Introduction to Education Studies outlines the core disciplines of the history, philosophy, psychology and sociology of education. The module will also introduce you to the newer and emerging discipline of the economics of education as well as the key topic of technology in education. It will enable you to conceptualise the breadth of areas, the range of age phases and the contexts which you will explore within education studies. You will begin to gain the conceptual knowledge and the skills required to further your studies in education.

Conceptions of Education: The UK Education System in Context enables you to learn about the ways in which the formal education system is structured, governed and funded in the four countries of the UK. You will explore the similarities and differences that exist between the different systems, examine the conceptualisations of education that each system appears to reflect, and develop opinions as to the ways in which they function. You will also explore the evolution of those different systems over time, noting the ways in which the different policy approaches taken by the separate legislatures within the UK have affected education in practice.

Learning in a Diverse Society enables you to explore the various ways in which access to education can be helped or hindered by issues such as race, religion, class, ethnicity, learning difficulties, or physical disability. The module encourages you to explore and reflect upon the specific factors that can affect access and consider how obstacles to access can be mitigated against or overcome.

Technology and its Place in Education considers the underlying theoretical perspectives used in conjunction with technology to enhance learning. The term educational technology encompasses technology enhanced and e-learning. It includes the adoption and integration of hardware and software, various electronic devices, pedagogical tools, approaches and delivery methods. Technology has the capacity to significantly re-shape teaching and learning and this module will provide you with the opportunity to critically examine, explore and evaluate the potential benefits of a range of educational technology, as well as consider the underpinning pedagogical rationale for their use, with the specific intention of enhancing teaching and learning.

The Medieval Outlook focuses on the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. You will learn about the emergence of Europe as a distinct entity, comprised of a variety of peoples with diverse cultures and languages. ‘Christendom’ is often used to describe medieval Europe and we will look at how the Church did indeed give a type of cohesion to the continent. The Church assumed leadership of societies after the fall of Rome and held a deep and powerful influence on the medieval outlook. We will consider how this influence manifested itself through a study of the state, power and authority as well as popular beliefs and the medieval world-view. We will also consider the tensions which arose between the bishop of Rome and the development of more secular authority and culture. The module will predominantly focus on England but will place the country’s medieval past into a broader European context.

The Dawn of Modernity focuses on the immense social, political and religious changes which took place in Early Modern England. Reformation of the church, the outbreak of civil war, the emergence of radical sectarian groups and an increasingly politicised people created a rapidly changing society. The module will explore the diverse responses to those changes and the fear that people lived in a ‘world turned upside down’. Although the period can be characterised as one of tension and crisis, you will also consider continuities from the medieval period, and the existence of political and social consensus, climaxing in the restoration of monarchy after the short-lived republic. The module will consider whether we can truly agree with the perception of the early modern period as one of approaching modernity through a study of key developments in church, state and culture during the period 1500-1660.

Europe Re-made introduces you to the key developments that transformed European society between 1789 and 1919. At the start of this period, on the eve of the French Revolution, Europe was predominantly an agrarian society with very limited industrial and urban development. In most European states, landed elites were still dominant as a conservative influence resistant to political and social change. By 1919, Europe had been transformed into a society in which state power lay in the hands of urban-based political parties with industry and trade as the dominant forms of economic activity. The module is primarily concerned with the broad political, economic and social influences that caused this transformation which was of immense significance not only for Europe but also for the course of world history during the twentieth century.

Imperialism, Liberation, Globalisation examines some of the main events, political and social movements, economic developments and ideologies which dominated the twentieth century around the world. You will study the rise and fall of the great ideologies of Communism, Nazism and Fascism, the causes and outcome of the Second World War and the development of the Cold War between the Super Powers after 1945. The module will also look at international relations and the global economic system after the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1989-1991.

History and Society: Theory, Practice and Impact introduces you to the conventions of academic history and outlines a range of concepts and ideologies that are regularly employed within historical discourse. The module also examines the way that history and ideas about the past are employed in a wide variety of non-academic contexts, such as politics, popular culture and journalism.

