MODULES
Level 5
CORE MODULES
Mental Wealth: Academic and Professional Skills for Life 2
This module seeks to develop the key psychological determinants of human performance which are increasingly critical for successful graduate-level employment, entrepreneurship and career progression in the 4th industrial era.
This module will provide students with the opportunity to apply several of the skills, competencies and experience required for successful development to, and in a range of potential career areas.
Students will continue to build upon and advance the skills and concepts they learnt in Level 4 to further develop their emotional intelligence, emotional literacy, reflective skills, and self-awareness.
Students will have the opportunity to explore the skills and knowledge involved in entrepreneurial activities by practising and engaging with self and others in analysis, critical-thinking, problem solving and research.
Contemporary Issues in Education
During this module the students will engage in discussing and analysing contemporary issues in education and heighten their awareness of the relationship between empirical evidence and academic arguments in advancing their understanding. The students will be able to develop their skills in evaluating the evidence and arguments related to contemporary debates. Also, the students will be able to construct theoretical arguments in advancing public representations of educational issues.
Having successfully completed this module the students will be able to evaluate and demonstrate different positions in some contemporary debates about issues in education. Also they will be able to use a range of sources to further extend their knowledge and understanding of issues relating to education, and to critically examine contemporary debates and issues in education.
Identity and Social Justice
In this module students will extend their critical understanding of theory and research from a range of social science disciplines used to explore and analyse the lives and experiences of children and young people (including education, psychology, sociology, human geography and social policy). Students will explore issues of social justices, critically considering:
- how these aspects are addressed within key policies, organisations (including grassroots and third sector), and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- the micro- and macro- influences on the lives of children and young people, such as biological, social, economic, political, cultural and/or generational influences, with particular attention paid to issues of inequality and intersectionality;
- the extent to which educators/practitioners influence these aspects of the lives of children and young people;
- children and young people's rights and the extent to which they actively influence these aspects of their own lives.
During the module, students' campus-based studies will be complemented by engagement in educational and community settings, allowing them to develop a critical awareness of current issues relating to the lives of children and young people, and to actively engage in consideration of how drawing upon research evidence from social science disciplines can enable them to affect change in the lives of the children and young people with whom they work/may work in the future.
Building Research Communities
Building Research Communities follows on from the Level 4: Emerging Research Communities by further developing knowledge and understanding of research theories, concepts and processes and the research skills required for independent, ethical and applied research. This module is rooted in the principles of research informed teaching which includes learning about research findings in their field of study; learning research processes and methodologies and learning to work in research 'mode' which builds on pedagogical principles of enquiry-based, active, collaborative and experiential learning, supporting students to engage in critique and discussion in a 'research community of practice' (Lave and Wenger, 1998).
At Level 5: Developing Research Communities focuses on developing students' understanding of research theories, concepts and processes and the research skills required for independent, ethical and applied research. The module will introduce students to key issues in research methodology and design, such as how to develop research questions, using research literature, addressing ethical issues, designing data collection tools and organising and analysing data. Students will explore a range of qualitative research techniques, including interviews, questionnaires, observational studies and documentary research. Students will also be encouraged to reflect on wider questions about how educational and early childhood research helps us to understand social worlds and can impact on policy and practice. This module will provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out an applied research project at Level 6.
In this module students will be supported by a range of workshops to develop research, analytical, and presentation skills, alongside ongoing reflective writing. The module is assessed entirely by coursework with a mixture of individual and group learning experiences. Students are assessed individually.
Ideology, Politics, and Policy in Education
This is a highly innovative module that draws strongly on aspects of politics, philosophy, economics, sociology, social policy, and comparative education, as well as activism. You will be introduced to historical and new national and educational developments focussing on policy agendas to try and understand these in the context of neo-liberalisation of education in England, and the possibility for social change.
This module challenges you to be critical, and this is specifically in the context of making sense of the current education policy agenda in England by understanding the political-economic ideology of the Government that drives education policy making.
Education Practice
The aims of the module are to:
- enable students to develop their learning about the various career progression opportunities in the education sector
- engage students with knowledge and understanding of contemporary practice issues facing the education sector
- provide students with the opportunity to engage with and learn from professionals from the education sectors
- support students to identify their aspirations and plan for the remainder of their studies
- enhance students employability skills
- increase knowledge and confidence and employability prospects
Level 6
CORE MODULES
Mental Wealth: Academic and Professional Skills for Life 3
This module will provide students with the opportunity to apply a full range of skills, competencies and experience required for successful development in a range of potential education related career areas. They will advance the areas identified in their level 5 studies for their personal professional development (including emotional, social, physical, cultural and cognitive intelligences) through taught and workshop activity.
Through engagement with the Career Passport students will reflect upon the success of the strategies that they employ to further develop their reflective skills, self awareness, ‘life style’ ‘self care’ approaches and where necessary improve these.
Critical and Global Perspectives on Education
- To develop critical awareness of current educational policy, practices and provision relating to special and inclusive education
- To develop critical awareness of the similarities and differences between contexts in terms of special and inclusive education developments in policy and practice
- To consider the inclusion of children with special educational needs from an international perspective
Language, Pedagogy and Cultural Diversity
This module aims to:
- Consider issues in language, culture and pedagogy from individual and societal perspectives
- Understand the links between professional practice, subject-related concepts and the lived experiences of bilingual and multilingual learners
- Examine/analyse policy and practice in culturally and linguistically diverse learning and teaching environments locally, nationally and/or internationally.
Volunteering
The aims of the module are to:
- enable students to have their learning from volunteering accredited as part of their study
- engage students with critical knowledge and understanding of the motives for voluntary action.
- provide students with the opportunity to critically reflect upon their learning and development whilst undertaking voluntary activity
- support students to identify their strengths and areas for development
- enhance employability prospects
Independent Research Project
You will have the opportunity to initiate a small-scale applied research study that addresses an issue, topic or challenge within the broad field of education, special education or early childhood. The applied research will support professional formation and contribute to knowledge within the wider community.
The module is designed to guide you towards design, implementation and completion of an applied research project undertaken in collaboration with a relevant external organisation (the nature of which will be discussed and agreed with the relevant module leader). You will develop a range of theoretical, methodological, academic and practical skills and knowledge.
You will apply these in a practice context to address a real-world problem through ethical research practice, professional engagement and problem solving leading to research dissemination.
The chosen area of applied research will be demonstrably linked to the personal interests and professional aspirations of the student within the field of education, special education or early childhood. Through supervision you will shape and agree a proposal for a viable and ethical applied research project.
