Postgraduate Course: Children and Young People (1) (EDUA11374)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course asks students to engage in consideration of the extent to which they actively influence the lives of the children and young people with whom they work. This will be examined alongside a range of biological, social, economic, political, cultural and generational factors. These influences are considered in relation to two core themes: positive relationships and emotional wellbeing; and social justice and community engagement. During the course particular attention is paid to children and young people's experiences in relation to periods of transition. Emphasis is also placed on the extent to which children and young people themselves actively shape their own lives. |
| Course description |
Academic description
This interdisciplinary course draws on theoretical frameworks and research findings from Developmental Psychology, Childhood Studies and Youth Studies to explore two broad interlinked aspects of children and young people's lives:
- Positive relationships and emotional wellbeing
- Social justice and community engagement
The course begins by briefly comparing and evaluating the key assumptions and research methods associated with several disciplines used to understand the lives of children and young people (including education, psychology, sociology and social policy), drawing on classic work such as Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems theory (1979) and C. Wright Mill's (1959) Sociological Imagination to understand how these different disciplines inform knowledge of the lives of children and young people. The course then goes on to use classic and contemporary theory and research to explore the two themes in detail, critically considering:
- how these aspects are considered within key policies, including the Curriculum for Excellence and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- the micro- and macro- influences on these aspects of the lives of children and young people, including social, economic, political, cultural and generational influences, with particular attention paid to issues of inequality and intersectionality
- the extent to which educators 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.
Throughout, the course will include a particular focus on issues around transition experiences for children and young people (e.g. from nursery to primary, into secondary, and post-school transition). The timing of the course allows for a specific practical focus on pre-transition issues.
During the course, students' campus-based studies will be complemented by site-based learning in educational/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.
Student Learning Experience
The course includes:
- on-campus classes, which will take the form of seminars, panel discussions, and small group activities (10 hours)
- self-directed study, which will include reading, seminar preparation, assessment work, and site-based learning (90 hours)
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
98 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There are two assessments for this course:
1. Professional journal (formative)
A series of short coursework tasks, conducted during on-campus and site-based learning and written up in the reflective professional journal. These tasks will include a specific focus on issues around transition for children and young people.
2. Resource pack (Summative, 100% of overall grade)
The creation of a resource pack for educators, with elements including a literature review and information on evidence-based action that educators can take in relation to this topic. There will be flexibility on topic choice (with course organiser approval), allowing students to take responsibility for tailoring this assignment to their own professional learning pathway.
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| Feedback |
There will be many opportunities for informal, formative feedback during the course, both from course tutors, peers, and often through conversations with educators in educational/community site-based learning establishments. Students are encourage to discuss with peers and their course tutor how to make best use of this feedback, and to use available resources to help them do so (e.g. University's Institute for Academic Development).
Formative assessment:
There will be at least one formative assessment during the course. Students will be asked to present their plans for their resource pack, and feedback on these plans will be provided.
Feedback on summative assessments:
Written feedback will be provided on the summative assessments. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- critically evaluate how a range of factors, including educators, can influence the lives of children and young people in relation to the two course themes.
- reflect thoughtfully on children and young people's development, rights, agency and participation in relation to the two course themes.
- demonstrate a critical understanding of comparative social science disciplines involved in the study of children and young people's lives.
- identify, conceptualise and articulate the experiences of children and young people across an educational/community setting, particularly in relation to transition
- analyse their learning on this course in relation to relevant core concepts of social justice, sustainability, global perspectives, digital and statistical literacies and professional inquiry skills.
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Reading List
INDICATIVE TEXTS:
Côté, J. (2014) Youth Studies: Fundamental Issues and Debates. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
Furlong, A. (2012) Youth Studies: An Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.
Esser, F., Baader, M., Betz, T. & Hungerland, E. (eds) (2016) Reconceptualising Agency and Childhood: New Perspectives in Childhood Studies, London: Routledge.
Hart, C. & Smith, P. (2011). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of childhood social development (2nd ed.) Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Punch, S. & Tisdall, K. (eds) (2014) Children and Young People's Relationships: Learning Across Majority and Minority Worlds, London: Routledge.
Smith, P., Cowie, H., & Blades, M. (eds.) (2015). Understanding Children's Development. (6th edition). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Some aspects of the graduate attributes which students will have the opportunity to develop through this course include skills and abilities in:
(A) Research and enquiry
- analyse facts and situations and apply creative thinking to develop the appropriate solutions;
- analyse, synthesise and critically appraise thoughts and processes including managing risks;
- identify assumptions, evaluate statements in terms of evidence, detect false logic or reasoning, identify implicit values, define terms adequately and generalise appropriately.
(B) Personal and intellectual autonomy
- develop their reflective awareness of ethical dimensions, and responsibilities to others, in work and everyday life;
- be critically self-aware, self-reflective and self-manage in order to fully maximise potential;
- establish their personal vision and goals;
- seek and value open feedback to help their self-awareness;
- to think independently, exercise personal judgment and take initiatives;
- the importance of learning to learn;
- develop higher-order thinking and sound reasoning;
- collaborate and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views.
(C) Communication
- use appropriate communication styles through understanding the needs of others and empathy towards them;
- effective communicators who are able to read and write, present, listen, influence and network;
- an interactive communicator;
- develop their oral communication of complex ideas and arguments using a range of media;
- articulate and effectively explain information.
(D) Personal effectiveness
- be able to work with people from a range of cultures and backgrounds;
- have an ability to prioritise;
- have an ability to plan and effectively use resources to achieve goals;
- have the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues both internally and externally, building and maintaining relationships;
- formulate, evaluate and apply evidence-based solutions and arguments. |
| Keywords | Children,Young People,Education,relationships,community |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sarah Foley
Tel: (0131)25 1021
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Annabelle MacInnes
Tel: (0131 6)51 7761
Email: |
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