Module: EDU4000-20 Education for Change

Level: 4

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Thomas Morris

Module Tutor Contact Details: t.morris@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

We all think we know about schools and education but how much do we really know and how far is our knowledge affected for better or worse by our personal experiences? By the end of this module you will have gained some knowledge of the diversity of pupils, teachers and other professionals in the UK education system, how they view their experiences and how these compare with pupils and teachers in other parts of the world. You will have also addressed such questions as how do we learn? How reliable is the knowledge we are learning? What alternative visions do people have for education? What does it mean to be an educated person? You will consider issues of power and inequality and the ways in which these might affect our own understandings of education. You will also consider international dimensions of education: exploring the issue on a global scale can help us to better understand our own preconceptions, as well as helping us to understand related issues such as inequality, equal opportunities and gender, in the widest possible context. Finally, you will be expected to take a position on the issues raised.

2. Outline syllabus

Block 1 The purposes of education

Block 2 Ideas about learning and teaching

Block 3 Education and our society

3. Teaching and learning activities

Pedagogy:

The curriculum starts from where the students are

It has as its model the student as researcher

It is highly structured particularly at level 4, term 1 to manage the transfer from pre-HE to HE

It challenges knowledge and beliefs from the beginning

It expects the student to read some original writing from the beginning

The seminars are the centre of the learning supported by the lectures and Minerva

There is a spiral curriculum so that each block builds on the last, introduces and explains key concepts and returns to link with others already done.

Constantly asking questions is to be the touchstone for both lectures and seminars.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Group presentation

• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Essay (2000 words)

• % Weighting: 50%