School: Education

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Humanities and Social Sciences Birth to 8 Years
  • Unit Code

    HSS6180
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    10
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Mrs Karen NOCITI

Description

This unit focuses on high level knowledge of curriculum content and early childhood pedagogical practices for planning and implementing quality teaching and learning programs in Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). Such programs develop the social science and humanities concepts, skills and processes associated with History, Geography and Civics & Citizenship in early childhood settings. Students will critique current curriculum documents that outline learning content and outcomes for all contexts across early childhood. The relationship between theory and practice for teaching and learning will be emphasised through critical analysis of programs and resources. Students will participate in practical workshop experiences to develop an understanding of the importance of first hand experiences, social interaction and guided inquiry in supporting young children's learning. Contemporary issues in the social sciences such as sustainability, social justice education and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture will be investigated.

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded HSS6170

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Create an inquiry for HASS education for children birth to eight, to support the development of conceptual understandings, skills and values.
  2. Critically analyse research and literature on effective pedagogies for teaching HASS.
  3. Justify the inclusion of education for active and informed citizenship in early childhood education.
  4. Evaluate a range of resources for teaching the concepts and skills of the HASS learning area.
  5. Articulate the contribution HASS education makes to sustainability, intercultural understanding and the histories and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Unit Content

  1. Documents associated with preparing programs for children in birth to eight settings including the Australian Curriculum, the Western Australian P-10 Curriculum, The Early Years Learning Framework, The WA Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines and the National Quality Standard.
  2. Syllabus content for Humanities and Social Science for Years F-3.
  3. Learning theory relevant to learning concepts, skills and values.
  4. Contemporary research into effective pedagogies including inquiry-based models and approaches for teaching and learning the skills, concepts and values of the Social Sciences.
  5. Learning and teaching strategies associated with inquiry-based approaches including play-based strategies and cooperative strategies.
  6. ICT, print, web-based and context-based resources (people and places) and the integration of the skills and processes associated with information processing.
  7. Templates and processes for the planning for and assessing of children's learning in the context of inquiry-based pedagogies.
  8. Active and informed citizenship and strategies to support children in 'taking action'.
  9. Contemporary issues and priorities in Humanities and Social Science including Sustainability Education, Social Justice Education and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 110 x 3 hour seminarNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

A combination of lectures, workshops, guest speakers, videos, required readings and group and individually assigned work are used to achieve the unit outcomes. Students are required to become independent learners, contributors in workshops and competent team members.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentInquiry project50%
AssignmentInquiry project50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentInquiry project50%
AssignmentInquiry project50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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