University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2020/21 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Social Sciences and Law > School of Education > Education Studies with Study Abroad (BSc) > Specification
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Programme code | 9EDUC004U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
William Baker
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Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
School/department | School of Education |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups | Education studies (2019) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 4 years (full time) |
This programme aims to develop the student’s interest in and knowledge and understanding of:
Experienced together, the different strands in the programme will establish a strong grounding in the core theoretical constructs and methods associated with a range of disciplines that are foundational to the study of education (sociology, psychology, economics, history and philosophy), showing how they can be combined to develop interdisciplinary and applied modes of enquiry into educational processes. Through the study of education as a multi-dimensional and complex social phenomenon, students will develop an intellectually robust set of transferable skills that will enable them to exercise sound judgement and innovate when faced with complex, uncertain and novel problems. They will be able to communicate effectively with specialist and non-specialist audiences and continue to develop their skills over the life course, in a range of working environments.
The programme will help students achieve their potential by providing a responsive, supportive and stimulating environment with appropriate facilities, academic guidance and pastoral support.
As part of the 4 year programme, students will study for a full-year with one of the School's international partner institutions. They will have an opportunity to experience a new learning environment, develop understanding of the educational policies and practices of another country, and pursue interests in the broader social sciences or arts and humanities including languages.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Acquisition of core knowledge and understanding develops through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops. These will incorporate a variety of collaborative, research-based learning projects that students will be expected to undertake. Units will progressively scaffold students into assuming more responsibility for their own learning, and encourage them to hone the critical skills necessary to enhance their knowledge and understanding throughout the programme. Opportunities for group and independent study will be balanced through the programme to enable students to extend and consolidate their knowledge and understanding of key concepts, strengthening their capacity to critically examine areas of contemporary debate. Lectures and seminars will be designed to encourage wider reading in the subject and foster a productive exchange of ideas. Skill 10 will be supported by teaching and learning methods offered by a partner university in a different country (in units at UoB Level I/5) during the study abroad year. |
Methods of Assessment | |
The programme uses different forms of formative and summative assessment to assess the breadth and depth of students’ knowledge and understanding. The precise combination of formative and summative assessment tools varies according to the learning objectives of each unit and its place in the longer programme sequence. Formative assessment is given through oral and written feedback on writing tasks and student presentations. Summative assessment includes unseen written examinations, assessed extended essays, the use of blogs and reflective journals, and poster and slide presentations. In addition, students following the single honours programme will be expected to produce an 8-10,000 dissertation based on an original investigation. This opportunity for extended, independent study will be supported by written feedback on the dissertation proposal. Skill 10 will be supported by the methods of assessment employed in a partner university during the study abroad year. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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The intellectual skills of interrogation and critical review will be developed by creating opportunities in each unit for students to compare contrasting perspectives and apply different disciplinary perspectives, leading them, over time, to understand how to weigh different approaches and establish their aptness in debate. Participation in enquiry-led collaborative activities will enhance students’ problem-solving skills and help develop a rich understanding of the role research can play in identifying and solving key questions. The research strand in the degree is designed to support students in learning through undertaking a range of practical activities that become more complex over time, and together can be orchestrated into the key competencies that enable students to plan and carry out a small-scale study. The study abroad year will expose students to new topics and potentially different disciplines (skill 8). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Formative assessment, including feedback on student presentations and on a variety of class work, will support students’ intellectual growth over the course. Summative assessment of the intellectual rigour students bring to the task will be by unseen written examinations, assessed extended essays, the use of blogs and reflective journals, and poster and slide presentations. The research focused units link to the dissertation and the assessment instruments are designed to progressively build the skills required to successfully plan, carry out and report on a programme of original research. