Childhood and Early Years Studies BA (Hons)

Throughout this module you will investigate the social, political, economic and cultural factors that have influenced, and continue to influence, the lives of children and young people in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This module will seek to explore the lives of young people through the consideration of a number of pertinent societal issues. Firstly you will critically analyse the proposition that there is a ‘discourse of difference’ in British society when considering young people. You will be asked to consider the extent to which young people are considered as ‘other’. To further develop this theme, the questions of how ‘youth’ is conceptualised within society, and in what ways these concepts are considered negative or positive, will be examined. A detailed exploration of key cultural, social, political and economic factors will support the informed discussion of these questions. In particular, the module will focus on the central issues of class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and inequality in the context of youth cultures and sub cultures.

On this module you will have the opportunity to investigate childhood and youth within a global context. The module will adopt a thematic approach to the exploration of issues such as war, work, health, and poverty, offering a range of theoretical perspectives relevant to the global experiences of children and young people across countries and cultures. You will also explore different research approaches commonly used with children and young people and will therefore have opportunity to explore how knowledge is created, debated and analysed. Your knowledge will be enhanced through the exploration of ethnographic studies of children and young people’s experiences as well as analysing the impact of social, political and cultural difference on concepts of childhood and youth, whilst gaining a theoretical overview of key skills in data collection and analysis related to research with children and young people.

In this module you will learn about the importance of play and its place in the Early Years Curriculum. You will explore ideologies and practices as well as contrasting theoretical perspectives and approaches. In addition you will examine the place given to play within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) reflecting upon its appropriateness for young children. By doing so you will be able to identify and reflect upon the different roles that the adult plays in supporting children’s development and learning through play. You will also differentiate between interaction that is either supportive of, or a hindrance to children’s learning. You will learn about a variety of philosophical and cultural approaches from UK and abroad reflecting upon their contribution within the field of early years play in relation to the Early Years Curriculum. The module will address themes such as the social and cultural context of early years play and provision, the history of play, the contested nature of play, definitions and types of play, leading play, risk and the outdoors and exploration of approaches from different ideologies.

What will I learn on this module?

Building on your knowledge of child and adolescent development from Year 1, this module will help you understand and analyse psychological, psychodynamic and sociological aspects of wellbeing in childhood. You will explore contrasting ideologies, approaches and theoretical perspectives in relation to the topic. There will be a particular focus on children's social and emotional wellbeing and on how authentic relationships can support and empower all round growth, learning and development in childhood.
Being interdisciplinary, the module offers you the opportunity to reflect on how professional and personal beliefs, values and attitudes influence how practitioners from different disciplines and different cultures assess wellbeing in childhood, and how this may influence the nature of their working relationships with children and their families.

The aim of the module is to provide you with an opportunity to further develop your employability and understanding of contemporary ways of working by participating in employability activities. You will gain valuable insight e of work settings, explore the roles and responsibilities of professionals and consider some of the challenges and rewards of professional practice, linking to key concepts in Childhood and Early Years Studies. You will reflect critically upon your experiences and consider how these have informed your career identity and contributed to the development of graduate attributes and employability skills.
Exploring entry routes and requirements of occupations through a range of sources (which may include direct contact with professionals) will further develop your research skills as well as develop and utilise networks to help you to enhance your employability. You will have the opportunity to undertake a mock interview in which you will be supported to reflect upon and verbally articulate your graduate skills, attributes and values.

In this module you will learn about yourself, your attitudes and values in the context of children, young people and families and contemporary substance use. You will be given the opportunity to explore your own and others concerns around different discourses or big ideas about addiction: you will be introduced to a number of different theoretical frames or paradigms that will give you a sound understanding of substance use. You will also explore in detail some of the main theoretical and empirical ways in which substance use and its impact have been researched and understood by different theorists, in a range of different discipline areas. You will be invited to explore a broad curriculum of topics and concerns such as policy, myths around addiction, causal factors and determinants of use, safeguarding and parenting, neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), gateway and normalisation, professional competences, as well as different interventions. You will be taught by a range of academics, service users and service managers during the module.

You will engage with the key issues around inclusion and inclusive practice, specifically in terms of the marginalisation of children and their families, who are representative of minority groups, and the role of professionals who support such families.

You will explore topics such as the meaning of inclusion, integration and exclusion specifically in the context of age, gender/sexuality, impairment, poverty, economic capital, ethnicity and culture. You will also explore issues such as language, labelling and stereotyping and consider the potential benefits of labels in identification of need, risk and resilience factors. Furthermore you will examine state and organisational responsibility through legislation and policy agenda. Critically when studying this module you will engage in the process of reflective practice in support of inclusion.

Building on research understanding and skills developed at level 4, this module will introduce you to key ideas, perspectives and activities in social research relevant to childhood and early years. You will develop knowledge and understanding about what and how things can be ‘known’ (epistemology), ways of seeing the world (paradigms), approaches and traditions in research (methodology), collecting or generating data (methods) and analysing or interpreting findings (analysis). You will learn about the key research methodological approaches and the methods used within them, going on to evaluate others research work before developing your own questions, methodology and methods. Finally you will appreciate how to relate each of these elements into a coherent proposal for research and you will consider relevant ethical issues that apply to your research. This module feeds directly into the level 6 module ‘Childhood and Early Years Studies Project’.

This module will encourage you to explore debates about children and young people’s health. You will make use of a range of reading to develop knowledge and understanding of key theories, policies and areas of practice in relation to the promotion of children and young people’ s health. You will learn about a range of topics relating to different aspects of children and young people’s health and examine the complexity of health promotion strategies and activities in relation to issues of social inequality. You will consider the underlying principles and values within, and the historical development of, a range of health promotion strategies, and discuss the inherent tensions in promoting children and young people’s health. In particular, the module will encourage you to think about how health promotion practices might affect, change and even reimagine the relationships between children, families, practitioners and institutions.

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.