Liverpool John Moores University, BA (Hons), Education Studies and Early Years

A wide range of modules are offered and each is structured in such a way to ensure that the student develops their understanding of the key issues in education and English; at each level the student is required to complete 120 credits, made up of a certain number of core modules, and a number of optional modules at levels 2 and 3. Level 1: At this level the student is required to complete all of the following core modules: history, sociology and philosophy of education; introduction to higher education study; modern Britain; the psychology of education; theories of early years development; early years provision; approaches to early learning. Level 2: core modules include: policy, politics and curricula; educational diversity; developing employment skills; early years education and every child matters; early language development; optional modules include: radical education; gender and education; inside the primary classroom; secondary education and beyond; images of childhood; drama and the early years; the curriculum and the early years. Level 3: core modules include: education, globalisation and social change; independent inquiry (36 credits); international perspectives in early years education; optional modules include: critical perspectives in educational psychology; how children learn mathematics; education and the arts; learning for life; work-related learning; language, literacy and learning; exploring therapeutic approaches to working with children; inclusion in the early years.

The early years part of the course explores all the most recent developments in early years provision from Sure Start and the new children’s centres to the changes that are taking place internationally; the course also examines issues relating to young children’s learning, poverty in the early years, social exclusion, early years curriculum development as well as play and child development; the course is multi-disciplinary in its approach to young children and education with learning and the child at its centre; although the education aspect of the degree is not a teacher-training course, it explores education at the individual, school, community and global levels; key ideas (history, sociology, philosophy and psychology) are taught in the context of the ever increasing changes that are taking place within the English education system; at the heart of the course are the needs and entitlement of young children; the student learns how to recognise and understand these needs; the programme is designed to develop the transferable skills that allow the student to operate creatively in an increasingly complex world, including: the ability to evaluate and analyse information; the development of interpersonal skills; computer literacy; oral and written skills; the ability to work effectively in demanding contexts.