BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies

Summary 2012/13

• Consider and analyse perceptions of childhood in contemporary society; children's development; and the law and policy that underpins services for them;
• Prepare for career options with a focus on child and youth services, including Social Work, Teaching and Youth Work;
• Combine with another degree subject to give you a programme of study directly relevant to your interests and needs.

This innovative programme allows you to study the development of children and young people alongside society's understanding of, and reaction to, them. Drawing on a variety of disciplines - particularly sociology, education, psychology, social policy and youth studies - you will be able to explore in-depth the social, cultural, political and developmental contexts of childhood and youth from early years through to later childhood and youth.

2012 Entry Requirements

260 UCAS tariff points overall.

BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies and Criminology: 280 UCAS tariff points.

Details

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for anyone who wants a career involving children and young people and is seen as excellent preparation for work in a number of sectors. It can be combined with another degree to give you a carefully tailored career path.

What will I gain from this programme?

The programme allows you to pursue a number of inter-related themes: the 'quality of life' of children and young people in both material and cultural contexts; welfare and health responses to children's needs; ideas about rights, participation, partnership, power, and inclusion; and the philosophies and practices of those working with children, young people and families.

What will I study?

In Year 1 you will gain a broad understanding of the variety of disciplines covered in this degree and the multi-disciplinary nature of the study of childhood and youth. Historical, social and policy contexts will be applied and your own thoughts and value system will be challenged.

Year 2 extends the learning in Year 1, as modules develop an analysis of childhood and youth in a range of knowledge and practice areas, and affords the opportunity to develop key research skills.

In Year 3 you will study a range of modules that reflect both theoretical and practical issues and staff research. You will analyse the political, economic, social and cultural contexts within which professional practice with children takes place. The dissertation enables you to complete an independent piece of research and present the findings in a detailed and coherent format.

How will I study?

The principal form of course delivery are lectures and workshop seminars, including videos, student presentations and small group work. All students can choose to build a national and a European field trip into their optional studies. This involves an intensive, brief period of study in London and/or a major European city such as Amsterdam.

Who will be teaching me?

Our experienced staff have designed this course and our strong levels of student support ensure your time with us is an enjoyable, rewarding experience, underpinned by the extensive research activity and field experience of our team.

Our publishing and research interests include: safeguarding children and young people; childhood, youth and sexuality; the politics of childhood and young people's rights; young people's drug use; young people and conflict; children and young people's mental health.

How will I be assessed?

Course assessments - including the use of portfolios, essays, information retrieval exercises, seminar presentations, case studies as well as examinations - have been creatively designed to encourage the potential of all students.

What are my career prospects?

Potential career pathways for Childhood and Youth Studies graduates include education, training, social work, youth work, probation service, youth justice services, the police force, work in the voluntary sector and international aid work.

A Great Study Environment

Based in 160 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, the Ormskirk Campus is a unique and inspirational place to study. Industry standard resources and cutting edge technology combine to make an interactive and highly advanced teaching and learning environment. Everything you could want is on one site with 25 acres of sport and leisure facilities, more than 1,000 rooms in halls of residence and fantastic modern spaces in which you can study and socialise.

The University library gives you access to thousands of books, journals, online resources and extensive PC and media provision. You'll get all the support you need to succeed, reflected in Edge Hill University being ranked in the top two in England for students' personal development, and the top three in the country for assessment and feedback, in the 2011 National Student Survey. The University is also featured in the top four in England for graduate employment.

How do I apply?

Apply online through UCAS at www.ucas.ac.uk.

See our How to Apply pages for more information on the application process and our Admissions criteria.

Fees and Finance

For academic year 2012/13, Edge Hill University will charge £9,000 for full-time BA, BSc and LLB degrees. Eligible students will not have to pay upfront for their tuition. The cost of tuition will be paid by a loan which you will only start to repay once you have finished the course and are earning over £21,000.

Eligible full-time students can also apply for a maintenance grant, subject to household income, and a non-means-tested loan to help with living costs.

