Education MA

This module critically examines contemporary debates surrounding orthodoxies in curriculum, learning and assessment in schools, and how these relate to policy and practice.

In particular it considers the way different orthodoxies frame what children and young people learn in schools, how they learn and how assessment practices inform learning processes. The module will explore these orthodoxies in terms of their origins and purposes and it will consider alternative models from an international perspective.

The module starts by considering the history, politics and ideology of the curriculum as it currently exists. It then develops understanding through application of psychological, social and cultural theories of learning and assessment. These theorised views of schooling and classroom practices enable us to analyse and critique the wide-ranging policy and research discussions about curriculum, learning and assessment that are currently under way.

You will be engaged in considering how developments of, and alternatives to, current practices will impact learning and teaching in the future.

This compulsory module will develop or build upon students’ existing critical engagement with educational research, focusing on the complexities of the research process in order that students are able to respond to the kinds of research evidence used in educational discourse, as well as to conceive of their own questions and interests in research-oriented terms. The module will introduce different approaches to conducting and evaluating research in a range of educational contexts, drawing on methodological literature as well as examples of educational research, and developing the foundations from which students can begin to plan their own research project. Through the assignment, students will gain the skills to read and write from a methodological perspective, developing an evaluative approach to their encounters with educational research. The module aims to:

• develop ‘research literacy’ by highlighting and evaluating the different purposes, perspectives and audiences for educational research
• explore different methods for each stage of the research process, from first questions to ethical issues, data analysis and project presentation
• enable students to structure their own educational inquiry based on current practice or area of interest

This involves the researching and writing of a substantive piece of scholarship within the field of the course.

You will choose a topic in consultation with your course leader and an appropriate supervisor. The topic will normally be based on interests and skills you have developed in the course of the modules already studied.

This module covers:

• theories and definitions of literacy
• school literacy - histories and debates
• children's literature and media
• community and lifelong literacies
• multimodality, multimedia and new literacies

Experience required: We would normally expect you to have experience of working as teachers in schools, or as educators in less formal arts or community-based settings, for example, in arts organisations, community literacy projects, in the production and distribution of texts in traditional and new media or in arts-based therapies.

This module brings together international scholars in education to introduce contemporary and global topics on early childhood education (ECE). Through attending lectures delivered by both University of Nottingham lecturers and guest speakers from across the world, you will then engage in interactive activities and critical discussions on how global perspectives on different topics embed in your own societal contexts. You are further encouraged to reflect on how to ‘localise’ global perspectives into your everyday practice working in ECE contexts, developing culturally-sensitive and -reflective approaches to ECE pedagogy and practice.

The module will cover broad topics relating to:

• Globalisation and ‘globalisation’ in ECE
• National ECE curriculum policy frameworks across countries
• Social justice issues and sustainable development goals in ECE
• International approaches to pedagogy and practice in ECE
• Children’s perspective on quality of ECE
• Teacher development and ECE workforce globally
• Parenting in intersectional contexts

The context of the early 21st century is exerting new pressures in the lives of young people and educators. Research indicates that in the UK and other countries, there is an increasing prevalence of mental-ill health amongst young people together with stress-related illness triggered by the demands of performativity in the experience of teaching staff.

The central question that the module seeks to critically explore is the scope and role that educators can play in understanding and supporting mental well-being both within themselves and in their relationships with others.

The module is taught in an experiential and process-lead way, beginning with an audit of personal/professional experience. The prevalence of mental ill-health is traced and the impact of trauma is explored. You are then introduced to a theoretical /skills based model of helping and supporting before exploring a series of commonly presenting themes encountered in school settings.

The module concludes via a critical consideration of the opportunities and limitations of providing support in school settings as well as quality assurance procedures in the form of supervision and self-care of the educator.

Mode of teaching: Evening sessions in the autumn semester.

Experience required: We would normally expect you to have two years' relevant experience.

This module critically examines leading examples of social theories and frameworks that both inform and help conceptualise key issues within the field of education. It will draw on theories that have originated within the field and also from different disciplines which have application to a study of education.

Throughout the module, you will engage in considering the origins of particular theories of knowledge and of how these help us to understand educational issues and debates across time and in contemporary society. The module will incorporate epistemological issues from a range of historical and global perspectives and will consider the implications of these for educational theorising, conceptualising and research.

The module will address the essential features of effective learning, as relevant to your sector by examining:

• the process of learning
• supporting learning (for example, through adults, peers and technology) both within and beyond the educational organisation
• an overview of approaches to improvement and raising achievement in educational organisations
• monitoring and evaluation of learning: the use of data, target-setting, monitoring

The content will involve you in active critical consideration of participating in and leadership of practitioner inquiry in relation to professional context mapping and workplace learning.

These processes will be achieved through:

• conceptualising different kinds of practitioner inquiry relevant to work-based understanding and development (purposes, processes, contexts, dilemmas, outcomes)
• examining a range of approaches to educational inquiry, with an emphasis on action research
• developing an inquiry into your professional context

This module focuses on how people learn together in pairs, teams, small groups, the classroom, or an informal community. It works through classical and modern theories of social learning, explaining the social aspects of almost any type of learning and mechanisms that boost the power of learning together.

Equipped with these theories, it explores the various technologies mediating and supporting social learning, such as social media, participation in the World Wide Web, online communities, online communication platforms and virtual reality.

This module considers:

• experiential learning and its relationship to reflective practice and reflexivity: exploration via a learning journal genre
• world views and models of human behaviour
• theoretical perspectives on behaviour: behaviourist, humanistic and postmodern approaches
• social and emotional aspects of behaviour: mental well-being, shame, self-esteem
• punitive and restorative justice: responding to bullying and challenging behaviour, conflict resolution and peer mediation
• the intensity/functionality of behaviour: escalation/de-escalation, communication and crisis intervention
• controversial issues: for example, restraint, exclusion from school, sex and relationship education
• supporting students with ADHD
• the role of self-awareness and mindful practice as an essential classroom management approach
• workforce issues: self-care, partnership working

This module considers:

• typical and atypical development of communication by looking at means, opportunities and reasons for communicating, along with the influence of expectations
• typical and atypical development of cognition and literacy including specific learning difficulties/dyslexia
• communication and literacy/learning assessments and interventions
• understanding autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• communication and literacy/learning for children with learning disabilities including autism, Down's syndrome and dyslexia
• effective teaching and learning environments

This module will explore key issues concerning the field of special and inclusive education:

• Definitions of special needs and inclusion
• Global perspectives on diversity and access to equality of educational opportunities
• Understanding theoretical approaches to special needs/inclusion and models of disability
• Understanding prevalence of need and issues concerning classification and assessment
• Exploring the impact of policy on practice and equality of opportunity
• Examining the evidence on effectiveness of different types of educational settings eg mainstream, resource base and special provision
• Pedagogy and creativity
• Balancing equity and choice through collaborative and ethical problem solving