BSc Early Childhood Studies
For current students only
BSc Early Childhood Studies
From October 2009, our BSc Early Childhood Studies will be replaced by the BSc Childhood Studies. Students admitted in 2008 and 2007 will continue on the BSc Early Childhood Studies programme and these pages are intended for them.
What is the programme about?
Children’s development is shaped by a range of factors, from the child’s genetic inheritance and experiences of family life to the economic and social arrangements of the whole society. Class, gender, ethnicity and culture as well as the child’s physical and intellectual abilities all contribute to development. If we are to understand children and childhood we need to take into account these and other factors, and the interactions between them.
Within the programme students encounter ideas and theories about children stemming from the work of psychologists, sociologists and other social scientists; they consider how childhood is perceived in history, in current social policy, in the law and from the point of view of those offering welfare, health and education services; and they engage in their own independent research on early years issues. The BSc in Early Childhood Studies at Bristol is therefore deliberately multi-disciplinary.
At all levels of the course, a constant and interweaving theme is the importance of children’s rights. Students taking the degree can thus expect to come into contact with diverse perspectives, practices, policies and understandings concerning children and childhood, as a result of which their own understandings will be broadened and deepened.
Note: some of the documents on this page are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader