Education (Early Childhood Studies)MA

Critical Theory and Education

You will be introduced to a range of significant critical theorists in the field of Education Studies and beyond. These writers will include Marx, Adorno, Althusser, Foucault, Bourdieu, bell hooks and Freire. Although their ideas can be carried forward into all your modules, in this one, they will be considered in relation to the neoliberal context in which the vast majority of education systems operate. In the process of doing so, key issues around the use of schools to deploy disciplinary power and to reproduce pre-existing patterns of privilege and disadvantage will be examined.

The module aims to:

defamiliarise and problematise common sense understandings of education;

provide students with a range of theoretical tools with which they can analyse educational systems and outcomes;

encourage students to develop a holistic understanding of the Scientific Revolution, the European Enlightenment, and the rise of capitalism and how these intersected with one another in creating the modern, neoliberal world;

introduce students to aspects of ontology and epistemology that problematize naïve realism.

Critical discourses in Early Childhood

In this module the aim is for:

You to develop an in-depth knowledge of a range of theoretical lenses through which current issues/concerns can be understood

You to explore and critically examine contemporary issues in relation to early childhood

You to consider the global, cultural, economic and political context of early childhood issues

You to explore contemporary issues (local and national) which directly impact on your work, reflecting on personal development in relation to early years practise

Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment

Module Description

This module will introduce you to the ideas of learning, pedagogy, assessment and curriculum. It is envisioned as a generic entry point into debates around key issues related to contemporary educational provision. You will be introduced to different perspectives on learning, teaching, assessment, human knowledge and models of curriculum planning. The module will encourage you to critically analyse different types of curricula and educational provisions. Doing this will enable you to appreciate the socially constructed and ideologically driven nature of educational policies and processes. The module will use the English education system as a point of reference to analyse how social, historical, economic and political processes inform and influence educational policies and provisions. This module will equip you with knowledge, understanding and skills to critically analyse curricular provision and contribute to its review and development.

Module Aims

The module aims to:

introduce students to some key perspectives on human knowledge and important theories of learning.

familiarise students with curriculum theory and some important theoretical perspectives with a view to enable them to analyse and evaluate curricular provision.

develop in the students a critical understanding of different models of curriculum planning and development.

equip students with the skills to critically analyse educational provisions and contribute to the processes of curriculum development.

Education Dissertation

This is a core module for the MA in Education and the single most significant learning unit on the programme as it constitutes one-third of the total credit value of the programme – 60 credits.

This module requires students to conduct a small-scale qualitative research into any aspect of education.

At the beginning of the module, students are encouraged to review and refine a topic of personal/professional relevance and/or interest within the academic discipline of education that they identified in the research proposal that they would have written for the module Research Methods in Education. The are supported to refine the focus of their proposed research and operationalise it in the form of a researchable question.

The module encourages students to further explore some key debates in the philosophy of research and the emergence of the interpretivist paradigm in social research. They will be asked to locate their studies within the interpretivist paradigm and develop convincing justifications for doing so.

The students will have opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of various aspects of qualitative research methodology. This knowledge will help to devise a sound design for their dissertation research projects.

The module will help the students develop and enhance their skills of qualitative data analysis.

Throughout the module, students will be provided opportunities to develop the skills of writing a good-quality dissertation that will report the execution and findings of a small-scale, qualitative primary research project.

Module Aims

The module aims to enable students to:

enhance their knowledge and understanding of some of the key philosophical debates related to the ontology and epistemology of social research.

Consolidate and deepen their understanding of the purposes, nature, components, and processes of social research.

be able to design and conduct a small-scale qualitative research study in education.

be able to insightfully review and critique existing social research.

be able to confidently report the findings of a small-scale primary qualitative research study.

Identity and Self in the Early Years

This module aims to:

You will be introduced to key theories in relation to babies and young children's development

You will consider the implications of these for development and learning in early and later childhood.

