Literacy Learning and Literacy Difficulties

This full-time course runs for one year and consists of three compulsory modules (30 credits each), one optional module (30 credits) and a Dissertation (60 credits). 

In the first term, students are introduced to the ways in which literacy operates within society, in the compulsory module ‘Literacy in a Changing World’. Alongside this, students will also take the compulsory module ‘Research Methods in Literacy’, which provides the skills and knowledge needed to undertake the Dissertation. 

In the second term, the emphasis shifts from broad constructions of literacy, to the more specific role of text in 'Voice, Identity and Text'. Alongside this, students have the opportunity to select an optional module from a suite choices. In the majority of cases students will take their optional module in the second term. 

The Dissertation module is taught across the whole year, in parallel with all of the above. Students can choose from two options for the dissertation; Option 1 is the Dissertation Porfolio and Option 2 is the Dissertation in Literacy (thesis and presentation).

The compulsory modules are:

• Literacy in a Changing World: explores how the changing world in which we live has shaped literacy events and practices, as well as the ways in which literacy is viewed, valued and conceptualised
• Research methods in Literacy: introduces students to a variety of approaches in literacy research
• Voice, Identity and Text: explores the relationship between text, identity and voice and the implications for the identity and voice of those engaging with text in different settings

The optional modules (students choose ONE) are;

• Perspectives on Literacy Learning: explores the learning of comprehension and composition from early years through to adolescence
• Literacy Development: provides a systematic introduction to the cognitive, cultural and social factors that shape literacy development
• Feminist Approaches to Knowledge and Pedagogy: introduces a range of different ways that feminists have theorized and implemented alternative approaches to teaching and learning
• Communicating Knowledge: Possibilities and Opportunities: explores how specialist knowledge is communicated to non-expert audiences
• Shakespeare in Education: offers a broad-based exploration of Shakespeare's place in education
• Literature for Children and Young People: Theory and Text: explores a range of literature for children and young people

The Dissertation modules (students choose ONE) are:

• Dissertation in Literacy: a thesis presenting their independent research plus a presentation
• Literacy Dissertation Portfolio: a mutli component portfolio demonstrating a range of skills and knowledge accrued throughout the course