This module will provide students with an opportunity to study wider issues which impact upon education. Building on studies undertaken in the first year of the programme, this module is aimed specifically at encouraging students to engage with fundamental questions concerning the aims and values of education and its relationship to society. It will provide opportunities for you to appreciate the problematic nature of educational theory, policy and practice and encourage the interrogation of education processes in a wide variety of contexts and foster rigorous debate. Students will be challenged to reflect how these issues affect their work placement organisation and their role within it.

This module is intended to help students to recognise the wider context in which education takes place. Students will explore issues of educational policy and practice in relation to your experiences in the workplace. Students will gain insight into the socio-economic and political influences on education policy and practice.

Topics studied will include:-
1. aims in education / politics and policies
2. education and society / personal, social and moral education
3. ideology and culture / global issues in education
4. race, ethnicity and gender / underachievement
5. lifelong learning

Students will produce a 2000 word written assignment on the following:

Identification of underachievement within a wider social grouping - e.g. gender/race/disability. Discuss the possible reasons for this underachievement and provide practical suggestions for educational organisations to better meet the needs of these learners.
(100% Assesses Learning Outcomes 1 - 3)

A conference approach will be used for this module. Each topic will be introduced with a lecture, video or audio recording, followed up in small group structured seminars and ending with a plenary session. For independent study, participants with the support of school-based mentors, will observe practice and focus on specific activities in their workplace. They will document this to share in the group sessions and to help them to prepare for their assessments. Finally, students will be expected to spend 15 hours using the VLE for support. Study for this module will take place over approximately 8 weeks.

15 hours class contact time will include :-
Tutor led sessions ? 5 hours
Group discussions ? 7.5 hours
Student presentations ? 2.5 hours
(approximate times allocated)

VLE; Classroom with projector and internet capability; Access to library services

Hammersley-Fletcher, Lowe, Pugh (2006) The Teaching Assistant's Guide: An Essential Textbook for Foundation Degree Students Routledge Falmer
Alexander, T. Potter, J. (2005) Education for a Change Routledge Falmer
Bee, H & Boyd, D (2006) The Developing Child, 11th Ed, Pearson
Gaine, C (2005) We?re all `White? Thanks. Trentham Books
Lumby, J. Foskett, N. (2005) 14-19 Education. Sage
Matherson, (2004) An Introduction to the Study of Education. David Fulton Publihsers
Richardson, R. Miles, B. (2003) Equality Stories. Trentham Books
Schaffer H.R (2002) Social Development . Blackwell
Smith, A (2003) Accelerated learning. Network Educational
White, J (2002) The Child's Mind. Routledge Falmer, London