You will analyse the relationship between social policy and cultural contexts, and provision in early years

You will be enabled to identify and evaluate good quality early years provision

You will be enabled to reflect on their own personal development in relation to early years practise

Research Methods in Education

Throughout the module, students will engage with the stages of the research process in social and educational research. The module will prepare students to develop a small-scale qualitative research proposal. Students will be encouraged to identify a research topic related to their personal/professional interest and/or interest within the academic discipline of education.

The module will enable students to understand the nature of qualitative research and the differences with quantitative research. Students will be introduced to some key debates in the philosophy of research and the emergence of the interpretivist paradigm in social research. They will be required to locate their research topics within the interpretivist paradigm and conduct a mini-literature review (including the theoretical framework) to contextualise their research.

Students will have opportunities during the lectures and seminars to develop a deeper understanding of the research process (literature review, qualitative research design, data collection, data analysis, ethical issues, subjectivity/reflexivity, writing up their research proposal).

They will be encouraged to reflect on their own research topics throughout the module.

Module aims

The module will provide students with the appropriate skills and knowledge to

understand the meaning of social and educational research and its function in creating and interpreting new knowledge; 

engage with the philosophical bases of educational research and understand the difference between the two main traditions of social research – the positivist and interpretivist paradigms. 

develop familiarity with a range of qualitative research approaches used in educational research.

explore different methods of data collection and methods of data analysis.

develop an understanding of the importance of ethical issues, reflexivity and subjectivity in qualitative social and educational research.

write a mini-literature review (including initial ideas for the theoretical framework) as part of the qualitative educational research proposal which will form a basis of the MA dissertation. 

Curriculum Leadership

The curriculum leadership module develops critical knowledge and understanding of curriculum policy, strategy, and leadership of learning in educational settings (formal or informal) in the context of theoretical frameworks, ideological debates, and empirical study.

The module is designed to equip students with the knowledge, understanding and skills to critically analyse how the way in which the curriculum is conceived, led, and managed influences the processes of learning and teaching as well as both educational and social outcomes.

Students will engage with a wide range of theory and research to explore questions and themes related to curriculum and leadership of learning:

What is curriculum?

What are the purposes of education and the role of the curriculum in learning?

How are different leadership models and behaviours linked with these purposes?

How does leadership shape the way the curriculum is constructed and delivered?

What influence does curriculum leadership have on student (learner) learning and outcomes and the impact on different groups of learners?

What is the concept of the hidden curriculum and how do differing leadership philosophies and approaches impact the hidden curriculum.

The module will use the UK education system as a point of reference for gaining an in-depth insight into key issues, debates and discourses surrounding curriculum leadership in general. However, students’ experience of different UK and international contexts will be used to enrich and extend the scope of the module.

Module aims

Students will engage in activities that enable them to:

critically analyse how the content, delivery and assessment of a school’s curriculum are located within historical, social, cultural, economic and political contexts;

develop a critical understanding of ideological and pedagogical debates underpinning curriculum leadership;

develop a critical insight into different styles and models of curriculum leadership;

develop a critical understanding of the way different approaches to leadership influence curriculum planning, delivery, development and student learning.

Social Justice Education

This module introduces students to multiple perspectives and ideas about social justice and inequalities in education, including knowledges with which students can consider various socio-political and professional contexts for social justice in education. It explores research evidence, discourses, tensions and complexities within educational policies and practices, with respect to concerns for education (in)justices, designed to develop critical awareness and thinking around values, assumptions, agency and educational change. Students are supported to engage in critical analysis with a view to articulating and applying a position in relation to models and theories of social justice education

The module will aim to:-

• introduce students to multiple perspectives and theories of social justice;

• critically examine key aspects (social class, gender, ethnicity/race, send) of educational injustice, their intersections and relationships

• provide knowledges with which students can consider socio-political and professional contexts for educational social justice within national settings

• explore tensions within education policies and practices - structures, social relations, curricula - with respect to concerns for educational (in)equalities

• encourage students to develop and articulate a standpoint with respect to models and theories for social justice education change