EDF5669 Policy, politics and power
Faculty of Education
EDF5669 Policy, politics and power is a level 5, 12-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Education, offered in 2025 in Semester 1 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 12
- Offered in 2025
- Semester 1
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 2 tasks
- Workload
- 288 hours
- per semester
This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before EDF5669
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After EDF5669
No unit lists EDF5669 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.
Enrolment rules
PREREQUISITES:
Must be enrolled in B6021 Master of Professional Management or D6001 Master of Teaching.
Or must have passed:
EDF4610 Interacting with research in education contexts
EDF4611 Investigating education issues in global contexts
Overview
In this unit, you will examine the ways politics and power shape education policy. You will investigate different types of education policy, including ‘official’ policy and unofficial policy in the form of discourses and norms. You will develop an understanding of the external drivers on leadership and explore how power and influence are held over education policy by different groups and organisations. In exploring these issues, students will examine pressing issues relating to leadership and policy, including the impact of privatisation and commercialisation of education, globalisation, and ask questions such as who is education in its current form working for? How can we make a difference as leaders? In considering these questions, you will explore ethics, autonomy, and agency in relation to education policy, politics, power, and the persistent wicked problems of leadership.
Offerings in 2025
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | Clayton | Flx blk |
Assessment
- Policy enactment analysis in context (4000 words or equivalent)50%
- Individual conference presentation (4000 words or equivalent)50%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
understand different aspects of educational policy including how policy is enacted in a variety of educational contexts
- 2
articulate the various influences on education policy, demonstrating an understanding of politics and power as they relate to contemporary education policy
- 3
analyse the way education policy reflects dominant political and ideological beliefs about education
- 4
apply theoretical and methodological analysis approaches towards policy enactment in their own educational contexts.
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials36 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study.
Usually, you can expect to engage with:
• 12 hours of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities, 24 hours of scheduled learning delivered online via a combination of synchronous and asynchronous directed learning activities, and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study
OR
• 36 hours of scheduled learning delivered online via a combination of synchronous and asynchronous directed learning activities, and the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study^
^ International students studying in Australia are not permitted to undertake this scheduled learning delivery mode.
Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
You will be provided with the opportunity to engage with relevant literature and resources. Further, you will be encouraged to deepen your understanding of topic areas through collegial discussion and debate, and by participating in activities designed to extend your understanding.
Learning resources
Recommended resources
Please visit the unit Moodle site for further information.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Fiona Longmuir
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Fiona Longmuir
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for EDF5669?
EDF5669 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is EDF5669 offered?
In 2025, EDF5669 runs in Semester 1 at Clayton.
How much work is EDF5669?
The handbook expects about 288 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does EDF5669 have an exam?
No. EDF5669 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.