Childhood Studies - Canterbury Christ Church University BA (Hons)

You will study various areas relevant to the support and development of children and young people, focusing on work-related methods. You will be able to critically reflect and analyse these issues from an academic perspective whilst relating to and evaluating these against your work-based professional practice.

• You will follow a pathway of 120 credits (Level 6) which builds on your previous 240 credits (at Levels 4 and 5) gained from your Foundation Degree course or equivalent. As well as studying at university, you should be working in a child-related role (paid or voluntary) for a minimum of 15 hours per week.

You must have:

• GCSE grades A*-C/9-4 in English and maths
• 240 credits gained from studying on a relevant foundation degree or equivalent qualification
• We will consider relevant Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQ) and Higher National Diplomas (HND)- Enhanced DBS clearance
• 15 hours per week employment or voluntary work in a child or young people's setting

You will engage with formative assessment tasks during the module that include group work, discussion, small presentations and research tasks. These will enable you to engage with the module material to successfully complete the final module assessment.

Classification of degree and their associated grade boundaries are shown below:

• First 70% - 100%
• 2:1 ‘Upper Second’ 60% – 69%
• 2:2 ‘Lower Second’ 50% - 59%
• 3rd 40% - 49%
• ‘Ordinary’ 100 credits

The degree is calculated from the best 100 of 120 credits. This means that although you have to pass all modules, the 20 credits with the most negligible value will not be included in the final calculation.

Upon successful completion of the degree, you will be awarded the BA(Hons) Childhood Studies

• You could go on to further study such as a Master’s Degree

• Employment in the early years and education sector

• Application for teacher training such as PGCE Primary.

1 Year

UCAS Code X323 campus B You must apply for this course via www.ucas.com The Institution code for Canterbury Christ Church University is C10 For further information, please email HE@lsec.ac.uk

Independent Enquiry Part 1 (20 Credits) You will be able to engage in practical work-based research methodology and critically evaluate the methods of enquiry related to 'practitioner research'. You will be focused in exploring your role in a variety of practitioner-researcher ethical conundrums.

You will use critical reflection to evaluate different enquiry strategies and the role and purpose of work-based enquiry.

Assessed by a portfolio evaluation of practical, work-based research techniques 4000 words

Research Informed Practice (20 Credits) You will explore how current research trends contribute to workplace practice. Drawing on your experience in your work setting, you will choose an area of interest related to your professional role and examine aspects of its culture, ideology and ethos.

Assessed by an individual student presentation equivalent to 4000 words.

Contemporary Childhood Issues (20 Credits) You will develop a more critical awareness of debates surrounding key issues in a child’s development. In particular, it introduces you to theories and practices of national and international development, and their impact on children and young people. You will gain a broad view of childhood and child development, recognising how different societies consider childhood, and how this relates to concepts of childhood, culture, child care and schooling.

Assessed through a critical review of a contemporary issue or issues in the workplace 4000 words

Contemporary Learning Theory (20 Credits) You will develop your knowledge of theories of human learning through the study of contemporary and less well known theories of human learning. This will enable you to understand the complexity and commonality of human learning and, in particular, the lifelong experience of individual learning.

Assessed through a critical reflection focusing on how a contemporary learning theory relates to your own learning experience (4000 words)

Independent Enquiry Part 2 (40 Credits) This module enables you to build upon your experiences of developing and evaluating work-based tasks and requires you to apply the principles and methods used in work-based enquiry to support you in planning and carrying out a small-scale independent enquiry. You will need to conduct a critical literature review, justify an appropriate methodology for the enquiry and critically evaluate data including taking into account ethical considerations.

Assessed by completion of an independent enquiry report 8000 words

You can apply for a student loan for this course.

Although we aim to minimise any additional costs to students over and above the course tuition fee, there will be some additional costs which students are expected to meet.

You will be required to cover the cost of:

• Textbooks

• Travel to other sites - Where travel to other sites is required, this will be payable by the student

• Library Fees and Fines - Where students fail to return loaned items within the required time they will be subject to any costs.

• Printing and photocopying - The cost of printing and photocopying undertaken by students to support their learning are payable by the student

• Graduation ceremonies - It is free for the student to attend the ceremony itself. Guest tickets and robe hire/photography are additional costs payable by the student

The course is delivered at London South East University Centre Orpington, and you will study one day a week.

You will have face to face delivery at the college for 1 day a week of approximately 6 hrs lectures/guided study and additional tutorials depending on the module/teaching week.

The course has the equivalent of 35 taught hours and 75 hours of work-based learning per module. In addition you are expected to carry out around 90 hours of independent research and study for each module.

You are expected to work in child-based setting (this can be a paid or voluntary role) for a minimum of 15 hours per week. If you are not able to find work in a child-based setting, you may not be able to complete your studies.

Each module requires you to devise and engage with work-based that allow you to link practice to theory. These are discussed during the taught sessions and are submitted as an appendix for the module assessment. Work-based research tasks could include directed observations, individual enquiries and application of, and reflection upon, knowledge gained in modules. Although they do not count towards the final degree classification, your module assignments must be informed by the work-based research tasks. They provide a key part of your formative assessment and evidence that you have met the work-based requirements of the degree programme.

This is a work-based course so your placement means you are continuously linking theory to industry –based practice throughout. Most assignments require you to specifically draw upon, and use, your experience in your work-setting.

The programme is designed and reviewed as part of the quality assurance process with the involvement of industry representatives such as headteachers.

You will be taught by both College and University staff from a teaching team that consists of highly qualified academics with a range of expertise and experience. All our team members hold teaching qualifications and some hold Masters qualifications and have experience in delivering research-informed teaching.