and/or social inclusion impact on your role as a teacher?
Legislation and education policy responses to inclusion (300-400words)
Identify and discuss the legislative frameworks that, in turn, forms the basis for inclusive education policies in your State.
You will need to consider how legislation and policies impact on the legal responsibilities and practice of educators in school, classroom or care settings (APST 7.2).
This response will need to demonstrate your understanding of the key principles described in the relevant codes of conduct and ethics for the teaching profession (APST 7.1).
How will both federal and state legislation, along with their related education policies, affect you in your role as a teacher?
Reflection on your attitude and ability to respond to diversity and inclusion (300-400words)
Critically reflect on how you might approach your work in responding to diversity and inclusion as a future teacher. Consider your responses to the Australian social context and Legislation and education policy outlined above:
- What influence does your own cultural background and life experience have on your attitudes around student diversity and inclusion?
- How do you plan to engage with community and professional representatives to broaden your professional knowledge and practice? (APST 7.4).
- How will this continued professional learning support you to improve student learning? (APST 6.4).
Note:
- Contemporary citations including from the unit must be used in every section of this assignment.
- Subheadings may be used.
- No appendices are to be included.
Assessment Due Date
Week 5, Wednesday 15 August 2025
Weighting 50%
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Practised/Assessed in this task
1.4, 2.4, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2,7.4
Word count for written assignments:
The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Word count for this assignment: 1500 words maximum
AI Assessment scale tool:
Level 2 - You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity.
Week 5 Friday (15 Aug 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Assessment will be returned once the moderation process has been completed.
●Knowledge and understanding of specific key concepts relating to inclusion and diversity.
●Knowledge and understanding of social inclusion practices, with a particular focus on the impact for students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds (APST 1.4 & 2.4).
●Knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation and policies that inform inclusion policies and how these relate to ethics and responsibilities in the teaching profession (APST 7.1 & 7.2).
●Knowledge of the need to engage with community and professional representatives to broaden professional practice and an understanding of how this knowledge impacts on student learning (APST 6.4 & 7.4).
●Standard of academic writing and use of academic materials.
- Explain how difference, dominance and stereotypes related to marginalised groups are constructed and maintained in social contexts
- Identify barriers to learning for diverse groups including culturally diverse learners in order to demonstrate a broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for diverse groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages
- Summarise the legislative framework and key principles and processes described in inclusion policies for educational settings
- Discuss the extent to which Australia can be called an inclusive society and identify and explain the potential impacts on educators’ attempts to promote social inclusion in educational settings
- Critically reflect on the role of educational professionals and the system support structures required to promote successful social inclusion for students from diverse backgrounds, including students with disability and special needs
2 Written Assessment
Differentiation is a process of adapting curricula and classroom environments to promote quality learning for all students. This task provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate an understanding of how inclusive practice can be achieved through responsive teaching and the selection of strategies that effectively cater for the characteristics of a diverse range of learners. To complete this task, you will submit a written response of 2000 words (maximum) addressing each of the sections below:
Labelling and the rights of all students to access education (400-500words)
There are ongoing debates about the efficacy of inclusion and labelling with different attitudes and perceptions raised by students, parents and teachers regarding access to education.
Identify and discuss these arguments, focusing on how legislative requirements and teaching strategies support the participation and learning of students with disability (APST 1.6).
You will also need to address how you intend to support the general well-being and safety of students (APST 4.4).
Personal approach to differentiation (400-500words)
You will now be aware that your classroom will have a diverse range of students with specific characteristics that affect their learning, ranging from cultural, linguistic, social-emotional, cognitive and physical disabilities, learning difficulties and socioeconomic differences (APST 1.1).
Using unit readings select and describe behaviour management and teaching strategies along with other important practices that are claimed to be responsive to the strengths and needs of diverse learners (APST 1.3 & 4.3).
You will need to outline how you would use these to establish inclusive practice in your classroom (APST 4.1).
Catering for Gifted and Talented learners (300-400words)
Gifted and talented students are a group of specific learners that are often missed within the busy classroom.
Demonstrate what management and teaching strategies would you use to cater for this group of learners; and consider the ways you could meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities (APST 1.5).
Fostering positive relationships and quality education and care (400-500words)
Demonstrate how your approach to differentiation would foster positive social relationships and wellbeing between teachers and diverse learners, families and communities in education/care settings.
You will need to focus on how you will involve parents in the educative process (APST 3.7) in an effective, sensitive and confidential way (APST 7.3).
Note:
• Contemporary citations including from the unit must be used in every section of this assignment.
• Subheadings may be used.
• No appendices are to be included.
Assessment due date
Week 11, Wednesday 1 October 2025
Weighting: 50%
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Practised/Assessed in this task
1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 3.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4,7.3
Word count for written assignments:
The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Word count for this assignment: 2000 words maximum
AI Assessment scale tool:
Level 2 - You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas. Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity.
Week 11 Wednesday (1 Oct 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Assignments are released after certification of grades
Assessment will be marked against the following criteria:
●Knowledge and understanding of competing arguments regarding inclusive teaching practices, wellbeing, and safety, within a framework of legislative requirements (APST 1.6 & 4.4).
●Knowledge and application of practices and strategies underpinning differentiation and inclusive practice (APST 1.3, 4.1 & 4.3).
●Knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning strategies related to Gifted and Talented learners and how these strategies could be used to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities (APST 1.5).
●Articulation of appropriate practices for developing well-being and positive relationships among stakeholders in an effective, sensitive and confidential way (APST 3.7 & 7.3).
●Standard of academic writing and use of academic materials.
- Provide a rationale for establishing productive relationships with culturally diverse families and communities and specialist professional groups to support the aims of inclusive educational settings and the development and integration of inclusive teaching practices
- Select and evaluate strategies that promote the development of a learning community through effective management of the classroom environment, fostering positive social relationships and a sense of belonging, and provision of quality learning experiences for students from the full range of abilities and backgrounds, including the needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds
- Describe strategies for meeting the specific learning needs of students with a disability.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
