EDU-30064 - Module Specification
School of Social, Political and Global Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

N/A

Description for 2023/24

The role of professions and professionals in fields of Education, Health and Social Work has increasingly come under close scrutiny in terms of their standards of professional practice and contribution to society. This module explores what it means to be a professional and the ways in which professional identities are constructed. Students engage with a range of innovative learning and teaching strategies and will examine the process of professional formation.
Lectures include topics such as: Education and the Professions; Regulating Teachers; Professions within Health; Social Work and the Professions; and When Professionalism Fails.

The module explores the history, philosophy, and sociology of the professions, relating them to the social contexts which make them not only skilled occupations but ones with special social identities and responsibilities. It provides an introduction to the theories and empirical studies for understanding professions in modern society. Using case studies, drawn primarily from medicine, education and social work, it examines the social structure, work and expertise, career path, and historical changes of the professions from the late nineteenth century to the age of globalisation. In particular the module considers the criteria applied to distinguish professions from other occupations, the regulation and governance of professional groups and the formation of professional identities with norms and procedures of practice.

Intended Learning Outcomes

confidently apply major theories and paradigms in the study of professions and professionalism: 1
comment critically on the development of the professional and institutional infrastructure of healthcare, education and social work in the UK, drawing on comparisons from other countries and professional groups (e.g. Law): 1
make theoretically informed arguments about contemporary issues relating to professionals and professional identities: 1
compare and contrast the regulation and governance of education and social work professions in the UK: 1
evaluate written arguments about theory, policy and practice: 1
critically appraise evidence for and against different points of view: 1
compare and contrast divergent ideas: 1
define, apply and evaluate key concepts and ideas relating to the role and status of `professions¿ within modern societies: 1

Study hours

24 hours Lectures, workshops and seminars
24 hours Research project development, fieldwork and analysis
50 hours Assessment preparation for assignment and report of findings
52 hours Supplementary reading

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment