Education

Year 1 Modules

Edu-10029 Childhood, Policy and Education

Please click here for Edu-10029 - Full Module Description

This module encourages students to think critically about the concept of childhood as a social and historical construction. It explores a range of institutional and other discourses in which childhood is encoded including media, literature, art and the law but there is a particular focus on state policies and education. Through a critical review of a range of recent interventions, strategies and agendas including Every Child Matters, Sure Start, Inclusion and Creativity, and their enactment through the early years and primary curriculum, the module explores the role of the state in current constructions of childhood, parenting and associated rights and responsibilities.

Tutors:

• Farzana Shain (Module Leader)
• John Howlett
• Ian Mahoney

Comments made by previous students who took the module:

"Very interesting content and good subject for debate"

"Really good module, would do it again"

"All the lectures and notes that go on the KLE are very helpful and useful"

EDU-10030 Education in Britain: past, present, future (Core Module)

Please click here for Edu-10030 - Full Module Description

This module will cover the period of compulsory state education in Britain (but concentrate mainly in the period 1940s – 2010), and will be historical and sociological in its approach. The emphasis will fall on contemporary educational issues, in school and higher education, and will seek to draw in part from students’ own educational experiences.

Tutors:

• John Howlett (Module Leader)

Student comments made by previous students who took the module:

"Excellent and interesting seminars"

"I found it interesting and felt like I learnt a lot"

"Excellent module with clear objectives and detailed lectures"

EDU-10033 Understanding Learning (Core Module)

Please click here for Edu-10033 - Full Module Description

Is learning a matter of conditioning or making impressions on a blank sheet, or is the mind itself active in exploring the world around it? Do we learn individual items one by one or in a random way? What is the relationship between language and learning? Why do some people learn easily at school and in higher education while others encounter enormous or insuperable difficulties? What are the most effective learning strategies to adopt? This module will introduce students to contemporary and historical theories of learning. It makes use of these in an exploration of educational practice at various levels and encourages students to focus on and reflect on their own learning in the context of higher education.

Tutor:

• Damian Breen (Module Leader)
• Alessandra Ceccarelli

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Very interesting - fun and interactive"

"Very interesting, well structured and presented"

EDU-10067 Back to the future: issues in the history of schooling

Please click here for Edu-10067 - Full Module Description

This module is intended to introduce you to aspects of the history of schooling in Britain from 1870 to 1944. The module will cover distinct topics that run through the history of this period.  This includes a focus on education and inequalities of social class and gender; education and nation-building, churches and state education, education and the economy, arguments over the curriculum.  A consistent theme  is that of the diversity and unevenness of educational provision and the ways in which debates and policy have responded to the problems and opportunities to which such features have given rise.

The module draws on primary and secondary sources.  Alongside histories of the period, you will read extracts from novels, government reports, parliamentary debates and political pamphlets.  One of our reasons for doing this is to encourage you to make use of first hand evidence in your own research and inquiry.

Tutor:

• Graeme Easdown (Module Leader)

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"I really enjoyed this module, I felt I really learnt things that interested me"

"I found it very informative and themes provoked were also helpful in other Education module"

"Graeme is brilliant.  Thoroughly enjoyed the module"

"An extremely interesting and though provoking module.  Very penetrating, deep and critically based.  Wonderful!

EDU-10068 Digital Technologies: Rethinking Learning and Teaching

Please click here for Edu-10068 - Full Module Description

This course will explore the use of contemporary technologies in educational contexts.  We will work to explore the emerging use of these technologies in supporting formal teaching and learning within educational settings. The module focuses on social theory and the rise of technology and rhetoric around ICT in Education Policy and the knowledge economy.  Students will be encouraged to design their own original learning resource.

Tutors:

• Damian Breen (Module Leader)
• Graeme Easdown

Comment made by a previous student who took this module:

"Enjoyable content"

 

"Demanding in relation to new technologies, but great fun nevertheless"

Year 2 Modules

EDU-20019 Special Education: Introduction to Theory and Practice

Please click here for Edu-20019 - Full Module Description

This module will introduce students to key debates, issues and concepts in the field of inclusive/special education.  It will critically explore current and past theories and philosophies that provide the basis for current special education practice.  The module will also explore the applications of special/inclusive education research on classroom practice and, the applicability of pedagogic strategies from one context to another but with a particular focus on comparisons across UK and US contexts.  In order to achieve this, students will engage with debates and research on characteristics, assessment techniques, educational considerations, and the role of technology in dealing with particular learning needs in the school context. Finally, they will reflect on the consequences of special education theory and practice for the role of the teachers.

