Childhood Studies BA

Our BA Childhood Studies is designed to provide you with an in-depth understanding of children’s lives in diverse social, cultural and educational contexts.


Teaching is based in the fields of anthropology, education, psychology, sociology and social policy and you’ll examine how key concepts from these disciplines can develop our understanding of children’s development, health and welfare, their inclusion, and their peer and family relationships.


You’ll consider questions such as:

• How do children learn to read and how can we support their reading development, whatever their individual needs?
• Should children and young people contribute to decision-making in schools, and how do children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) inform this debate?
• How far should the state determine how parents bring up their children?
• The programme is delivered through lectures, seminars and workshops that use a range of learning resources including media and digital technology.

In each year of study, you’ll undertake core modules designed to build your knowledge base, complemented by optional modules that allow you to explore topics that suit your interests and future career plans.


In your final year, you’ll also plan and undertake a piece of independent research relating to childhood and youth for your dissertation. This will allow you to put theories you’ve studied into practice, gain further expertise in an area of interest to you, and to gain experience carrying out a real-life research project with or about children and/or young people.

Modules

Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Children, Young People, Families and the State
• What is a Child: Child Development and Learning
• What is a Child: Social Construction of Childhood
• Play and Learning
• Introduction to Childhood Studies

Optional modules
You will study between 20 and 40 credits from a list which may include:-

• Children's Rights and Social Justice
• Diverse Contexts of Learning
• Psychological approaches to Education
• Learning about learning: Processes, complexities and theoretical perspectives
• Building a Career from Education Studies

Discovery modules

• You will be required to study up to 20 credits of discovery modules.

Year 2

Compulsory modules

• Health, Well-being, Childhood and Youth
• International Perspectives of Pedagogy and Practice
• Approaches to Research: Theory and Practice
• Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Supporting Children's Learning

Optional modules
You will study between 20 and 40 credits from a list which may include:-

• School Mathematics
• Students into Education 1
• Managing Classroom Behaviour
• Inclusive Education
• Supporting Families? Analysing the Theory and Practice of Family Support
• Violent and Sexually Offending Young People

Discovery modules

• You will be required to study up to 20 credits of discovery modules.

Year 3

Compulsory modules

• Critical Debates in Childhood and Youth: Research
• Dissertation
• Children, Families and Cultural Diversity: Philosophical Perspectives

Optional modules
You will study between 20 and 40 credits from a list which may include:-

• Supporting Learning in Children with Additional Needs
• Growing up in the Digital Age
• Child Welfare and Young Children
• Understanding and Communicating Science
• Assessing Children's Learning

Discovery modules

• You will be required to study up to 20 credits of discovery modules.