Module: EDU4003-20 Introduction to Primary Schools

Level: 4

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Georgina Normile

Module Tutor Contact Details: g.normile@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

This module introduces you to primary schools in England; their composition, organisation and the contexts in which they work.

The module provides you with opportunities to discuss your own experience as a learner and also as an observer of primary schools. These discussions will inform the seminars. You will explore recent developments affecting primary schools such as the introduction of a new primary curriculum and assessment without levels.

A special feature of this module is the immediate link between theory and practice through an opportunity to observe and experience what happens in primary schools for one day a week during nine weeks of the module.  This placement begins in the third week of the course. You will complete a portfolio of evidence while in school.  Observation, recording and reflection skills are taught in the seminars to enable you to benefit fully from these visits.

The module will enable you to synthesise knowledge gained from a wide range of reading including academic texts, school policies and government documents, theoretical understandings of school processes and activities and your own observations of and reflections on life in schools.

2.Outline syllabus

The module is divided into three themes: these themes are used to structure the seminar sessions and your school placement experience.

Theme1. Observing the primary classroom

In this theme we look critically at the way schools and classrooms are organised. We also explore different ways of finding out about primary education, including observation and other data collection in schools, using literary sources, the internet, video and mass media resources. Discussion of our own experiences as learners and observers will inform the seminars. We also look at recent developments in the primary curriculum and assessment.

Theme 2. The school community

Here we consider the key people who make up the school community – the teachers, teaching assistants and the children.  Again, you will be able to draw upon your experiences to inform the discussion of, for example, the partnership between teachers and teaching assistants, the social life of the classroom and the hidden curriculum.  We also consider critically the way schools are accountable through national assessment, league tables and Ofsted inspection.

Theme 3. Inclusion and equality of opportunity in primary education.

Finally we examine notions of inclusion and equality of opportunity in schools.  We look at the increasing range of responsibilities of the school and the challenges facing schools seeking to provide an inclusive education.  In particular, we consider special educational needs and the possible effects of class, race and gender on pupil outcomes.

3.Teaching and learning activities

Teaching and learning on the module consists of seminars, tutorials, practical activities and directed tasks in a primary school.

The seminars will provide you with the key ideas and theories necessary to understand the contexts and issues related to primary schools in England. They will also provide you with opportunities to discuss your reading of set texts and the observations you bring from your placement experience. You will be provided with opportunities and skills needed to prepare effectively for and reflect upon your placement.

Tutorials are offered to support you in the assessment tasks in the module. During tutorials you will be able to discuss assignment feedback and respond to assessments formatively.

Occasionally, seminars may adopt a workshop style rather than a traditional seminar in order to enable you to make the most of resources e.g. guest speakers, visiting headteachers or library workshops.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Wiki

• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: 2000 word written assignment

• % Weighting: 50%