Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This introductory education module aims to develop student’s knowledge and understanding of:
• The contested nature of education and education systems in the modern world;
• how theories of learning and society relate to the historical development of competing traditions of education and how these affect policy and practice today in Britain and the wider world;
• the wider historical and political context of educational ideas, provision and change;
• how to analyse primary and secondary sources in order to answer questions about education and education policy;
• education beyond formal institutional settings and their relationship to formal schooling;
• how the representation of education reflects, is shaped by, and may be understood in terms of particular contemporary discourses in their historical and cultural context;
• The meaning and making of inequality in education.

Outline Of Syllabus

What is meant by ‘education’ and what is its purpose? What form should it take? Who should decide? How and where does learning take place and how far is achievement based on social or cultural factors? How does the portrayal of ‘education’ in popular culture help shape national, social and cultural identities? Such questions as these form the core of this inter-disciplinary module which aims to equip students with a knowledge and understanding of the contested nature of education, particularly schooling. We will look at different frameworks for explaining education – social, cultural, historical, pedagogical – in which you will be encouraged to question key educational issues including the social issues surrounding learning, what children learn, and potential barriers to learning - through which you will learn to engage in topics both in groups and independently.

This module will appeal to those students who are interested in a rigorous and academic study of education within a range of different contexts as well as those who may be considering a career in teaching, possibly going on to undertake a PGCE. It allows students to gain an in-depth knowledge of the field of education which they can then apply more widely.

The module will include 11 weeks of teaching in total. The module will cover the following perspectives on Education:

Learning and knowledge;
Education and society;
The historically contested nature of education;
Education in informal settings;
Education and Inequality;
Children and Learning.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

• what learning is and how this relates to competing psychological and epistemological theoretical perspectives and competing theories of society. (A3)
• how theories of learning and society relate to the historical development of competing traditions of education and how these affect policy and practice today. (A4)
• the wider historical context of educational ideas, provision and change.(A4)
• how popular education in Britain has developed in relation to Victorian perceptions and conceptions about schools and schooling.(A4)
• how to analyse primary and secondary sources in order to answer questions regarding the historical development of British schools and schooling since the 19th century.(B1)
• how ‘education’ occurs in informal as well as formal institutional settings.(A3)
• how particular modes of characterisation and narrative structure, including emplotment as well as particular literary and cinematic techniques, shape the representation of the Past in different media forms and texts. (C1)
• how the representation of the past reflects, is shaped by, and may be understood in terms of particular contemporary discourses in their historical and cultural context. (A3)
• how children’s socialization happens beyond the classroom context and how playtimes are experienced by primary school children.(A2)
• how representations of the fictional or semi-fictional schools and teachers in different media forms constitute a distinct genre with its own defining conventions and characteristics. (A1)
• the meaning and making of inequality in education. (A2)
• the substantial impact of class on and race educational outcomes in the UK. (A2)

Intended Skill Outcomes

• Collect and select relevant information from a variety of sources including journals, archives, databases, reports, monographs, web pages and research papers; (B1)
• Evaluate the impacts of ‘how we get to knowledge’ (epistemology) on the methods selected and the nature of the evidence that is consequently generated; (B4)
• Select a range of relevant primary and secondary sources, including theoretical and research-based evidence, to extend their knowledge and understanding; (C4)
• Organise and articulate opinions and arguments in speech and writing using relevant specialist vocabulary, including by means of well prepared, clear and confident presentation and coherent, concise written documents; (D1)
• Use ICT in their study and other appropriate situations; (D2)
• Use library and other information sources skilfully and appropriately; (D3)
• Articulate their own approaches to learning and organise an effective work pattern including working to deadlines. (D7)

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module aims to help students develop their understanding of the contested nature of education. Lectures allow the introduction to a range of perspectives that will be developed in more depth during the degree programme in later phases. There will be opportunities for students to work in small groups to discuss and compare the meaning of these perspectives, particularly in relation to contemporary understandings, attitudes and concerns about teachers and teaching. Student-led seminar sessions are intended to reinforce and assess key skills and knowledge outcomes listed above. Time for module talk is provided where the content matter is particularly complex and activities are more diverse.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Submitted work tests intended knowledge and skills and develops key skills in research. It allows the student to apply knowledge and understanding of relevant theoretical frameworks and written and visual texts in order to identify, explain and compare educational perspectives. The essay allows the evaluation of students’ understanding in depth. This provides a preliminary preparation for the more detailed work for the major assessments to follow in the degree programme.

General Notes

N/A