Department Education Studies

Level Taught Postgraduate Level

Module leader Dr Michael Wyness

Credit value 30

Module duration 10 weeks

Assessment 100% coursework

Study location University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

Introduction

Research, policy and practice in children and childhood have become global and political priorities in recent years. In this module we pick on some debates and themes within the field of childhood studies that highlight the contested and diverse nature of contemporary childhoods within a globalising world.

In the first part of the module we outline state of the art theorising within the field that critically examines developmental psychology, globalisation and the rise of the agentic child. We draw on a number of contemporary themes that illustrate theoretical debates within the field and at the same time inform the professional and political practices of those with an interest in working with and researching children and childhood. These themes include pupil voice and participation, mediating migration, children and politics and the exploitation of children.

Principal Module Aims and Outcomes

The aim of this module is to examine the complex relationship between children's lives, conceptions of childhood and global pressures and influences. It will:

• Explore the impact of migration on children and its implications for schooling.
• Interrogate inter-generational and inter-cultural relations in families.
• Explore a number of themes relating to race ethnicity and schooling.
• Analyse the nature of child protection at global and national levels.

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad understanding of the diversity of children’s experiences and lives over time and space.
• Demonstrate understanding of key issues in academic and public debates relating to childhood and diversity.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between local and global conceptions of children’s lives as well as global pressures and influences.
• Enhance sensitivity in working with children and young people.
• Develop ability for critical analysis and synthesis and for advancing complex arguments with regard to gender, ethnicity and school achievement in a range of culturally distinct settings and the ways in which influence children’s learning.
• Demonstrate an ability to develop case studies regarding inter-cultural conceptions of childhood from more global and general trends and themes.

Syllabus

• Childhood and Globalisation - introduces the module and examines the complex relationship between children’s lives, conceptions of childhood and global pressures and influences.
• Children, Childhood and Migration – discusses issues related to transnational and intra-national movement of children with and without their families. It also focuses on the experiences of the migrant child, especially with regard to schooling, language and learning. A case study on migration in China and the ‘left behind’ children - implications for children’s schooling and wellbeing.
• Inter-generational relations - focus on power, authority and diversity in the context of parent-child relationships. Case studies that illustrate family structures and the diversity of parent-child relations-expansion and contraction of nuclear family in the UK and globally.
• Schooling, gender and ethnic diversity - how ethnicity and gender shapes children’s experiences of learning. A case study on gender, ethnicity and school achievement in a range of culturally distinct settings.
• Child protection in a globalising world – the international discourse on child protection and human rights. A case study on child trafficking: a critical analysis of the exploitation of children and inter-governmental responses.

Study Time

Type	Required
Lectures	10 sessions of 1 hour (33%)
Seminars	10 sessions of 2 hours (67%)
Total	30 hours

Assessment

	Weighting
Assignment	100%

Module Information

This is a core module for MA Childhood in Society and an optional module for MA Education, MA Educational Innovation, MA Educational Leadership and Management, MA Global Education and International Development, and MA Islamic Education: Theory and Practice.