New Education courses will appeal to students across different disciplines

To keep our Education courses in step with industry needs and relevant for our students, the Program Director of Education Jeannette Keser and her colleagues have reviewed Torrens University’s Education program. The result is four new and exciting postgraduate courses that will be offered from Term 3 this year:

• Graduate Certificate of Education
• Graduate Diploma of Education (Leadership and Innovation, Inclusive Literacies and Inclusive Education)
• Master of Education (Leadership and Innovation)
• Master of Education (Inclusive Literacies)
• Master of Education (Inclusive Education)
• Master of Education Advanced (Leadership and Innovation, Inclusive Literacies and Inclusive Education)

Introducing Jeannette Keser and our refreshed Education courses

As the Program Director, Jeannette Keser oversees Torrens University’s Education courses, which are all offered at the post-graduate level, from the graduate certificate to the master's programs.

‘In my role, I explore ways we can ensure that our courses continue to be industry relevant,’ Jeannette explains. ‘We currently focus on three streams: Special Education, Leadership and Innovation, and Reading and Literacy. The new programs are also designed around these streams because we know from our experience and research that they are relevant to the professional development of our students today.’

Why did you and your colleagues decide it was time to refresh the Education courses?

‘The courses we have running now are fantastic, but we wanted to make them available to a wide range of students,’ Jeannette says. ‘The current courses have rigid entry requirements, aimed primarily at teachers who have graduated with a Bachelor of Education or similar. For the new courses, we have broadened the entry requirements so students who have completed a bachelor degree in any field can apply. These courses will offer professional development in many areas and even help people in their personal lives, such as parents who want to learn the skills to assist their child who has autism.

‘Really, these courses will be for educators in the broad sense, as well as teachers in the classroom.’

What are some of the features of the new graduate and master courses?

‘The content in the new Master of Education has been created in collaboration with persons with lived experience and neurodivergent individuals, making the content as authentic as possible as our goal is to ensure that the courses we’re delivering are relevant to professionals today and in the future.

‘A particular feature is that all students, including those in the master's programs, will do the graduate certificate subjects together. This is so valuable,’ says Jeannette, ‘because it means students will learn alongside their peers from different backgrounds, sharing their experience and skills from various areas.’

Can you highlight some of the new subjects in these courses?

Jeannette explains, ‘Reaching across all the new Education courses will be an emphasis on inclusion, diversity, and social justice, empowering students to impact change. We've written a subject called Social Justice in Action that will be one of the first subjects every student will take. It’s about empowering the students to impact change. It’s not looking at changing the world but making small, gradual changes that will make a difference in people’s lives.

‘All the subjects in the new courses rely heavily on a person-centred approach, with the lived experience of individuals at the forefront. As we were designing the subjects, engaged in collaboration and consultation with people who are living the experiences that the students will be learning about, so we can hear from them first-hand. As an example, we've interviewed some dynamic people who are advocates for important causes, impacting change. such as particular health issues, and their stories show what is achievable.’

‘Students will graduate from these courses with the most specialised current skills and knowledge to be educators within their professional context, start a career in policy writing, or work for local government, to impact change. I'm really excited about that scope and the possibilities it brings with it.’

What are the benefits of these new courses and subjects?

‘With the new courses,’ Jeannette says, ‘there will be connections across the content in the core and elective subjects. You can look at every course as a package, that is, each subject is not isolated but related in various ways to the overarching aims of the whole course. Also, our students will have a great opportunity to choose from a bank of electives that will be relevant to their career goals. For example, if they want to set up their own consultancy, they might choose business subjects in their electives mix. Or counselling subjects, which will feed nicely into their work as a teacher, for instance.

‘One of the benefits of the new offerings will be that students can graduate not only with a degree but with an understanding of what they are passionate about and can achieve. Early on in their post-grad course, students will be asked to identify something that relates to them, that they are interested in – it might be an issue that's very personal to them – which they want to explore in their studies, and they can carry that through their whole course. Our students will be encouraged to follow their passion, become critical thinkers, and take control of their studies, so their assessment tasks and learnings can really suit their goals.’

Who will be teaching these courses?

‘We are fortunate as most of our learning facilitators have an Education background, so they're wonderful teachers, but they're also very experienced in their areas. For example, the special education learning facilitators also teach in schools and use current and evidence-based research and practice in their work every day.’

Study options for these Education courses

The subjects for the new courses will be offered online and face-to-face in the classroom at our new Surry Hills campus in Sydney and the Flinders Street campus in Melbourne.

If you are currently enrolled in one of our Education courses, you can continue in that course right through to your graduation. If you have any queries about transferring to a new course, you can contact Torrens University’s Student Services and Support or Jeannette Keser.