Education

This module critically examines contemporary debates surrounding orthodoxies in curriculum, learning and assessment in schools, and how these relate to policy and practice.

In particular it considers the way different orthodoxies frame what children and young people learn in schools, how they learn and how assessment practices inform learning processes. The module will explore these orthodoxies in terms of their origins and purposes and it will consider alternative models from an international perspective.

The module starts by considering the history, politics and ideology of the curriculum as it currently exists. It then develops understanding through application of psychological, social and cultural theories of learning and assessment. These theorised views of schooling and classroom practices enable us to analyse and critique the wide-ranging policy and research discussions about curriculum, learning and assessment that are currently under way.

You will be engaged in considering how developments of, and alternatives to, current practices will impact learning and teaching in the future.

This compulsory module will develop or build upon your existing critical engagement with educational research, focusing on the complexities of the research process in order that you are able to respond to the kinds of research evidence used in educational discourse, as well as to conceive your own questions and interests in research-oriented terms. The module will introduce different approaches to conducting and evaluating research in a range of educational contexts, drawing on methodological literature as well as examples of educational research, and developing the foundations from which you can begin to plan your own research project. Through the assignment, you will gain the skills to read and write from a methodological perspective, developing an evaluative approach to your encounters with educational research. The module aims to:

• develop ‘research literacy’ by highlighting and evaluating the different purposes, perspectives and audiences for educational research
• explore different methods for each stage of the research process, from first questions to ethical issues, data analysis and project presentation
• enable you to structure your own educational inquiry based on current practice or area of interest

This involves the researching and writing of a substantive piece of scholarship within the field of the course.

You will choose a topic in consultation with your course leader and an appropriate supervisor. The topic will normally be based on interests and skills you have developed in the course of the modules already studied.

This module b