Department Education Studies

Level Undergraduate Level 3

Module leader Nicholas Lee

Credit value 15

Module duration 10 weeks

Assessment 100% coursework

Study Location University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

Introduction

This module is concerned with understanding and debating issues relating to educational innovation. It will encourage students to become familiar with the dominant areas of debate, controversy and innovation that can be seen to characterise contemporary education discourse.

Principal Module Aims and Outcomes

• To critically explore the relationship between culture and education.

• To examine examples of educational innovation within a range of cultural and international contexts.

• To investigate and analyse the inequalities produced through alternative models of education.

• To explore the possibilities for education in the future.

• To examine the role of pedagogic relations in contrasting educational systems.

Syllabus

Topics covered include multiliteracies, diversity, social justice, marketisation and governance. Towards the end of the module students will have opportunities to vocalise their ideas for alternative models of education, based upon evidence and theories discussed and debated over the three years of study.

Lectures and seminars will cover areas such as:

• Critical exploration of the concepts of culture and education and how societal needs change over time.
• What being literate means for new millennium learners and how culture and society influence these views.
• Debate ideas relating to how children are prepared for productive lives in society.
• What innovation is in an educational context, why it happens and what justifications are given for innovating within education.
• Case studies of various national and international innovations within an education context.
• What equity and equality means by looking at models of education that positively and negatively impact students’ education and learning.
• Investigate and critique different models of pedagogic relations between, for example, teachers, professionals, parents, students and their impact on learners and educators.

Study Time

Type	Required	Optional
Lectures	10 sessions of 1 hour (7%)
Seminars	10 sessions of 2 hours (13%)
Tutorials	(0%)	1 session of 15 minutes
Private Study	90 hours (60%)
Assessment	30 hours (20%)
Total	150 hours

Assessment

	Weighting	Study time
Timed Essay	100%	30 hours
This assessment will take the form of a timed 3000 word essay. They will choose from a list of titles and have 7 days to complete their essay. The essay titles/questions will be made available on the Monday morning and students will have until the following Monday to complete the assessment.