BA Early Childhood Education Studies (Top-Up)

This module provides students with the opportunity to critically reflect on the holistic lives of children from conception to 5. Journeying from conception through the key milestones of development, this module provides opportunities to examine key issues on a micro level which are experienced by children 0-5, influenced by social and biological factors. Students will consider the impacts of key issues on the holistic lives of children and reflect on the range of appropriate services available within the sector. Further macro influences on a child’s life are also recognised through this module. Students are encouraged to recognise the importance of the family as well as wider society and will critically explore the growing, wider influence of media (film) and government campaigns that influence the holistic world of a child 0-5.

Since the late 1990’s, Early Childhood has been identified as an area of special interest for successive governments who have identified this period of a child’s life as providing an opportunity to have a significant impact on their progress in terms of their education, care and general well-being as well as presenting the opportunity to tackle issues such as child poverty and social exclusion. In light of this, Early Childhood has seen an unprecedented level of social policy reform and developments in the way in which practitioners collaborate with children and their families to achieve these aims. In particular, Early Childhood practitioners have been positioned in a primary role to support children and their families and take the lead in co-ordinating collaborative responses in partnership with families and a range of agencies. This module will therefore engage students in a critical analysis of current social policy in this area and the range of services and agencies involved in collaborative working and the legal and regulatory frameworks in which they operate. This module will provide students with the opportunity to gain a critical understanding of the issues around leading collaborative work with children and their families. They will be encouraged to critically reflect on the opportunities and challenges around supporting families and explore the nature of these provisions in terms of the underlying philosophies and political ideas. Students will be encouraged to critically reflect on the impact of political ideology on government intentions for social policy, and how such intentions serve to shape practice. They will also be encouraged to begin to understand and locate their own position in terms of the underlying philosophical and political values.

This student led module will explore and critically analyse a range of contemporary issues at both national and international level, relevant to the field of early year’s education and care. These may include issues relating to curriculum design and pedagogy, learning in contemporary culture, the impact of international perspectives, defining quality, the role of assessment in children’s learning, balance between education and care and transitions. It will critically examine “good practice” in the light of contemporary understanding of research, policy and practice, and will enable students to reflect critically upon the issues discussed. Students will develop their own curriculum for this module and have ownership of the VLE. Through this student led approach it will consider the importance of listening to and valuing all voices as a model for working with children. The module will also explore the ideas of action and reflection linked to students’ future practice.

This module will begin by exploring personal ideologies around the nature and purpose and pedagogies within early education. Students will be encouraged to debate issues such as curriculum, assessment, learning and teaching which are discourses in the educational field in the UK and also explore international comparisons. It will encourage students to critically analyse a range of differing pedagogies including play, and reflect upon their own role in early educational settings, and the education and care of the child. It will encourage students to be critically reflective practitioners and be politically aware of discourses around pedagogy.

In this module we invite students to select a topic of personal interest to be explored through field research or a desk-based study (depending on route) and reported in a written study of 10,000 words. The Research Project is designed to enable students to investigate educational phenomena that hold particular interest for in them and actively encourages the exercise of originality and personal autonomy. It requires students to identify and apply an appropriate research design, addressing ethical principles, and employing systematic research procedures. Students will present and analyse their findings with critical reflection on their research question, methodology, management and organisation and analyse limitations of their study. They will identify the implications for policy and practice, where appropriate. The module aims to draw and build upon students’ previous knowledge and experience at certificate and intermediate level study.