Tutor:

• Bill Morrison (Module Leader)

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Excellent tutors and good content"

"I really enjoyed this module"

"The content was interesting and engaging"

"Very enjoyable, the trips to special schools were also a good way of helping us understand the course"

EDU-20020 Research Strategies and Methods in Education (Core Module)

Please click here for Edu-20020 - Full Module Description

This module is concerned with educational research.  The aim is to provide students with an introductory experience of research - of the questions it asks, the practices of which it asks them, and the methods, qualitative and quantitative, by which it seeks to find ‘answers’.  In doing so, the module aims to offer students an insight into different traditions of research; it intends to enable students to read, understand and assess research publications, and to think about developing research of their own.

Tutor(s):

• John Howlett (Module Leader)
• Alessandra Ceccarelli

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Good preparation for the dissertation module"

"Well structured module"

EDU-20021 Issues in Public Education

Please click here for Edu-20021 - Full Module Description

Education has experienced unprecedented change over the past few decades. Much of this change has been planned, a lot has not.   New policies, new ideologies, new practices, a new understanding of professionalism within education, have all contributed to the sense of transformation that now pervades every part of the sector.  In many respects, these changes are also visible in other areas of the public provision. Indeed, we can see almost identical pressures for change occurring in other countries, eliciting many opposing views as to where education should be heading in the 21st century.  Nevertheless, despite often having differing perspectives on the aims and purposes of education, one thing politicians and educationalists do agree on and that is the importance of education to the economic, cultural and social well-being of a nation. Recognising, then, the centrality of education at the turn of the millennium, it is entirely appropriate that we try to identify and understand some of the key issues that currently configure the sector.  The module will therefore enable students to identify key issues in public education, examine the relationships between education policy and practice-based change and explore the implications of such policies and practices for students, educational professionals and work cultures.

Tutor:

• Graeme Easdown (Module Leader)

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Great lecturer"

 

"It has been enlightening and enjoyable"

"I fully enjoyed this module, excellent focus on contemporary issues"

EDU-20022 Comparative Education

Please click here for Edu-20022 - Full Module Description

This module teaches students how to make valid and socially instructive comparisons of educational policy and practice across Britain and the United States. Students  will compare and contrast national and regional approaches to governance, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, competition, and the tension between striving to maintain standards and being inclusive. They will explore how and why countries 'borrow' educational policy or practice from each other. Students will learn to describe significant differences and similarities between Britain and the US using a range of sources including statistics, policy documents, personal experience and themed discussion, explaining and accounting for educational difference effectively in both written and presentational formats.

Tutors:

• John Howlett (Module Leader)
• Bill Morrison (Bowling Green Tutor)

Comments made by previous students who took the module:

"I enjoyed the content of this module"

"The course leader communicated clearly with the group and answered queries effectively and efficiently"

"Very interesting module"

EDU-20023 Play, Power and Pedagogy

Please click here for Edu-20023 - Full Module Description

This module examines the role and status of play within education and explores its use in primary schools. Students will be introduced to the definitions and discourses surrounding the concept of play. The module then considers the historical and contemporary development of play as a pedagogical tool. It examines its nature and role at various levels of education. Wider questions concerning the curriculum and educational policy and practice are explored through the topic of play and its use in schools.

Tutor:

• John Howlett (Module Leader)
• Alessandra Ceccarelli

Comments made by previous students who took this module + examples of work produced:

"Very interesting"‌

"It was interesting to focus on aspects of primary previously bypassed, and the course delivery was exciting"

"Well delivered and entertaining"

"It combined lecturing with the opportunity to have fun (making and playing games)"

"It was fun, excellent teaching methods"

"Enlightening"

"Enjoyed it as it had lots of interaction"

"Sarah is a really good lecturer and approachable"

Edu-20024 Education Matters: Contemporary Issues and Debates in Education (Core Module)

Please click here for Edu-20024 - Full Module Description

This module provides a detailed and critical overview of significant processes of educational change, and the thinking (political, ideological, and economic) behind them.  All the issues covered in this module are of contemporary relevance and highlight the fundamental re-positioning of educational systems, structures and processes in society and economy.

This module will explore broad, ideological shifts in education over the past four decades, as well as examining how these translate into specific policy initiatives.  It will examine how the meaning, purposes and goals of education have changed over time, and continue to do so. it also engages with the way in which educational values, ideologies and policies impact upon educational institutions and processes, and their effects on the experiences of those most closely involved, namely pupils, students, educators and managers.