Designing and Managing a Research Project gives you the knowledge and skills required to conceptualise, design and communicate a research proposal, understanding the fundamental principles of quality research. You will learn how to plan and manage a project over an extended period, sustain focus, conduct and organise extensive data collection and research materials, and mitigate typical problems that can derail or delay a project.

How and Why We Learn: Explorations in the Psychology of Education provides you with an introduction to key theories and perspectives in the psychology of education. You will develop an understanding of the basic principles within the fields of cognitive, developmental and social psychology, with the opportunity to explore issues relating to identity, self and motivation. Investigations of high-quality research within these fields will be underpinned by the fundamental questions of how and why we learn.

Agency, Power and Change in Education enables you to explore some of the momentous changes in the history of education in the UK, to analyse how and why those changes occurred and investigate their social, political, economic and ideological causes. You will consider the historical ripples from those changes and reflect upon how they have continued to inform educational debates and policies to the present day. The module introduces you to some of the most influential educational thinkers drawn from the field of sociology, whose ideas have influenced and shaped the discourses on education in our society. It enables you to make connections between the ideas of key sociologists and changes in policy and thinking.

Education, Meaning and Understanding: Debates in the Philosophy of Education enables you to develop your knowledge and understanding of the philosophy strand of education and to enhance your academic skills in critical analysis. You will learn how to synthesise ideas and analyse competing philosophical positions. A key focus will be on understanding how arguments are philosophically underpinned and value-driven.

UK Education in its Global Contexts will enable you to compare and contextualise the UK education systems with respect to those in other parts of the world. International contexts are becoming increasingly important in the field of education, with educationalists, researchers, politicians, and the media frequently comparing the performance of UK education with the performance of countries such as Taiwan, Finland, and South Korea. This module will consider the UK education system in the context of international performance indicators and tables, with a focus on key education systems from Asia and Scandinavia as aspirational comparators. You will examine the field of international education, understand the international performance measures, and critique where it is that UK education aspires to be and why it holds those aspirations.

Work Based Learning in Education provides you with the opportunity to gain work experience within the education sector. The module enables you to apply your skills and knowledge in real-life situations. You will gain knowledge and understanding of the processes, policies and organisational structure of your placement host, build in-depth knowledge of the business and the marketplace in which it operates, and successfully integrate yourself into a workplace environment.

Work Related Learning in Education enables you to undertake an extended, work-related project focusing upon a strand of the education sector. You will choose the focus of the project, in conjunction with your assigned tutor, with the intention being that it is an area of education into which you might wish to progress after graduation. The module enables you to apply your skills and knowledge in real-world scenarios and experience how the multi-faceted nature of real businesses is often more complex than it may appear. You will also gain experience in investigating the systemic and marketplace contexts in which businesses within your chosen sector exist and function.

Communism in Eastern and Central Europe After 1945 examines the rise, stagnation, collapse and ongoing legacies of the communist experiment that ruled half of Europe during the decades after the Second World War. The module examines both the Soviet Union itself during the post-Stalinist era and the countries of east-central Europe, allowing you to choose to study the history of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania or Yugoslavia. This history is of growing relevance to you, given that twenty years after its collapse the communist period can now be seen in historical perspective, and given the close relationships which many of the successors to these states have developed with the UK since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007.

Urbanisation, Immigration and Economic Crisis: The United States 1880-1941 examines the processes of cultural, social and economic change in the United States from 1880 onwards. The module examines the causes of such change and their impact on American culture and society. It analyses the reasons why U.S. political leaders and social reformers saw such changes as a threat to core American values, even the very survival of the Republic itself. The responses they advanced to deal with this threat are also assessed. The module concludes by examining the causes of the Wall St Crash, 1929, the ensuing Great Depression and the effectiveness of Roosevelt’s New Deal programmes in addressing the problems that resulted from them.

Mission and Manifest Destiny: U.S. Foreign Policy and Expansionism 1840-1939 examines the process of frontier expansion within the United States during the nineteenth century. The module assesses the impact of the move west on native American populations and also the ideological justifications advanced to justify this expansionism, such as mission, manifest destiny and American exceptionalism.

Rise to Globalism: U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1939 examines the rise of the United States as a global superpower from American entry into the Second World War in 1941 through to the present day. It examines the extent to which the ideology underpinning U.S. foreign policy, under successive administrations, has been shaped by American historical experience and values, such as the concepts of American exceptionalism, mission and manifest destiny. You will also study the challenges facing U.S. foreign policy planners from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama and the effectiveness of the various strategies that have been advanced to overcome them. The module examines both the opportunities and limitations on the exercise of American power in the modern world.

The Rise of the British Empire focuses on the expansion of the British Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Particular attention is given to the debates amongst historians on these subjects. At the heart of the module are fundamental, and much disputed, questions regarding the nature of imperialism and the process by which Britain attained and lost an empire that at different times stretched across Africa, Asia, America and the Pacific.

The Fall of the British Empire explores the reasons behind the end of the British Empire in the twentieth century, from the First World War until the 1960s. Reflecting the scale of the Empire, the module deals with a great variety of territories across the globe, from Australia to Iraq. It provides you with an opportunity to interpret how and why this world-changing process came to pass.

Migration and Mobility in Contemporary European History equips you with a better understanding of the historical context behind one of the most controversial issues facing Europe today. By placing current debates within a historical perspective stretching from the late 19th century right up to the present day, the module will enable you to understand political and social issues ranging from refugees to migrant workers, from cosmopolitanism to immigration controls, and from anti-racist activism to anti-migrant backlashes within a longer term context. By also examining the social and political history of daily journeys such as commuting for work, you will be encouraged to take a broad perspective on mobility.

Digital Detectives provides extensive practical experience with digital archives and will help you to develop a range of advanced digital research skills. Digital tools and archives are becoming increasingly central to the process of historical research. The module will be taught entirely in computer rooms and will take the form of weekly two-hour workshops. The historical content of the module will be structured around the history of crime and society in 18th and 19th century Britain.

Introduction to Contemporary French History: From the 1930s to the Present covers a subject that is both related to and distinct from the familiar Hitler and Stalin centric stories of 20th century Europe. You will examine the history of contemporary France during turbulent periods of political conflict and social change before, during and following the Second World War and France’s subsequent wars of decolonisation in Algeria and elsewhere, as well as its politics and society today. By taking up this comparatively rare opportunity to study the recent history of an important neighbouring country, which is often stereotyped and misunderstood in the UK, you can develop a wider international awareness.

Making History is a placement-based module in which you will apply your historical skills and knowledge to a public-facing project of your choosing. You will have the option of either identifying an external partner yourself (subject to approval from the programme team), selecting from a list of approved external partners, or working on a public history project within the department. The precise nature of each project will be determined through discussions between yourself, your tutors and external partners but each project should involve making meaningful use of the historical skills and knowledge you have developed during your degree.

History on Screen looks at how British, American and German cinemas respectively have represented the historical period up to 1945 on screen, using a combination of contemporary and retrospective film productions. The module will thus explore not only the nature of cinematic representation in general, but also how each nation in turn constructs, or indeed, in the particular case of Germany, reconstructs, national identity through the prism of its past.

Dissertation provides you with the opportunity to design and execute a research project, with support from your tutors, which focuses on an area of interest in education (ideally relating to a sector in which you may wish to pursue a career). You will be responsible for the design of data gathering tools, for the choice of data analysis methods, as well as the production of a final dissertation that reports your findings.

Understanding Education through Sociological Perspectives enables you to engage in the in-depth study of one of the key disciplines of education studies. You will examine the genealogy of key aspects of the current education sector, such as the National Curriculum, Early Years Provision, Lifelong Learning, the Exam System, or Higher Education. You will explore what current researchers are investigating, where the discipline appears to be heading, and how it can continue to contribute to the future of education and education studies.

Knowledge, Learning and Understanding enables you to study the thinkers and ideas currently existing at the forefront of the philosophy of education, exploring how philosophy contributes to education policy-making, curriculum design, teaching and learning. The module encourages independent thinking through philosophical approaches and building upon your skills in critical analysis to develop an awareness of your own values and beliefs. You will need to communicate and defend your personal position in relation to challenging issues, exploration of which will structure many sessions.

