EDF5733 Clinical Placement in Psychology 3 - Academic Narrative

Word Count Equivalent: 3200 words

Weighting: 40%

Assessment One: Academic Narrative

Weighting: 40%

Word Count: 3200 words

This assessment task assesses Learning Outcomes:

1. critically analyse the relationship between economic, environmental, cultural and social factors influencing contemporary early childhood education leadership
2. utilise critical literacies to understand knowledge construction and its ratification within and external to the field of early childhood education
3. consider cross-cultural perspectives and global development in relation to local and regional enactments of research, policy and practice in early childhood education
4. communicate understanding of the key debates and contemporary concerns in the Early Childhood sector, both nationally and globally, through a generation of an original professional inquiry, utilising individual reporting and an academic report.

Details of Task:

1. Students will record their critical thinking/discussions of their reading of the scholarly research for the first four topics of the unit.
2. Each topic will require students to write one academic narrative of 800 words. In sum, students will write four academic narratives (4 x 800 words = 3200 words)
3. Each academic narrative will be a critical reflection on the scholarly literature and in response to the prompt as detailed here:

Academic Narrative One: Reading and responding to the question: What kind of leadership for a global leadership perspective? (800 words)

Academic Narrative Two: Reading and responding to the question: What do you see as the implications of current early childhood policy discourses in relation to leadership? (800 words)

Academic Narrative Three: Reading and responding to the question: How will you respond as al leader to the current globalisation of early childhood education? (800 words) Academic Narrative Four: Reading and responding to the question: What does it mean to be a 'global' leader for ECEC (800 words)

4. Academic narratives are to be a narrative style of reporting of the student's critical thinking/discussion of their reading of the scholarly literature. This means students are to include thoughtful considerations of their key understandings/learnings from the scholarly research in relation to their own understandings and experiences of leadership in early childhood education along with their developing understandings of global leadership for early childhood education.
5. Each academic narratives should show the 'building' the student's understanding of the first four topics (i.e.: making links between previous journal entries).
6. Each academic narrative must show evidence of how the student has not only read and considered the key readings but also the additional readings that are shared and discussed in the students Self Selected Reading Group.
7. Combined the four academic narratives will illustrate the student's academic narrative of key [earnings from their critical reading/thinking/discussion of the scholarly literature for the first four topics of the unit.

N.B: This is about your critical engaging with the scholarly research and so your academic narratives are not about 'getting it right'. Rather it is about showing how you have critically engaged with the readings, critically considered key ideas and concepts, and engaged in critical conversations with your peers in your self-selected reading group as you considered each academic narrative's topic and what it is meaning for you as you consider leadership from a global perspective in early childhood education. Here are some helpful resources:

Wallace, M., & Wray, A. (2011). Critical Reading and Writing for Postgraduates (2^nd ed.). Sage. Developing your critical reading skills

Critical Literacy

Presentation:

This task will be submitted as one document that clearly distinguishes the four academic narratives. Therefore, the use of headings is required to separate the four academic narratives. Each academic narrative will include its own reference list_ This means there will be a reference list at the end of each academic narrative_ Reference lists are not included in the word count. Referencing will follow APA 7^th ed. format. The writing style will be 'narrative' and so you will be writing in first person and personal pronoun use is accepted.