Tutors:

• Graeme Easdown (Module Leader)
• John Howlett

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"The tutor is brilliant!  Very good seminar tutor"

"The module has been informative, enjoyed it"

"Interesting area, intellectual content"

"Amazing lecturer........knows everything there is to know about Education matters"

"Incredibly interesting module"

EDU-20027 Reflective Teaching: Critical and reflective approaches to teaching in secondary education

Please click here for Edu-20027 - Full Module Description

In this module students will be introduced to key concepts such as ‘reflective teaching’ and ‘critical pedagogy’ and to some of the ways in which these have been theorised. Students will explore pedagogical issues in teaching in secondary schools and the critical role of teachers in delivering and shaping school knowledge. The module aims to explore critical and reflective learning and its applications to various school subjects drawing primarily on ‘constructivist’ learning theory. Students will also explore the policy context for secondary school teaching and how the work of the teachers is shaped by it.

Tutor:

• Sally Findlow (Module Leader) et al

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Good structure, well executed"

"Good interactive, interesting module"

"Gave an idea of how skills learnt will transfer to actual teaching"

"The different lecturers each week kept things interesting and they gave specialist information"

"Individual subject lecture/seminar sessions were excellent and inspired lots of ideas on the construction and delivery of lessons"

"It was very enjoyable..different to any other module I have studied within Ed. St., and gave me a good introduction and insight into the world of teaching"

Year 3 Modules

EDU-30064 The Making of Professionals: Education, Health and Social Work

Please click here for Edu-30064 Full Module Description

The role of professions and professionals such as doctors, lawyers, teachers and social workers has increasingly come under close scrutiny in terms of their standards of professional practice and contribution to society.  This module explores what it means to be a professional and the ways in which professional identities are constructed.  Students will engage with a range of innovative learning and teaching strategies and will, through discussion with teachers in training and other professionals in the making, examine the process of professional formation.

Tutor:

• Graeme Easdown (Module Leader)

Comment made by previous students who took the module:

"It was interesting to have guest lecturers because it gave you more insight to that profession, and it was different"

"The aspect of bringing lecturers from Nursing, Social Work and Medicine was excellent"

"A well co-ordinated and interesting module"

"Very enjoyable module, well presented at all times by Graeme".  I would recommend this module very highly.  'Fun discussions in every seminar"

EDU-30069 Inclusive Education

Please click here for Edu-30069 - Full Module Description

The module explores the meaning of ‘inclusive’ education within the context of social justice, equal opportunities and learning with a particular focus on ‘special educational needs’.  It provides a historical awareness and understanding of the development of theory, policy, research and practice within ‘inclusive education’ and looks at recent initiatives in ‘inclusive’ education in schools in the UK and internationally.  Students are introduced to factors which may present barriers to, or inhibit the development of ‘inclusive’ education, and then consider and develop an understanding of the effects of exclusion and what that means.

Tutor:

• Theo Tambi (Module Leader)
• Jo Miller

Comment made by a previous student who took this module:

"An enjoyable course"

EDU-30071 Independent Research Project (Dissertation) (Double Module)

Please click on here for Edu-30071 - Full Module Description

The Independent Research Project or Dissertation is a negotiated piece of work of 8,000-10,000 words in length. There is no fixed prescription for this module. However, projects will be on an educational topic (broadly-defined). They will include explicit discussion of theoretical frameworks, methods involved in the collection of data, and matters of analysis and interpretation.

Co-ordinator(s):

• Farzana Shain

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"I enjoyed the research element"

"I have enjoyed the freedom to work at own pace and own area of interest in the dissertation"

"Workshops were very good"

"It has been a great experience doing the dissertation. Given a chance I would do another one for masters." 

EDU-30072 Race, Politics and Education

Please click on here for Edu-30072 - Full Module Description

This module will introduce students to key concepts such as 'race', nation and ethnicity and to some of the ways in which these have been theorised. It will explore political issues in the recent (1945-present) history of immigration in Britain including state responses to and public debates about immigration during this period. The critical role of education in such debates is the central core of the module. Current debates over multiculturalism, immigration and asylum as well as racism in the current global political climate of heightened 'security' concerns and preoccupations with  ‘terrorism’ will also be connected to issues of schooling especially in relation to the schooling of Muslim pupils and children from asylum seeking backgrounds.

