BA Education Studies: Year 2
Please note the School of Education and Lifelong Learning will not be recruiting any more undergraduate students from 2009. For more information please see the main Undergraduate home page
In Year 2, there are two 15 credit core modules plus one 30 credit core module. Students choose two optional modules from a wide range of modules.
EDU 2002 Early Childhood Studies
This is an interesting and exciting time to be choosing a module in early childhood studies. Recent advances in understanding how young children learn suggest that it is important for young children to get a good start if they are to succeed in education. As a consequence the government and other organisations are investing heavily in early childhood and provision is rapidly expanding. In this module we will look carefully at the theories of children's early learning, taking care to sort out media myths from useful findings. We will examine the policies and frameworks which are guiding developments in early childhood education and at the weight of expectation being loaded onto the early years as an 'investment for the future'. By making comparisons with the ways children are educated in other communities, cultures and countries, we can draw attention to the potential strengths or weaknesses of early childhood education in the UK.
To gain practical experience of working with young children you will go on placements in a range of early years settings and carry out small-scale projects based on your working there.
EDU 2005 Psychology and Identity
In this module you will build upon the knowledge and understanding you gained in first year module 'Learners and Learning'. You will explore the concept of identity within both traditional and post-modern approaches in psychology and sociology. You will cover topics on 'identity', 'gender', 'adolescence' 'learning difficulties', the social construction of identity, 'language and identity', and 'teaching identity'. Through this module you'll be introduced to post-modern thought' for example, Foucault and Bourdieu. The module applies a wide range of theoretical positions to the practical understanding of teaching and learning.
EDU 2008 Special Needs and Inclusive Education
In this module you will have the opportunity to explore a number of important questions: what is inclusive education? what are special educational needs? what effect do special educational needs have on the learning and development of children? what are the most effective ways to promote the education of children and young people who have these special educational needs? what are the issues surrounding inclusive education?
This module is taught primarily through seminars and discussion but you will also undertake a visit to a special school or unit for a week in the September before you start the module.
EDU 2009 Language in Education
This module is intended to stimulate thought and discussion about language. Students are encouraged to take an active part in sessions and engage in observation and critical reflection about language use in education and their everyday lives.
Content of the module includes a brief overview of the history of the language. The purpose of this is not to cover a lot of facts but to allow students to understand how language has come to be in the form it is today and how language continues to evolve. We also explore individual and geographical variation in language and investigate reasons for and attitudes to accent and dialect.
We also investigate how language is used differently in different social contexts. Through role play, observation, recording and analysis of language as it is used in school and around the campus, students are encouraged to draw their own conclusions about how we use language.
Students also consider the role of language in how we develop our relationships with other people and construct our own sense of identity. Issues of gender and race are considered here. Students are encouraged to develop skills of critical reading through the analysis of texts with a view to exploring how writers seek to influence the reader. This involves analysis of advertisements, newspaper articles as well as educational texts. Students are also encouraged to produce their own texts to explore how their choice of words, grammar and presentation reflects the stance they adopt in relation to their audience.
EDU 2010 Perspectives on Primary Classrooms
As the title of this module suggests, it is a chance to take a look at primary school work. In particular, it helps you to begin to think about English and Mathematics within the primary curriculum, not by looking at the pedagogical approaches as a whole, but from the perspective of some key issues and research findings. You will be helped to understand what researchers are suggesting and enter the debates about elements of current practice. You will also be introduced to some research methods in order to undertake a small project in a local school investigating one of the areas studied. This will enable you to relate to primary pupils and their teachers and to gain a sense of what goes on in the teaching of these subjects in school. Your own understanding of research and analysis of data, and your ability to discuss findings with your peers, will also be enhanced. This module is then an excellent basis for those wishing to undertake training in teaching primary children at a later stage.
EDU 2012 Learning from Film and Television
This module is an opportunity to explore the relationship between learning education, entertainment and the mass media particularly film and television. It will explore various aspects of media consumption, reception and literacy among young people and adults by examining a range of range of programmes, programme policy and programming on satellite and terrestrial television. Web based discussion and learning networks that originate in the issues raised by film and TV together with the influence of Government, NGOs and other bodies in fashioning storylines and political perspectives will also be discussed.
There will be opportunities to research prestige drama and/or documentary series, keynote films and public communication campaigns that address topical issues e.g. health and nutrition, third world development, the struggle for environmental justice as well as space to review a range of recent cultural controversies, moral panics and political concerns. The module will enable students to develop a range of audio-visual skills and understandings. It will be delivered in a critical and interactive learning environment.
EDU 2022 Learning from Experience in School
To enable students to learn from a structured analysis and reflection on experience gained within the context of working in schools.
To enable students to understand the role of the teacher within professional settings.
To enable the student to develop a clear understanding of the academic background to teaching and learning in schools both conceptually in the context of academic domains and directly in relation to the syntactic and substantive knowledge involved.
EDU 2023 What is Education?
A shared enquiry into the nature and purpose of education, exploring a range of philosophies of education and approaches to education. Through this we will develop an understanding of what education is as a subject area and a deeper understanding of the alternatives in the contemporary debate as to how education should be conducted
EDU 2024 Social and Educational Enquiry 2
This core module provides a continuation of the introduction to social and educational enquiry core module in year 1 of the Education and Childhood Studies programme. It is linked to the 15 credit core ICT module. Students will have opportunities for using and applying their skills in other Year 2 modules. The module aims to develop students’ understanding of the theoretical frameworks and methodologies which underpin approaches to research in the fields of education and childhood and youth studies. It will introduce and examine the approaches adopted by key studies which have been influential in the field. Students will undertake a small focussed research project, individually, and of their own design, being clear on the methodology adopted and how that influences their approach. In providing a continuation of the year 1 module, it will revisit, consolidate and extend the understanding of research methods, tools and procedures as introduced during the first year.
EDU 2026 ICT Futures
To explore the impact of new technologies on childhoods and on learning from both a theoretical and a practical perspective.
EDU 2027 Learning from International Experience
This is a 10 credit module. The aim of this module is to support exchange students in using their exchange experience as an opportunity for academic development in the field of education studies/childhood and youth studies and for personal development in an international context. EDU
EDU2028 Learning from International Experience
This is a 20 credit module. The aim of this module is to support exchange students in using their exchange experience as an opportunity for academic development in the field of education studies/childhood and youth studies and for personal development in an international context. It will encourage them to engage with and reflect on the different context in which they find themselves, and consider how learning takes place and what is learned in a new cultural context
EDU 2029 Learning from International Experience
This is a 30 credit module. The aim of this module is to support exchange students in using their exchange experience as an opportunity for academic development in the field of education studies/childhood and youth studies and for personal development in an international context. It will encourage them to engage with and reflect on the different context in which they find themselves, and consider how learning takes place and what is learned in a new cultural context. In addition to considering the impact on their own learning they will be encouraged to consider issues relating to education, childhood and youth in the new social and cultural setting