Current Debates in the Psychology of Education immerses you in the advanced study of psychological theories to develop in-depth knowledge of what constitutes effective teaching and learning. Psychology makes a vital contribution to the field of education, offering theories which can explain learning, behaviour and the mind. It allows examination of the motivations and perceptions of individuals, enabling educators to better understand the most effective ways to promote learning and how potential barriers to progress might be overcome. The module will support you in developing the skills required to examine and critique psychological enquiry and then applying this knowledge to consider key educational issues from a psychological angle.

Exploring Issues and Affecting Change in Education enables you to explore shifts in educational policy and consider the most pressing contemporary issues in the sociology of education. You will reflect on how education across the age spectrum, and in its formal and informal paradigms, is affected by the design and implementation of government policy, as well as by factors such as class, gender, race, religion and wealth. Additionally, you will explore the origins of the history of the sociology of education and how researchers apply the core concepts, collect and analyse data, and report on the results of their research.

Black Life and Black Protest in the United States 1895-1945 examines African American life and history from the 1890s through to the end of the Second World War. It considers the reasons for the widespread introduction of racial segregation in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century and its impact on African American communities. You will examine the efforts of African American leaders to challenge discrimination, from Booker T. Washington through to Asa Philip Randolph, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. The extent to which developments in this period sowed the seeds for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s are also considered.

Black Life and Black Protest in the United States Since 1945 analyses the reasons for the emergence of the post-war civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The contribution of leading individuals within the movement, like Martin Luther King, is also examined together with the life and career of Malcolm X and the Black Power movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The module concludes by assessing the legacy of the civil rights era for present day race relations and the extent to which the election of Barack Obama in 2008 means that the United States can now be described as a post-racial society.

Seeds of Conflict in the Holy Land 1840-1923 examines the origins of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict before the commencement of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1923. The module analyses the development of Zionism and Palestinian Arab nationalism under the Ottoman Empire, British support for Zionism in World War I, and the escalation of political conflict and violence by the 1920s. A principal focus will be the impact of the War.

British Rule in Palestine explores the origins and development of British rule in Palestine, a seminal chapter in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Middle East and the British Empire. The module focuses on the political objectives and impact of British rule in Palestine, with particular reference to the evolution of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict.

The Special Relationship: Britain and the USA concentrates on the major diplomatic, economic and cultural meeting points of arguably the two most influential nations of the 20th century. You will study how their relationship – at times good and at times bad – influenced the course of international history. It is a relationship of unparalleled closeness and complexity which persists into the present day. By analysing the principle issues that arose between these two competitive yet cooperative states, we may be in a position to judge to what extent the relationship actually deserves the epithet ‘special’.

History: Interpretations and Context explores the close relationship that history has with contextual developments within wider British society, in the period from circa 1840 to the present day. The relationship operates in both directions, as history and perceptions of the past act to inform notions of national identity and national values, through popular cultural media. By exploring the relationship between history and wider British society, the module also introduces you to the uses made of the past in a number of areas of employment, such as advertising, TV production, the press, marketing and commerce. You will reflect on how popularly held notions of national identity become points of connection for journalists, politicians and advertisers with the population at large.

BED2003 Education, Meaning and Understanding: Debates in the Philosophy of Education (20 credits) changes from compulsory to optional in Year 2. BED2001 How and Why We Learn: Explorations in the Psychology of Education (20 credits), BED2002 Agency Power and Change in Education (20 credits) and BED2004 UK Education in its Global Contexts (20 credits) added as optional modules in Year 2.

BED3001 Understanding Education through Sociological Perspectives (20 credits) and BED3002 Knowledge, Learning and Understanding (20 credits) change from compulsory to optional in Year 3. BED3000 Dissertation (40 credits) added as an optional module in Year 3.

HIS2035 Making History (20 credits) replaces HIS2034 History in Practice: Community Project (20 credits) as an optional module in Year 2.

104-112 UCAS Tariff points are required to join this programme with effect from September 2020 entry.

The requirement that applicants must have A Level History at Grade C or above (or equivalent) has been slightly revised to state that applicants must have A Level History which should preferably be at Grade C or above (or equivalent).