Tutor:

• Damian Breen (Module Leader)
• Farzana Shain

 Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Insightful"

"Good interactive, interesting module"

"Found it most interesting and up-to-date and was very well taught"

"Interesting"

"Especially enjoyable, just generally interesting"

"I found the topics really interesting"

"A very topical module, very interesting"

EDU-30073 Education, Work and Identity

Please click on here for Edu-30073 - Full Module Description

This module explores changing patterns of education and work, the dynamic relationship between these two institutions, and how this has developed over time. It will examine the wider social, cultural and economic contexts that shape both educational and work institutions, and how these affect the lives and identities of those involved in them. The module considers the way in which wider changes linked to globalisation, post-industrialism, education reform and marketisation, and related social and economic shifts, have affected people’s experiences of education and employment, their social relationships and sense of self. The course draws upon a range of concepts and approaches, including: globalisation, post-industrial society, credentialism, human capital, gender and theories of self and identity. It will critically examine evidence about the changing labour market, and its impacts upon educational institutions.

Tutor:

• Damian Breen (Module Leader)

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Good module, enjoyable, and definitely something in it for everyone"

"Really enjoyed the module.  Well structured"

"The module was very interesting"

"Have enjoyed this course very much.  Has made me think more critically about things I have taken for granted"

"Interesting and delivered with enthusiasm"

"Seminars followed on very well from the lectures.  The quality of discussion was high and bringing our experiences into seminars means you are able to relate to them"

EDU-30074 Higher Education: Policy and the Student Experience

Please click on here for Edu-30074 - Full Module Description

The extent and scope of recent change in UK higher education (HE) has been huge, reflecting wider HE changes across the world and affecting governance, culture, financing and learning.  Today’s universities are radically different in terms of social vision, ideas about the point of learning and relationships between stakeholders than those which many lecturers will be familiar with from their own student days.  Once concerned with an elite form of scholarship, higher education is now popularly imagined as an automatic rite-of-passage in the journey from school to work.  To that extent, popular imagination mirrors government policy, and the UK is in step with the rest of the developed world.  Where governance was once autonomous and collegial, managerial models are now the norm.  Where individual autonomy covered most aspects of an academic’s job, lecturers are now minutely accountable to several central agencies as well as to fee-paying students, the transition from grants to fees having re-cast students as consumers rather than apprentices.   Trans-national agreements have added to the economic imperative to compete for students, and the modularisation of courses has brought a level of transferability that means we can talk of something called ‘global higher education’.  The inclusion of under-represented groups and students with special needs, once an ad-hoc affair, is now subject to legal frameworks and targets.  Yet it is argued that universities are still sites for the reproduction of unequal ideologies, practices and expectations.   A UK national framework for ‘professionalising’ teaching in HE has been consolidated, and there is investment into marketing something called ‘the student experience’ 
 
This module considers what such changes mean for ideas about knowledge (who defines it?) and learning (if students are paying for a ‘service’).  Drawing on students’ own experience of being a student, the module helps students to make academic sense of this experience.

Tutor:

• Sally Findlow (Module Leader)

 Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"Lecture and seminar participations were great..."

"I had the ability to reflect about my own personal experiences within the university"

"It’s really good because it is related to me and it helped me to reflect upon my study at Keele (e.g. why am I studying in HE?  What are my expectations?)"

"Good, challenging but insightful"

EDU-30082 Educating for Global Citizenship

Please click here for Edu-30082 Full Module Description

A changed policy and culture landscape focuses fresh attention on the relationship between education and citizenship. 

This module explores the nature of this relationship over time, in terms of ideas and in practice, and how re-configuring concepts of citizenship are reflected in educational policy and curriculum.

It explores the  relationship from a number of perspectives.  From a modernist nation-state perspective, it introduces students to classic ideas about the importance of education to national development, identity, authority, values, and the creation of the educated citizen that is a pre-requisite for democratic citizenship.  From a post-modern global perspective, against a re-drawn geo-political map, it introduces the idea of ‘new’ citizenship, and the importance given to multi-cultural identity, sustainable development, values and the common good in the context of global change.

Across two trans-national contexts, it examines education’s role – both secondary level and higher education – in changing people’s sense of belonging and their relationship with the rest of the world.  It focuses especially on recent policy agendas around inclusion and radicalisation.  And it provides students with both conceptual framework and skills to analyse how these concepts are used in educational policy and curriculum across a range of international contexts.

Tutor:

• Sally Findlow (Module Leader)

Comments made by previous students who took this module:

"I have enjoyed this module"

"Very interesting"

Study Abroad

We would encourage students to take advantage of opportunities to study abroad. Study abroad is available to almost all subject combinations and can be a very worthwhile experience. It can enhance your employability skills and be an asset to prospective employers who aren’t just interested in your academic profile.

