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Australian minorities : concepts and perspectives : a tertiary level elective course

This field study is an attempt to provide detailed suggestions
for a one semester elective course of study Australian Minorities:
Concepts and Perspectives to be offered at a tertiary institution.
It is intended primarily to provide a context in which minority group
persons can be introduced to and analyse the theories and concepts
which have been used to describe them as minority group persons, and
to give minority group persons the opportunity to formulate and
develop their own theories and concepts derived from their own
experience.
Since the program in which the course is offered is already
operating and this course is a required part of it, the case for the
provision of specific courses for minority group students is not
argued here. The purpose in providing a detailed course description
through this field study is (a) to contribute to the, as yet, small
number of tertiary level courses from which both minority group and
mainstream students select their programs, and (b) to provide
suggestions for teachers of such courses to enable them to present
courses which have specific interest for minority group students.
The principles on which the course is constructed constitute a
blending of humanistic and social reconstructionist perspectives with
the purpose of (a) making the course acceptable to the espoused
values of institutions offering teacher education programs, and (b)
providing students with some knowledge and skills whereby they are
empowered to make changes in the societies in which they will work.
The course was compiled from
(a) Suggestions solicited on an informal basis from students
involved in an initial teaching of a similar course.
(b) The writer's perceptions of needs arising from experience
of teaching in a tertiary program catering specifically for
Aboriginal and Islander persons.
(c) Library research of, especially, material written by minority
group persons, but also material written about minority group
persons.
Suggestions for evaluating the effectiveness of the course are
provided because it is intended that this course be used as a base
or beginning structure to generate new courses, or for modifications
of this one according to specific needs of teachers and student
groups. It is presented in a form intended to be useful as a
starting point for other minority group teachers involved in
offering courses to cater for similar needs. Source material is
drawn mainly from sociological and philosophical perspectives,
combining western concepts from these disciplines with contemporary
minority group definitions of experience.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219286
Date January 1983
CreatorsRenew, Sandra, n/a
PublisherUniversity of Canberra. Education
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Rights), Copyright Sandra Renew

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