Edge Hill University offers a range of scholarships for prospective full-time students. These include £2,000 Entrance Scholarships rewarding determination, commitment and achievement in creative arts, performing arts, sport and volunteering. Eligible entrants with outstanding grades are recognised through the £1,000 High Achievers Scholarship.

The University will also be offering awards, worth £3,000 in cash benefits and fee/accommodation waivers for academic year 2012/13, to eligible prospective full-time students through the National Scholarship Programme.

For more information on scholarships, including eligibility criteria for each award, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/scholarships.

To find out more about fees, grants and loans for academic year 2012/13, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/undergradfees2012.

Please note, the above information is for UK and eligible EU students only. International students should check the fees and finance information at www.edgehill.ac.uk/internationalfees2012.

Not got the entry requirements?

Students returning to education may present their previous experience in work (paid or unpaid) to support their application.

Students with relevant study through either a professional body or appropriate academic course can apply to join the programme at an advanced stage.

For personalised advice based on your circumstances, please contact us or come to an event.

Where can I find out more?

If you would like to receive a copy of our prospectus or be kept updated about forthcoming events, contact the Course Information, Advice and Guidance Team by emailing study@edgehill.ac.uk or calling 01695 657000.

If you want to attend one of our open events held throughout the year, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/opendays to book your place.

You will also find Edge Hill University staff at many national careers fairs and UCAS events.

Still want more?

If you have any questions you would like to ask the programme leader about this course, please contact Phil Prescott on 01695 584802 or email prescotp@edgehill.ac.uk.

Overseas students should visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/international or email international@edgehill.ac.uk for further information.

Combinations

Joint

• BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies and Criminology (XM32)
• BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies and Sociology (LX33)

Modules

Year 1

SPY1070 The Sociology of Childhood explores traditional and current sociological thinking in the context of childhood. It acknowledges that relatively new empirical and theoretical work has advocated the conceptual autonomy of children and childhood and recognises that childhood deserves to be at the centre of a sociological analysis rather than linked to other groups. Both micro (social psychological) and macro (structural) approaches are taken to the sociology of childhood as the module prepares you for more advanced sociological analysis in years 2 and 3.

SPY1071 Introduction to Education Studies offers an overview of the interdisciplinary study of education as a process and considers how this plays a key role in shaping both the identity of children and young people and the experience of childhood and youth.

SPY1072 Introduction to Social Policy begins by examining the broad issues within social policy - its various philosophies, underlying ideologies and dimensions in addition to some of its recent relevant social consequences. This will form the basis on which policy and practice with regard to how children and young people may be studied, understood and subjected to critical reflection.

SPY1073 Social and Developmental Psychology covers theories and concepts central to the study of psychology and explores psychological explanations of many core issues (for example, with regard to childhood development, basic motives, arousal and emotion and attitudes), across the breadth of psychological work. These include attachment, social and cognitive development in childhood, influences on behaviour, aggression, attitudes and attitude change.

The psychological study of human behaviour will allow you to investigate the mechanisms and processes of how we perceive, think and attend to situations, relate to others and function in the wider world.

SPY1074 Interdisciplinary Childhood Studies introduces you to the multi-disciplinary nature of the study of childhood and youth and, importantly, reinforces the conceptual tools for sociological, psychological and educational analysis in levels two and three of the programme.

You will have the opportunity to explore your personal beliefs, assumptions and expectations about childhood, youth, family and society, and the ways in which these are developed, reinforced and perpetuated by dominant ideologies and the roles of social institutions in contemporary Britain.

The module will explore social constructions of childhood and youth as distinct groups and will begin to consider theories based on children and young people being at particular and significant stages of human development.

SPY1075 Introduction to Social and Cultural Theory provides foundation knowledge on the different social and cultural theories that underpin contemporary sociological analysis. As well as providing an overview of different ways in which theorists have thought about modern societies, the module will focus on how we actually think theoretically.