You may be aware that Keele was one of only six institutions to be awarded the European Quality Label for the outstanding quality of our Erasmus activities and has partnership agreements with universities all over the world in Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, USA and in Europe. Consequently, if you do decide to study abroad you will have the opportunity to spend one semester at an overseas institution in one of these countries. The modules you take replace those you would normally do at Keele, and will contribute to your overall degree in an integral way.

Please don’t hesitate to make an appointment to see the Study Abroad Tutor (Subject tutor) in Education, Dr. John Howlett, (Email: j.howlett@educ.keele.ac.uk, Extension: 34151, Room CBA0.014, Ground Floor, Chancellor’s Building) if you would like to discuss this option further.

We would also recommend that you look at the information on ‘studying abroad’ available on the Keele International Study Abroad web-pages.  The School also has links with Bowling Green State University, Ohio.

What our staff and students say about the study abroad experience

“The students find it a most enriching experience and come back with an international view of their degree subject and more self-confidence” (Dr. Sarah Thomson, Study Abroad Tutor - 2010-11)

Sarah Webster

“I loved my time at Willamette University in Oregon, USA. It is a very small university so it was easy to get to know other international students and American students. Willamette have a big post-graduate department in Education Studies, which really helps undergraduate students as the course professors are involved in current teaching practices and policies in the States.

The courses provided an insight into the similarities and differences between US and UK policy. I really enjoyed working in a local school; my class were really fun and had hilarious ideas about which country I had come from. I would highly recommend study abroad to anyone. It is a great opportunity to experience a different country and worth every penny.”

Here I am below with some friends I made at Willamette (5th from the left on the first picture)

For Visiting Students

WELCOME TO EDUCATION

We hope that you enjoy your time at Keele and especially the time you spend with us in Education.  Whilst you are here you will have the opportunity to interact both formally and informally with our Educational Studies/Keele students.

The Institutional Co-ordinator for Bowling Green and Subject Tutor for Education is Dr. John Howlett, (Email: j.howlett@educ.keele.ac.uk, Extension: 34151, Room CBA0.014, Ground Floor, Chancellor’s Building).

We would also recommend that you take a look at the information available on the Keele International Study Abroad web-pages for visiting students.

About Keele and outside the university

Keele’s campus has 600 acres of landscaped parkland, fields, woodlands and lakes and makes Keele one of the UK’s largest and most beautiful campuses.  Modern teaching and living blocks contrast with 19th-century Keele Hall and the Clockhouse. There’s a vibrant student social life and a genuine sense of community.   The Keele University Students’ Union (KUSU) represents and supports students and is the focal point for the social life of students. It provides the very best in live entertainment.  

You might also like to know that Keele is situated in an area of the West Midlands known as the Potteries (it is here that Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Spode china are all made).  Close by is the town of Newcastle Under Lyme easily reached by bus (takes about 10 minutes).  In Newcastle you can find a multi-screen cinema and a variety of café-bars, restaurants and pubs.  Transport links to both Newcastle and Hanley (local towns) are good.  If you wish to travel further afield, Manchester and Birmingham are only an hour’s drive away, while London is two hours by train.

Local culture can be found at The New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme and The Regent in Hanley.  There are also plenty of places of interest to visit nearby, e.g. Chester, Shrewsbury and Stately homes such as Tatton Park, Shuborough Hall and castles.  Not to mention the Staffordshire Moorlands and Southern Peak District.  Here you will find opportunities for walking or climbing.

Bowling Green

You may be aware that the Keele link with tutors and students from Bowling Green State University, Ohio was established many years ago and has proved to be a successful collaboration.

ERASMUS/Exchange

We welcome onto the course students from other countries. A comment made by visiting students who have taken Modules in Education is indicated below:

"When we arrived at Keele we were very impressed by the huge Campus and the friendly people.  During the introduction week we felt very safe and comfortable, because everything was well organised and we got a lot of information.  It was great to meet new people from all over the world and to get in contact with them not only through lectures but also through sport activities and societies.  Studying in Keele is a great experience.  The Keele campus is an attractive place to live on, because it has everything you need for living (e.g. a shop, bank, book store …).  At the beginning it was sometimes hard to understand the different accents, especially from the British students, but we got used to it and we could improve our language skills.  We attended two Educational Studies modules: Understanding Learning as well as Play, Power and Pedagogy.  We felt comfortable in both courses, they were interesting and we could follow the lectures and seminars, although it was not in our native language.  It helped us that we had heard about some theories before in Germany.  Dr. Thomson and Dr. Dawson were also very nice and helped us if we had difficulties."

(Isabel Frey & Paula Pawlowski)

Distinctive Keele Curriculum

Please click here for further details.