BA Education Studies: Year 3
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 3, there are two core modules: EDU 3025 and EDU 3003. Students can then choose two further modules, one of which may be chosen from the wide range of Level 2 modules and one of which must be at Level 3. Some of the Level 3 modules are described below:
EDU 3003 Dissertation
The previous Methods of Educational Enquiry and Research module will have given you the skills you need to conduct your own research - the Dissertation module is the chance to do that.
Planning the strategy for the Dissertation will already have begun in the previous course based upon each student having an entirely free choice about what exactly is the topic they want to research. It could be a study of a school, of an educational problem, of a historical time, or of children and their parents- all that is required is that it focuses on an educational topic, and that it involves the collection, analysis and writing up of material.
The module begins with some sessions for everyone that review ethical issues and talk about the practicalities of working in depth on a topic. The students under the supervision of a member of staff who has specialist knowledge in the area concerned will then proceed with individual, probably, weekly sessions to give detailed advice about strategy, collecting/analysing data and writing up.
EDU 3006 Learning from Experience
In this module you are given the opportunity to undertake a work placement of approximately 80 hours in an education-related setting. The setting will be chosen by you, with the agreement of the module tutors.
Through this module, you will use your workplace experience as an opportunity for personal, academic and professional development. The module will enable you to critically analyse and reflect upon your learning styles, skills, strengths and weaknesses, and to plan how you can develop and learn from the experience. Assessment will take the form of: (a) a reflective portfolio which you will undertake during your work placement, and (b) a 4000 word essay. You will select the focus for your essay.
By the end of this module you should have developed further your critical and analytical skills, and have gained experience and understanding of an organisation/educational institution which will be valuable to you when you start your career.
EDU 3007 Learning to Think: Thinking to Learn
This module will introduce you to the area of thinking skills and why this is increasingly becoming recognised as an essential aspect of successful learning. In particular, the notion of 'learning to learn' will be explored with reference to the development of a 'thinking school' or organisation. The theoretical and practical aspects of the work of Reuven Feuerstein, Matthew Lipman and Edward de Bono will be examined and opportunities will be provided to sample their thinking skills programmes.
The presentation of the module will be in the form of lecture presentations, practical workshop activities, videos and whole group and small group discussions.
Assessment will take the form of a 3,000 word essay and an ongoing portfolio of each student's own work and reflections.
The module will be of relevance to both those who intend to enter the teaching profession and those who do not.
EDU3021 Alternative Education
This module is designed to help students think critically about the nature and purpose of education. It does so by focusing on examples of alternative educational provision, such as 'progressive' schooling, home schooling, hospital education, small schools and Accelerated Christian Education. These examples will enable students to analyse and reflect upon their own educational experiences, as well as to evaluate current policy and practice within mainstream state provision. The module will also provide students with an opportunity to relate theory to practice by visiting a number of example institutions
EDU 3025 Social and Educational Enquiry III
The skills of collecting data, analysing it and seeing what it tells us are more and more in demand in industry, commerce and more welfare oriented jobs, and this module trains students to do exactly this although obviously from an educational perspective.
It looks at the history of educational and social research, considers the quality in research terms of some of the great educational studies of our time, and then moves on to skill students to conduct their own research by considering issues such as research strategy, interviewing, designing questionnaires, and conducting in depth case studies.
Methods of analysing data, including statistical techniques will also be taught. Towards the end of the module, you will begin to think through the research strategy appropriate for your Dissertation course (which follows this course) so that you are already making sound plans for this.
EDU 3026 International and Comparative Education
This module is intended to develop students’ understanding of the aims, processes and systems of education and how these may differ in different parts of the world. Specifically it aims