Write an essay that uses reflections and observations to identify and critically reflect upon bias and stereotypes through a social justice lens.
Describe and evaluate any relevant policies, practices and legislation that apply to your chosen example.
Begin by identifying an example of historical bias or stereotyping related to primary education. This might be:
a photograph, or series of photos
a video example
an example from your own past
an incident from your placement.
Note: If you are using such an example, make sure you follow the correct ethical guidelines. Be anonymous, non-judgemental and free from bias, discrimination and prejudice.
If you are having trouble finding an appropriate example, communicate with your eLA.
Within your essay, you must do the following:
Definethe key terms that underpin the unit: diversity, equity and inclusion.
Describeyour chosen example and identify the historical bias or stereotype demonstrated.
Critically reflecton your chosen example through a social justice lens.
Consider questions such as the following:
How does this example align with your understanding of the key terms: diversity, equity and inclusion?
What social, cultural or historical factors may have been an influence in your example?
How might theories of social justice apply to your example?
What are the implications for the affected groups or individuals?
What are the implications for educators?
Describeandevaluateany relevant policies, practices and legislation that apply to your chosen example.
Make sure you consider:
the key elements of the policy, practice or legislation
the strengths and limitations of the policy, practice or legislation
how well the policy, practice or legislation addresses your chosen example
what issues might be raised through application of the policy, practice or legislation.
Your essay should be written in first person.
All observations in your essay should be supported by the use of scholarly literature and/or policy and legislation, and appropriately cited in APA style.
All resources referred to in your essay must be included in a reference list, appropriately formatted in APA style. This reference list will not be included within the word count for the assignment.
Rubrics/Marking Guidelines :
Identification of historical bias or stereotype.
Critical reflection upon identified bias or stereotype.
Evaluation of policies, practices and legislation in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion practice.
Use of appropriate writing conventions.
Your work will be assessed using the following marking guide:
Rubric
Grade descriptor Standards statements
Pass [P 50-59%]
To be awarded a Pass for this task, all aspects of the task must be completed, and the work must be the author’s own except where cited works of others have been used. The requirements of all criteria must be met at a satisfactory level as described by the standards statements.
The essay is well-structured. The introduction introduces the topic, containing a thesis statement in which the topic and the writer's response to it are clearly explained. The discussion is developed across the body of the essay. The conclusion sums up the writer's position and does not introduce new information.
The essay provides relevant and valid definitions of the key terms: diversity, equity and inclusion.
The essay identifies examples of historical bias or stereotypes relevant to the examples provided.
The essay includes some evidence of critical reflection upon the identified bias or stereotypes that includes basic responses to the questions provided.
The essay includes a basic evaluation of policies, practices and legislation in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion practice that identifies key elements, strengths, limitations and related issues.
There is evidence of the use of scholarly material, policy and legislation to support arguments. Works cited are consistent with APA conventions.
Word choice is deliberate, and there are no superfluous words or phrases. Sentences are complete, and punctuation, including apostrophe use, is generally correct. Editing has been a key process in the preparation of the essay. Careful and thorough proofreading has resulted in an essay that is obviously not a ‘first’ draft. The essay, as a whole, has been thoughtfully crafted to ensure a professionally presented essay. Essay is written in first person.
A reference list is included, formatted in APA style.
Credit [C 60-69%]
To be awarded a Credit for this task, the work must fulfil the requirements of the Pass grade but at a higher standard, as described by the standards statements.
The essay is a well-reasoned and persuasive analysis, logically and coherently structured. Each paragraph contains only one idea and that idea is fully developed. Clear progression and development of ideas is evident and each argument supports the thesis.
The critical reflection clearly articulates the relationship between personal beliefs and broader issues of social justice.
The evaluation of policies, practices and legislation integrates ideas from your critical reflection to connect issues of social justice with policy and legislative responses.
A range of relevant scholarly material, policy and legislation is cited.
Use of an active voice, a broad and fluent vocabulary, and a range of cohesive devices (key words, pronouns, conjunctions, reinforcement, highlighting, similarity, and the like) is present.
The language is unemotive and academic in tone, without being overly formal. A range of sentence types has been used to add interest and energy to the writing. Tenses are consistent, and punctuation allows for meaning to emerge without ambiguity.
Distinction [D 70-79%]
To be awarded a Distinction for this task, the work must fulfil the requirements of the Credit grade but at a higher standard, as described by the standards statements.
The essay is cohesive and rigorous, presenting scholarly evidence and illustrative examples to explicitly support the approach taken and the analysis conducted.
The critical reflection demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of the relationships between personal beliefs, the broader social, historical and cultural influences, and the implications for social justice.
The evaluation of policy, practices and legislation extends on the critical reflection, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the connections between historical bias and stereotypes and the responses designed to counter them.
A broad range of quality scholarly material, policy and legislation is seamlessly incorporated into the response.
Any errors that remain in the work, including errors in written communication, do not detract from the overall quality of the essay, or of the meaning communicated.
High Distinction [HD 80-100%]
To be awarded a High Distinction for this task, the work must fulfil the requirements of the Distinction grade but at a higher standard, as described by the standards statements.
The essay demonstrates the following attributes of critical reading: analysis, inference and interpretation. It additionally demonstrates the following characteristics of critical thinking: depth, breadth, accuracy, precision and fair-minde