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SOCL19065 - Rural Sociology for Health and Social Services

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit prepares students for rural practice by providing an overview of rural Australia and its social, cultural, geographic, environmental and economic influences. Guided by a sociological perspective, students gain an understanding of the historical transformation of rural Australia, and the social structures and cultural processes underpinning problems that characterise rural communities. The meaning of ‘rurality’ and the implications of ‘rurality’ for health and social service delivery and practice is covered from a range of viewpoints and experiences. Students will develop an understanding of their role as professionals, and of rural health issues, including the health status of Indigenous Australians. Students will gain an appreciation of the unique features of rural service delivery in relation to the use of communication technology (telehealth), rural practice models (case studies), and responses to natural disasters. This unit would be of particular interest to those students planning to live and work in rural and remote Australia; including allied health practitioners, community development officers, nurses, paramedics and teachers.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Students are required to have completed 24 credit points.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2016

Term 1 - 2017 Profile
Distance
Term 1 - 2018 Profile
Distance
Term 1 - 2019 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2022 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 30%
2. Online Quiz(zes) 30%
3. Portfolio 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2021 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 3.3 (on a 5 point Likert scale), based on a 25.58% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
Lack of content on rurality, rural community and rural health in the unit.
Recommendation
Revision of the unit content to provide stronger rural content will ensure each topic is connected to rural communities, rural health and/or professional practice in rural communities.
Action Taken
The set textbook from which most readings were taken from was dropped and a range of new readings around rural health, rural community and rural workforce adopted from journal articles, CROs and CQU library Ebooks. The lecture material was updated and incorporated a stronger rural focus.
Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
The unit needs more teaching of the sociological imagination and writing with a sociological voice.
Recommendation
A strong introductory sociology foundation at the beginning of the unit will be provided to students to equip them with the knowledge and skill to critically think and write from a sociological perspective.
Action Taken
The sociological perspective was taught to students from the commencement of the unit in week 1 and a sociological focus taken throughout especially with the teaching around Indigeneity, inequality and marginalised groups in rural communities.
Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
The unit would benefit from better quality lectures and more topic content connecting the readings, unit outcomes and lectures.
Recommendation
New lecture notes and recordings to support the revised topic schedule will be produced for the unit. Weekly learning outcomes will be communicated to students to direct their reading and learning.
Action Taken
Along with a new schedule of readings there were new lectures, lecture notes, and tutorial material produced to support students' learning
Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
For the unit's assessment, fewer large written assessments and more smaller percentage weighted assessments are wanted.
Recommendation
There will be the removal of a main essay and replacement of the two major written assessments with a variety of smaller assessments types.
Action Taken
No changes were made in the types of assessments but more assessment preparation support was provided to students. Changes to the type and weighting of assessments will be implemented in 2022.
Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
Students request better marking and feedback on assessments and improvement in communicating the assessment requirements by adding more detail and a clearer marking rubric.
Recommendation
The University moderation processes will be undertaken by the marking team and individualised feedback provided to students to support their improvement on future assignment performance (content, structure, referencing).
Action Taken
University moderation was undertaken for the two written assessments as per university policy. Students received individualised feedback, exemplar papers, assessment help sessions and a detailed marking rubric with additional guidance. Further academic support was given to some students who struggled with the academic writing requirements.
Source: Email & Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Some students enjoyed the unit and felt they had gained a lot of knowledge of rural healthcare and communities to utilise in their future practice.
Recommendation
Continue to support students with relevant readings and assessments that build their professional capacity and performance.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Email and Other
Feedback
Some students wanted more individualised responses to their questions.
Recommendation
Provide a learning and supportive environment to students by responding to students individually and supporting their emotional state.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Some students sought resources & lecture content for the twelve weeks early in the term to undertake an independent self-paced study plan.
Recommendation
Continue to support students' learning through tutorials, online discussion forums, and one-on-one discussions. All lecture notes will be made available at the start of the term for students wishing to work ahead of the weekly schedule.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Some students found the late addition of another unit's practical session to interfere with the timetabled tutorial time.
Recommendation
Ensure tutorial times for the unit are known by other discipline unit coordinators to prevent timetable clashes.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Unit Evaluation
Feedback
Some students found the navigation of Moodle to find content not to be optimal.
Recommendation
Input from Learning & Teaching design support will be used to change the Moodle tile layout and make content more visible and not grouped into folders.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Other, in class
Feedback
Some students experienced difficulty with written assessments such as essays and portfolio - prefer quizzes and short answer questions.
Recommendation
Provide students with greater academic learning support through the Academic Learning Centre on grammar, academic writing, referencing, and academic integrity skills.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Use sociological theories and perspectives to discuss the impacts of global forces and historical changes on the social organisation of Australian rural society.
  2. Identify the social-structural characteristics of rural areas and the factors (social, economic, cultural) that influence the health of rural Australians, and delivery of health care to rural and remote areas.
  3. Describe the health issues experienced by Indigenous Australians and other social groups (e.g., new migrants, people living with disability) living in rural and remote communities.
  4. Explain the role of the health professional working and living in rural and remote Australia, and the rewards and challenges this provides.
  5. Compare and contrast the various health service delivery models used in rural and remote communities.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Online Quiz(zes)
3 - Portfolio
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Written Assessment
2 - Online Quiz(zes)
3 - Portfolio