EDU-10029 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

This module encourages students to think critically about the concept of childhood as a social and historical construction. It explores a range of institutional and other discourses in which childhood is encoded including media, literature, art and the law but there is a particular focus on state policies and education. Through a critical review of a range of recent interventions, strategies and agendas including Every Child Matters, Sure Start, Inclusion and Creativity, and their enactment through the early years and primary curriculum, the module explores the role of the state in current constructions of childhood, parenting and associated rights and responsibilities.

1. To encourage students to think critically about the concept of childhood as a social and historical construction;
2. To explore a range of institutional and other discourses in which childhood is encoded including media, literature, art, state, education and the law;
3. To focus in detail on a range of state policies and interventions impacting children, young people and education to explore the state's role in current constructions of childhood, parenting and associated rights and responsibilities.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Analyse theory and research in relation to the social and historical construction of childhood: 1
Explain the development of a range of recent interventions, strategies and agendas impacting childhood and education: 1
Comment on a range of discourses in which childhood is encoded such as media, literature, art, state, education and/or the law: 1
Drawing on module themes, summarise and evaluate a piece of fiction, a published monograph, or a film/television series depicting childhood: 1
1
Make connections between state policy, education and current constructions of childhood:

Study hours

11 hours of lectures
11 hours of seminars
68 hours directed and private study
60 hours preparation period for the assessment

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment