STUDY

This module enables you to pursue an area of interest and relevance in a chosen topic within the field of education. It provides you with the opportunity to negotiate, manage and present learning outcomes related to an area of particular interest or specialism that you have developed. The topic chosen must be different from that selected for the MA Dissertation.

Through the completion of this module, you will:

• Pursue an area of interest and relevance within a chosen specialism.
• Have the opportunity to negotiate, manage and present learning outcomes.
• Present a critical appraisal of a selected topic, which demonstrates the application of theory to an area related to the education sectors.
• Engage in a course of student negotiated learning.

This seminar-driven module introduces you to the foundations of childhood studies before providing a critical lens on children’s diverse and disparate contexts, education and rights. This is undertaken with the aim to build your conceptual and theoretical understanding of childhood(s) and education, globally. The module seeks to highlight the contemporary issues, debates and tensions that children are confronted with, transnationally, to enable you to critically examine the key concepts, practices and policies that shape children’s everyday lives including the impact on education. The module gets to the root of how we think about and ‘do’ childhood(s), the underlying assumptions that influence such constructions of childhood and its implications on ‘schooling’, knowledge-production and children’s ways of learning. Within these discussions, the tenuous relationships – for instance, between adult-child binaries, dominant-marginalised knowledges, power and agency, and protection and participation of children – will be explored to critically analyse the role of the child’s voice in social, educational and political contexts. Additionally, the module offers you an in-depth exposure to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child contrasted with other international (Sustainable Developmental Goals; Agenda 2030) and local policies. This is to enhance your’ critical consideration of such universalist ideologies and agendas (say, in relation to school and children in work; innocent versus the ‘deviant’ child) and how they impact children’s lived realities, education and meaningful participation in a globalised world. At its core, the module provides you the opportunity to critically explore how this knowledge may be effectively applied in school, practice and other public settings.

This module explores the theories, issues, and debates associated with social justice, children’s rights and globalisation. It aims to provide you with appropriate theoretical and analytical tools for analysing and understanding complex social situations, characterised by the necessity to mediate between different cultural perspectives. You will analyse how current frameworks – including institutions, values, assumptions, and actions – affect the economic, political, and cultural structures shaping our lives. Social justice can be understood as a general process of creating sustainable communities of inclusion, diversity, and equity. At the most basic level, it recognises that social justice projects can have global impacts even when they occur on the local level. Thus, we will investigate how decisions made locally may have global significance.

Versions of this module are being taught around the world; all the partner institutions use a common syllabus, and all the students will discuss and share their ideas on a specific Internet site (NING). While exploring the course materials at University of Suffolk, we will be engaging in dialog with students in other institutions abroad who are also taking this course in their home institutions.

Learning in this module focuses on building a deeper understanding of models of disability and their application in everyday practice in educational, health and social care settings. It provides an opportunity to build expertise in supporting individuals with physical, sensory, cognitive, learning, social-emotional and mental health needs through understanding available interventions, raising awareness and applying adjustments to communication methods, social expectations and physical spaces. It emphasises the importance of relational approaches in building positive inclusive cultures. You will critically analyse practice in light of theory and research, applying critical knowledge and understanding of disability, the rights and needs of individuals across a variety of settings and contexts – education, social and/or health care. The module empowers practitioners as leaders in transforming practice and policy, celebrating diversity, and promoting social justice while acknowledging wider systemic barriers for people with disabilities. Increased competences of professionals to recognise and understand the needs and rights of individuals with disabilities as well as the ability to find creative solutions will positively impact professionals’ ability to improve outcomes for their patients, students, service users by focusing on transforming social and physical environments. It encourages a collaborative approach and co-production with learners, service-users, parent/ carers or other professionals, where relevant.

This module offers the opportunity to critically evaluate the ways in which social sciences research, particularly in the fields of education and childhood studies, are informed and enriched by theory. This is intended to enable researchers and practitioners to use theory as a tool in designing, implementing and interpreting research, to identify explicit or implicit theorical framings used in published research, and critically assess the links between theory, methodology, interpretation of the findings and its future implications.

Drawing on research papers that present a gamut of contemporary topics and research paradigms, the module will engage learners in the review of a range of theories commonly used in childhood studies and educational research and the analysis of data. The main aim is to build the capacity of the Master’s cohort to read, interpret, critically assess and embed the implications of the theory in research and practice. In addition, learners have the opportunity to explore theories applied in research within their own fields, which will advance their analytical and interpretative skills in relation to the specialist area of study and research they select. Ultimately, this module prepares learners for, and enables a smooth transition to, the independent project module that is mandatory.

Inclusive practice requires understanding of diversity and neurodiversity in society as a starting point in moving towards creating physical and social environments where everyone can participate, thrive and achieve their full potential. The impact of autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other conditions on people’s mental health, learning, participation in activities and access to services will be discussed as part of this module. You will enhance their skills in developing practical strategies for supporting children, young people and adults in a variety of settings. The module builds and extends knowledge and critical understanding of neurodivergent conditions and their intersections with gender, race, ethnicity, age, and socio-economic circumstances. Social justice and disability rights perspective is discussed in conversation with the interactionist bio-psycho-social model, aiming to achieve better functioning and meaningful participation in activities that matter to those involved, improving overall quality of life, learning and wellbeing for all. You will be equipped with in-depth understanding of theoretical models to approach and lead change in creative ways informed by the most up-to-date research.

This module caters for those with ambitions to become leaders in education as well as those already established in leadership roles. This module provides underpinning knowledge of theory and practice; supports engagement with current educational debates and recent developments and explores the relationship between leadership and management and continuing improvement of teaching and learning outcomes. You will critically examine the benefits of different leadership models, the qualities, strategies and competences necessary for effective leadership, issues of responsibility and accountability and the impact of different organisational cultures.

Leadership roles also involve managing people, therefore the module provides a broad overview of the different uses of mentoring and coaching in education including: its use in classrooms; for progression and career development; and as a management strategy. Through the theoretical and experiential, you will learn, challenge and synthesise mentoring and coaching approaches and strategies applicable in their leadership practice.

This module adopts an integrative learning approach to enable you to relate theoretical knowledge and concepts to their own professional practice and contexts. During the module you will have opportunity to critically analyse and evaluate your own practices and/or practices within their institutions thus encouraging the development of their own intellectual framework of values, attitudes and practice.

Section 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 places a duty on governing bodies to appoint a member of staff to be the Designated Teacher as having the responsibility to promote the educational achievement of Children in Care (CiC) (also known as Children Looked After (CLA)), including those aged between 16 and 18 who are registered pupils at the school, and to ensure that the Designated Teacher undertakes appropriate training (section 20:2). The 2017 Children and Social Work Act extends this duty to children previously looked after. Furthermore, the Children and Families Act 2014 requires councils in England to appoint a Virtual School Head to discharge the local authority’s duty to promote the educational achievement of children in care (CiC).

This module has been developed in collaboration with the Suffolk Virtual School (VS) and Suffolk's Psychology and Therapeutic Services (P&TS) and would be appropriate for Designated Teachers and others working more broadly with children in care/looked after children. The module provides an opportunity to develop a critical, theoretical understanding of person-centred educational provisions for children in care (CiC) and previously looked after children (pLAC). Rethinking education practices within classrooms, it promotes powerful change by breaking with individualistic approaches in education and addresses issues of learning as participation, diversity and inclusion, inter-professional working, and the effects these have on educational achievement. Additionally, this module is underpinned by the UNCRC’s premise that children have a right to participation in matters that concern them and considers how educational provisions can be centred around children’s preferences.

As this module also gives scope for practitioners to reflect on their own practice, you are expected to have recently been in practice, currently practitioners or to have access to practice. The module offers an opportunity to identify some of the basic concepts and theories to shape teaching and learning in classrooms to the unique needs of students. You will be encouraged to use elements of these theories to reflect on your own practice and to challenge your current understandings.

The Independent Project is designed to provide you with an opportunity to undertake a significant and substantial research or work-based project to demonstrate the ability to work independently. Within this module, you will use their critical and analytical skills to independently develop a dissertation in a relevant and appropriate topic, identify and explore relevant theoretical and historical perspectives on this topic, and draw conclusion based on reflective and/or empirical work. It provides you with an opportunity to carry out a comprehensive investigation on a topic of their choice and seeks to equip them with the skills of detailed project planning, design, reflection, analysis and critical valuation. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to apply the in-depth knowledge and understanding from their studies to design and undertake ethical work-based or independent research projects to investigate experiences of childhood and/or education. The opportunity to explore and apply critical reflexive knowledge within the research context will also be evident.

This module enables you to pursue an area of interest and relevance in a chosen topic within the field of education. It provides you with the opportunity to negotiate, manage and present learning outcomes related to an area of particular interest or specialism that you have developed. The topic chosen must be different from that selected for the MA Dissertation.

• Through the completion of this module, students will:
• Pursue an area of interest and relevance within a chosen specialism.
• Have the opportunity to negotiate, manage and present learning outcomes.
• Present a critical appraisal of a selected topic, which demonstrates the application of theory to an area related to the education sectors.
• Engage in a course of student negotiated learning.

This seminar-driven module introduces you to the foundations of childhood studies before providing a critical lens on children’s diverse and disparate contexts, education and rights. This is undertaken with the aim to build your conceptual and theoretical understanding of childhood(s) and education, globally. The module seeks to highlight the contemporary issues, debates and tensions that children are confronted with, transnationally, to enable you to critically examine the key concepts, practices and policies that shape children’s everyday lives including the impact on education. The module gets to the root of how we think about and ‘do’ childhood(s), the underlying assumptions that influence such constructions of childhood and its implications on ‘schooling’, knowledge-production and children’s ways of learning. Within these discussions, the tenuous relationships – for instance, between adult-child binaries, dominant-marginalised knowledges, power and agency, and protection and participation of children – will be explored to critically analyse the role of the child’s voice in social, educational and political contexts. Additionally, the module offers you an in-depth exposure to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child contrasted with other international (Sustainable Developmental Goals; Agenda 2030) and local policies. This is to enhance your’ critical consideration of such universalist ideologies and agendas (say, in relation to school and children in work; innocent versus the ‘deviant’ child) and how they impact children’s lived realities, education and meaningful participation in a globalised world. At its core, the module provides you the opportunity to critically explore how this knowledge may be effectively applied in school, practice and other public settings.

This module explores the theories, issues, and debates associated with social justice, children’s rights and globalisation. It aims to provide you with appropriate theoretical and analytical tools for analysing and understanding complex social situations, characterised by the necessity to mediate between different cultural perspectives. You will analyse how current frameworks – including institutions, values, assumptions, and actions – affect the economic, political, and cultural structures shaping our lives. Social justice can be understood as a general process of creating sustainable communities of inclusion, diversity, and equity. At the most basic level, it recognises that social justice projects can have global impacts even when they occur on the local level. Thus, we will investigate how decisions made locally may have global significance.

Versions of this module are being taught around the world; all the partner institutions use a common syllabus, and all the students will discuss and share their ideas on a specific Internet site (NING). While exploring the course materials at University of Suffolk, we will be engaging in dialog with students in other institutions abroad who are also taking this course in their home institutions.

Learning in this module focuses on building a deeper understanding of models of disability and their application in everyday practice in educational, health and social care settings. It provides an opportunity to build expertise in supporting individuals with physical, sensory, cognitive, learning, social-emotional and mental health needs through understanding available interventions, raising awareness and applying adjustments to communication methods, social expectations and physical spaces. It emphasises the importance of relational approaches in building positive inclusive cultures. You will critically analyse practice in light of theory and research, applying critical knowledge and understanding of disability, the rights and needs of individuals across a variety of settings and contexts – education, social and/or health care. The module empowers practitioners as leaders in transforming practice and policy, celebrating diversity, and promoting social justice while acknowledging wider systemic barriers for people with disabilities. Increased competences of professionals to recognise and understand the needs and rights of individuals with disabilities as well as the ability to find creative solutions will positively impact professionals’ ability to improve outcomes for their patients, students, service users by focusing on transforming social and physical environments. It encourages a collaborative approach and co-production with learners, service-users, parent/ carers or other professionals, where relevant.

This module offers the opportunity to critically evaluate the ways in which social sciences research, particularly in the fields of education and childhood studies, are informed and enriched by theory. This is intended to enable researchers and practitioners to use theory as a tool in designing, implementing and interpreting research, to identify explicit or implicit theorical framings used in published research, and critically assess the links between theory, methodology, interpretation of the findings and its future implications.

Drawing on research papers that present a gamut of contemporary topics and research paradigms, the module will engage learners in the review of a range of theories commonly used in childhood studies and educational research and the analysis of data. The main aim is to build the capacity of the Master’s cohort to read, interpret, critically assess and embed the implications of the theory in research and practice. In addition, learners have the opportunity to explore theories applied in research within their own fields, which will advance their analytical and interpretative skills in relation to the specialist area of study and research they select. Ultimately, this module prepares learners for, and enables a smooth transition to, the independent project module that is mandatory.

Inclusive practice requires understanding of diversity and neurodiversity in society as a starting point in moving towards creating physical and social environments where everyone can participate, thrive and achieve their full potential. The impact of autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other conditions on people’s mental health, learning, participation in activities and access to services will be discussed as part of this module. You will enhance their skills in developing practical strategies for supporting children, young people and adults in a variety of settings. The module builds and extends knowledge and critical understanding of neurodivergent conditions and their intersections with gender, race, ethnicity, age, and socio-economic circumstances. Social justice and disability rights perspective is discussed in conversation with the interactionist bio-psycho-social model, aiming to achieve better functioning and meaningful participation in activities that matter to those involved, improving overall quality of life, learning and wellbeing for all. You will be equipped with in-depth understanding of theoretical models to approach and lead change in creative ways informed by the most up-to-date research.

This module caters for those with ambitions to become leaders in education as well as those already established in leadership roles. This module provides underpinning knowledge of theory and practice; supports engagement with current educational debates and recent developments and explores the relationship between leadership and management and continuing improvement of teaching and learning outcomes. You will critically examine the benefits of different leadership models, the qualities, strategies and competences necessary for effective leadership, issues of responsibility and accountability and the impact of different organisational cultures.

Leadership roles also involve managing people, therefore the module provides a broad overview of the different uses of mentoring and coaching in education including: its use in classrooms; for progression and career development; and as a management strategy. Through the theoretical and experiential, you will learn, challenge and synthesise mentoring and coaching approaches and strategies applicable in their leadership practice.

This module adopts an integrative learning approach to enable students to relate theoretical knowledge and concepts to their own professional practice and contexts. During the module you will have opportunity to critically analyse and evaluate your own practices and/or practices within their institutions thus encouraging the development of their own intellectual framework of values, attitudes and practice.

Section 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 places a duty on governing bodies to appoint a member of staff to be the Designated Teacher as having the responsibility to promote the educational achievement of Children in Care (CiC) (also known as Children Looked After (CLA)), including those aged between 16 and 18 who are registered pupils at the school, and to ensure that the Designated Teacher undertakes appropriate training (section 20:2). The 2017 Children and Social Work Act extends this duty to children previously looked after. Furthermore, the Children and Families Act 2014 requires councils in England to appoint a Virtual School Head to discharge the local authority’s duty to promote the educational achievement of children in care (CiC).

This module has been developed in collaboration with the Suffolk Virtual School (VS) and Suffolk's Psychology and Therapeutic Services (P&TS) and would be appropriate for Designated Teachers and others working more broadly with children in care/looked after children. The module provides an opportunity to develop a critical, theoretical understanding of person-centred educational provisions for children in care (CiC) and previously looked after children (pLAC). Rethinking education practices within classrooms, it promotes powerful change by breaking with individualistic approaches in education and addresses issues of learning as participation, diversity and inclusion, inter-professional working, and the effects these have on educational achievement. Additionally, this module is underpinned by the UNCRC’s premise that children have a right to participation in matters that concern them and considers how educational provisions can be centred around children’s preferences.

As this module also gives scope for practitioners to reflect on their own practice, you are expected to have recently been in practice, currently practitioners or to have access to practice. The module offers an opportunity to identify some of the basic concepts and theories to shape teaching and learning in classrooms to the unique needs of students. You will be encouraged to use elements of these theories to reflect on your own practice and to challenge your current understandings.

The Independent Project is designed to provide you with an opportunity to undertake a significant and substantial research or work-based project to demonstrate the ability to work independently. Within this module, you will use their critical and analytical skills to independently develop a dissertation in a relevant and appropriate topic, identify and explore relevant theoretical and historical perspectives on this topic, and draw conclusion based on reflective and/or empirical work. It provides you with an opportunity to carry out a comprehensive investigation on a topic of their choice and seeks to equip them with the skills of detailed project planning, design, reflection, analysis and critical valuation. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to apply the in-depth knowledge and understanding from their studies to design and undertake ethical work-based or independent research projects to investigate experiences of childhood and/or education. The opportunity to explore and apply critical reflexive knowledge within the research context will also be evident.