Year 2

SPY2020 Diversity and Equality. At the core of the study of contemporary societies is the notion of equality and the movement towards a society that is more equal in the way in which rights are accorded and acknowledged and where individual and social justice are equally acknowledged. Also at the centre of the notion of equality is the premise that people are equally recognised in law, culture, politics and society

This module seeks to explore the idea of equality and associated themes of equal opportunities and anti-oppression, exploring different concepts and theoretical critiques, the problems and contradictions inherent in the concepts themselves and the issues and problems that arise from putting them into practice.

SPY2021 Social Research Methods offers a clear induction into the nature of social science methodology, with a particular emphasis on your chosen programme. In order to develop a deep understanding of the nature and content of any academic discipline, it's necessary to understand how such disciplinary knowledge is produced. Such knowledge clearly is the ultimate product of social scientific research activity and a critical appreciation of methodology is therefore crucial.

In year 3 of the programme, most Childhood and Youth Studies students complete an undergraduate dissertation in the social sciences. The module will enable you to focus on the application of research methods to appropriate topics of study and will culminate in the production of a programme specific dissertation proposal. The module will also offer you the opportunity to develop key transferable skills, which are of currency in the graduate labour market.

SPY2022 Policy and Law for Children and Young People. The current emphasis on inter-disciplinary and inter-professional approaches to studying and working with children and young people is a welcome and much-needed development, but it presents the difficult task of linking theory and practice across a range of settings operating within differing legal and policy contexts.

This module enables you to understand these differing legal and policy contexts by situating them within a more general exploration of the concepts of need, rights and responsibilities as they apply to the state, the family, the child and the young person. The module also provides a conceptual framework to help identify and analyse the focus and structure of some of the main services for children, young people and their families.

In the context of rapidly shifting law and policy in relation to children and young people, this module is designed to provide you with both the necessary knowledge and skills for work in a range of settings and a range of generic employment skills which would be of benefit in any profession. It will also enable you to develop the skills to access, understand and study a variety of law and policy sources.

SPY2024 Representations of Childhood and Youth explores and analyses ways in which childhood and youth are represented in popular culture in historical and contemporary genre. Film, documentary and TV will be the main areas of focus where these representations will be examined in the context of popular culture about, and specifically for, children and young people.

A critical approach will be adopted by drawing on theoretical perspectives including cultural theory and constructions of childhood and youth. In taking this approach consideration will be given to representations of social divisions such as age, gender, sexuality, race and disability.

Areas of study will include children as adventurers and heroes; children and young people in war and conflict; representations of children and young people’s experiences of education; the globalisation of childhood.

SPY2025 Children's Cultural Worlds engages with many of the contemporary debates about the changing nature of childhood and the importance to children and young people of their own cultural worlds. A range of sites of both cultural use and creation are explored such as play and the media. Theoretical ideas concerning culture, language, representation and children’s agency are employed to examine the daily lives of children and young people.

SPY2026 Youth in Context: Transition, Risk and Culture provides you with an understanding of some of the key conceptual and theoretical approaches to the study of youth and childhood in contemporary societies. It will adopt a primarily sociological framework to explore the relationship between theory, policy and practice as these both reflect and impact upon the changing experiences of children and young people. The module allows you to examine the work of major contemporary social theorists through the study of youth and childhood issues.

Year 3

SPY3030 Childhood and Sexuality is underpinned by the view that, rather than a natural and biological phenomenon, sexuality, like the category of childhood, should be understood as being socially and culturally mediated. However, there are tensions and contradictions between constructions of sexuality and constructions of childhood in contemporary society and this module seeks to critically examine the manifestation of these tensions in policy and practice.

This module will allow you to explore contemporary issues in the fields of childhood and sexuality, including policy responses to teenage pregnancy, debates over sex education in schools and the sexualisation of childhood.

SPY3031 Dissertation provides the opportunity for you to engage in an independent study of a relevant social science area of your own choice, with tutorial guidance and supervision. The chosen area must be appropriate to the module pattern studied through your degree.

