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BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies course preparation

To help you feel prepared for BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies, we’ve gathered together a range of course related activities including suggested reading, useful websites and some great things to do right now. Read on to find out more.

Suggested reading

You’ll be given lots of information about which textbooks to read and introduced to the University Library, as well as the many ebooks we have for you to access, when you begin your studies in September.

In the meantime, there are a couple of books you might like to read before starting your degree if you can. We don’t recommend rushing out to buy texts before you arrive. But if you can pick some up second hand, borrow from a library or access online, we suggest:

  • Wyness, M. (2012) Childhood and Society (second edition), Palgrave: Basingstoke.
  • Furlong, A., (2013) Youth Studies: An Introduction, Routledge: Abingdon.
  • France, A. (2016) Understanding Youth in the Global Economic Crisis, Policy Press, Bristol.

Useful websites

You can see some of our cutting-edge research pertinent to your degree at the following links:

Things to do now

We don’t recommend too much preparation before arrival as you’ll have plenty to do when your course begins.

However, you might want to think about how you will prepare for study. This might involve clearing a space for study if you intend to study from your home. Or thinking about how you will manage your time in relation to caring, social and work obligations when you arrive to begin the programme.

You can try some general reading on the themes of childhood and youth. A good introductory text would be ‘Youth Studies: An Introduction’ by Alan Furlong published by Routledge.

You could also:

  • Keep up-to-date with the Guardian Society pages
  • Read this report here. In the report, planners and architects from the firm Arup argue in favour of a “child-friendly” approach to urban planning. As cities face up to problems like pollution, overcrowding and inequality, putting children and young people at the centre of planning can lead to solutions which are sustainable and effective.

Meet your programme lead