Education (Early Childhood Studies) MA

This module will develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of research methods, in both academic and professional contexts. It considers some of the theories, methods and implication of research and the complex role of researchers and of practitioner-researchers. You'll explore a range of methods of enquiry in order to enable you to understand the significance and ethics of research.

Action Research is a practice-based research methodology for practitioners wanting to change practice(s) within their professional setting. You will learn about the tradition that informs action research as research methodology, how to write a research aim and research question(s) for a piece of research, the different ways of collecting data to answer research questions and how to build rigour and quality into your study. You will use what you have learned in the module to write a proposal for a piece of research that could be undertaken as a dissertation later in your course.

This module seeks to deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research. You'll learn about traditions of educational research; positivism, interpretism and action research and the strengths and challenges of carrying out research in these traditions. This module provides you the opportunity to carry out a piece of research based on a contemporary or work-related issue or problem.

This module will develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of research methods, in both academic and professional contexts. It considers some of the theories, methods and implication of research and the complex role of researchers and of practitioner-researchers. You'll explore a range of methods of enquiry in order to enable you to understand the significance and ethics of research.

Action Research is a practice-based research methodology for practitioners wanting to change practice(s) within their professional setting. You will learn about the tradition that informs action research as research methodology, how to write a research aim and research question(s) for a piece of research, the different ways of collecting data to answer research questions and how to build rigour and quality into your study. You will use what you have learned in the module to write a proposal for a piece of research that could be undertaken as a dissertation later in your course.

This module explores the meaning of childhood in different social, cultural and historical contexts, from a range of theoretical perspectives, and how social, economic and political factors impact on children’s lives and their later development. We consider the positioning of children within society and identify current debates about children’s well-being and holistic development and how these are reflected in policy and practice. We discuss children’s understanding of social and/or cultural issues for example, gender roles and expectations, mental health, prejudice, developing sexuality and sexual identity. We explore how the voice and autonomy of the child is taken into account in responding to social and/or cultural issues. This module will be of interest to those wanting to work with children and young people in a range of educational and support roles, encouraging you to take a critical perspective in discussing how our understanding of childhood shapes policy and provision and supports the rights of the individual.

This module helps you examine the dominant patterns of education that have arisen in response to the pressures of globalisation and global institutions. You'll evaluate how the dominant (neo-liberal) systems are affecting education and leading to an increased focus on education as a preparation for the workplace. The module will help you understand the knowledge economy and global competition and the resulting policy formulation related to education, training and human resource development.

This module will help you explore the increasingly international nature of education. You'll examine different approaches to education and the ways different cultures define the key concepts of education. The module will help you to understand international perspectives on what is valuable knowledge and how it is learned. You'll explore how culture impacts on education, how it affects the structures and processes that take place in classrooms and you will use this knowledge to consider how this affects learners and ideas that travel across cultural boundaries.

This module will help you to explore the role of mentoring and coaching. You'll have the opportunity to examine issues linked to implementing and managing mentoring/coaching schemes, the role of mentors and/or coaches, the strategies that could be used within a mentoring and/or coaching relationship and the ethical issues governing them.

This module will help you to develop an understanding of the links between learning and development, organisation goals and broader human resource policies and practice in a variety of organisational contexts. You'll explore how the learning and development agenda can be promoted by examining learning & development policies, roles, functions, as well as strategies, methods and techniques for establishing learning and development needs.

This module provides a structured opportunity for students taking a leadership stance either formally or informally, or who aspire to a leadership role, to systematically consider and critically reflect upon leadership as a concept, and “effective leadership” in particular. Students will actively engage with such concepts as the role of the leader, how that role links to and differs from management, and how leaders can be developed.

This module will help you examine the historical, political and legislative developments leading to current national and local policy agendas relevant to those working in education and other public services. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in a range of contexts such as early years, youth work, teaching, learning and development, health care, community work, family support and social care.

This module will enable you to critically examine how policy approaches to countering extremism and promoting community cohesion have addressed and impacted on policy and practice within various educational sectors; The module will enable theoretical analysis of the various meaning/s of these concepts and of how they have been framed by policy and translated into educational practice.

In this module, you'll study changing cultural and historical attitudes to disability including recent social changes that encompasses the disability rights, human rights and equality, and models of health and disability. You'll explore how our understanding of SEND has developed, and the impact of this on our understanding of inclusion, as well as investigate how the needs arising from specific SEND conditions are culturally and socially defined, and what this means for educational policy and practice.

You will be introduced to a range of ICT tools and techniques for innovation in teaching and learning. Emphasis is placed on the selection of approaches appropriate to the learners’ needs. Alongside the practical aspects of using these tools you will consider how they can transform learning and develop a deeper, theoretical and analytical understanding. You'll also explore current debates in the field of e-learning.

This module will help you to develop understanding and skills in the area of online tutoring, facilitation, and in the design, planning and implementation of e-learning and blended learning courses.