The dissertation module empowers you as an autonomous learner and requires you to demonstrate initiative, confidence, perseverance, self-motivation, organisation and a commitment to study. The methodology adopted for the dissertation must be appropriate to the area chosen and may include primary empirical research. Preparation for the dissertation will be developed during 'Research Methods' module completed in year 2.

SPY3032 Contemporary Theory, Policy and Practice in Education enables you to critically examine the world of children's education. Lying at its heart is the claim that education is a political activity which confronts a range of issues related to ideology, politics and values which in themselves function at a variety of different levels of power, status and influence. You will focus on competing discursive narratives which demonstrate the intensely political nature of education, teaching and learning. The contemporary 'Children’s Agenda' and concomitant organisational changes in service delivery set the backdrop for the module.

SPY3033 Social Work with Children and Families provides you with an understanding of the social work role in children and young people’s services. The module examines the way that the needs of children impact on their position in family and society and how this impact affects the individual and their family's/carers ability to navigate and articulate their experiences.

Assessment, support, safeguarding and care are key roles in social work practice and a critical analysis will be provided of theory, policy and practice methods in these contexts. The issues of fostering and adoption will also be critically explored.

SPY3034 Children, Young People and Conflict. For many children and young people around the world, the reality of their lives is defined by war, conflict and political violence. It is estimated that there are currently some 300,000 child soldiers and 6 million young people who have been injured in conflicts in the last decade. Of the 12 million refugees in the world today, half are children and most displaced by war. Conceptualising the meaning of 'childhood' internationally requires understanding the lives and 'worlds' of young people in warzones.

This module explores the ways in which children and young people in societies in conflict are treated as subjects of militarisation and nationalisation and represented as social threats and objects of harm. You will also have the opportunity to explore how young people are specifically impacted upon by the issues of underdevelopment, poverty, exploitation and violent social division that are bound up in the nature of contemporary armed conflicts.

The module allows you to examine concrete case studies of conflicts and explore in-depth how young lives lived in the context of multiple forms of insecurity, social division, social exclusion and oppression are shaped by a spectrum of both everyday and mass organised forms of political violence. You will also critically explore the various efforts to redress, challenge and resist the widespread violations of children’s rights that are an all too familiar feature of modern armed conflict.

SPY3035 European Field Trip offers you the opportunity to spend a short period of time studying abroad. Whilst abroad visits will be made to, for example, non-government organisations, campaigning organisations, early years' facilities, social work services and youth work services. The purpose of the module is to establish a global perspective on the study of children, families and young people. You will consider how constructions of childhood, family and youth are shaped by interactions between cultural representations and political and economic structures in differing social contexts.

SPY3036 Critical Youth Studies: Practice, Context and Policy emphasises the interdisciplinarity of theoretical and empirical understandings of young people's experiences and life contexts. The module is designed to enable you to critically examine youth services from theoretical, policy, legal and practice perspectives. By employing theoretical approaches from a number of social theorists, the module will take a critical analytical approach to the contemporary 'Youth Agenda' and concomitant organisational changes in service delivery. Such an approach enables you to understand the importance of, and begin to develop, reflective practice in modern youth services. The module will address issues concerning practice and practitioners with young people; neighbourhood, education and institutions; risk, safety and support. The module is intended to provide a forum for you to engage with the inter-relationship between research, services, theories and practice in work with young people.

SPY3037 Sociological Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing in Childhood examines the interaction between society and children's health and wellbeing and considers issues of 'health' in relation to social institutions such as the family and school.

Health is explored in terms of the influences of the socioeconomic status of individuals, ethnic traditions or beliefs, and a range of cultural factors. The module reflects on how the health of individuals and communities is influenced by the environment, social policy and relationships with others.

The module also takes account of the way societal inequality can generate mental and physical illness and the way that greater equality can be associated with improved health. It also considers a positive view of the way health and well-being can be fostered even amongst the very worst off through the sociological lens of resilience, social capital, social support and networks.