Scaffolding Diverse Learners in Tertiary Education: Educators’ Experience of Inclusive Curriculum Design in Community Services

Authors

  • Angela Daddow Victoria University

Keywords:

Inclusive tertiary curriculum, Transition to social work, Community welfare education

Abstract

This paper reports on a curriculum design project that aimed to effectively scaffold diverse learners into disciplinary knowledge in Australian tertiary education. Assumptions about “readiness” for tertiary education and deficit discourses are brought into question
as the curricular design and related pedagogy are implemented. Drawing on socio-cultural theories of learning and the “academic literacies” tradition, the model mainstreams academic skills into discipline curricula and qualitatively evaluates these in terms of educators’ experience and students’ voice. The promising and heart-warming responses provide some impetus to consider its application to other tertiary education contexts. It is suggested that the curriculum design supports discipline educators in contemporary, “post-Bradley” tertiary education, as well as questioning assumptions about diverse learners’ capacities.

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Published

2014-08-01

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