Disciplined Inquiry Capstone (Travel) (EDUC91353)

This is an overseas travel option of the Disciplined Inquiry Capstone subject and includes an overseas component in selected countries and jurisdictions. Students will be responsible for their own travel costs including flights, accommodation, food and any additional activities. Travel dates will generally fall in April (Semester 1) and September (Semester 2). 

This subject involves students undertaking a substantial project directly related to their own professional practice and/or within their area of specialisation. Students will draw on theory, knowledge and skills developed through their degree to design and complete their professional Capstone project.

The Capstone project will entail a gradual process of problem definition and mapping, and it will produce a research-informed plan (a Knowledge Mobilisation Strategy or KMS) to inform action. The experience will provide students with concepts, methods and skills to implement their project in a future professional or policy context.

The word “problem” does not imply a deficit view, and indeed a project can focus on opportunities and potentials. In all cases, however, students will be encouraged to treat their inquiries in a rigorous way, “problematising” their assumptions and considering counterarguments and other disciplinary perspectives.

The project will involve the following activities:

• A practical engagement with educational problems through structured visits to a number of government and non-government organisations and educational institutions in selected countries and jurisdictions.

• Identification of a context - this can be an existing context of professional practice or a more generic future context. The context can also be understood more abstractly as a particular debate or trend in education policy.
• Iterative, reflective and dialogic cycles of problem definition, redefinition and expansion.
• Mapping of stakeholders and forms of knowledge: who should be involved? What diverse forms of knowledge should be mobilised? What forms of evidence should be generated? What methods should be used?

Students will present their KMS in a conference presentation format that facilitates peer learning and fosters professional alliances and networks.