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Investigative activities planned into the first year units will enable students to learn how to find and interpret a range of literature on similar or related themes. Clear guidelines on the range of assessment tasks and how they can be tackled will be provided to all students. Formative and summative feedback will be used to enhance and extend students’ core knowledge and understandings. The range of planned tasks will encourage collaborative working, reflection on students’ learning, and an ability to work to deadlines. A variety of presentation modes will enhance the skills students develop in summarising and communicating complex ideas succinctly. The pacing of the research-based units will support students in acquiring the necessary skills to successfully complete a dissertation. Experience of learning to manage time and meet deadlines will be developed through the range of assessment tasks set and their timing. Seminars and workshop activities will be designed to encourage students to discuss and collaborate when working with others, whilst individual and group presentations will help students develop their confidence in conveying ideas to others. A range of assessment tasks will explicitly engage students in self-reflection. The combination of activities will support students' personal and professional development when working on their own or with others. Skill 7 will be developed during the study abroad year. |
Methods of Assessment | |
The variety of assessments used over the course and their sequence is designed to help students transition successfully into the modes of self-directed learning that underpin university-based education, whilst developing their capacity to work as a group. Outputs from group activities in the form of posters, slides or blogs will be individually annotated before being summatively assessed. The range of class-based tasks are designed to encourage students to recognise the importance of working collaboratively with others, and underline the importance of working confidently in a range of different media. Independent study is variously assessed through coursework, assessed essays, dissertation and preparation for examinations. The assessments will develop students’ capacity to communicate effectively and succinctly. |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Acquire familiarity with: the main disciplinary perspectives that underpin research and inquiry in education; the main theories and concepts that account for the structure of the formal education system and the opportunities for learning that it creates; some of the key theoretical perspectives for describing how learning changes and develops over the life course; and some of the issues involved in undertaking empirical research. Develop: key reading and writing strategies that underpin degree level study; the capacity to work independently and as a member of a team and the ability to present ideas succinctly, using a range of modes. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
Expand the range and depth of their knowledge in core areas of study. Show a deepening understanding of the key values and purposes that shape educational enquiry and how they can be interpreted and understood within different disciplinary traditions; develop a clearer awareness of the complex forces that influence the role education plays in different societies, and its capacity to mirror or instigate change; and recognise how the nature of knowledge and ways of knowing are defined by different communities of practice. Through their choice of options show an increasing understanding of the diversity of the field. Extend their capacity to work independently, develop their analytic skills, set and achieve own goals and reflect upon learning. Deepen understanding of how to conduct research, including setting and meeting goals in partnership with others, and communicating increasingly complex ideas succinctly. During their study abroad year students will also develop understanding of educational policies and practices in a non-UK context, of broader social science topics or of new disciplines. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Through their study of more specialised subjects, broaden and deepen their knowledge of key areas of debate in the education field whilst developing the necessary conceptual and methodological understanding to see what is at issue in resolving them. Gather and assimilate information from a wide range of sources and synthesise and compare more complex ideas arriving at their own critical judgements. Extend individual and group working skills, showing a capacity to lead as well as contribute to discussion. Enhance the capacity for self-directed study, and consolidate the research and independent study skills required to successfully complete a dissertation. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
Success at undergraduate level in the Social Sciences and Law depends on your being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. The programmes offered in the Faculty are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with larger lecture-based units providing the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving through to smaller seminar-based specialist units and finishing with an individual dissertation or research project. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning. But at the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing, whether in the library or at home. It is this skill of independent study above all others that you will take with you when you leave.
This model of academic development is particularly obvious in the more discursive subjects such as law, politics, social policy and sociology. The typical timetabled contact time for a discursive 20 credit point unit in the Faculty is about 30 hours. You will find that you need to allow for about 10 hours preparation on your own if you are to get the most from one of these teaching sessions. In addition there will often be class presentations or essays to write. Typically, the final year will include an independent research unit which by definition has a much smaller amount of more individualised support. Towards the end of any teaching block you may have additional revision or updating classes, and many programmes have occasional ad-hoc lectures of general interest and relevance. If you get stuck, there is always the chance to speak to your lecturer after a class or during their hours of general availability, or you could see your personal tutor. The Faculty also includes programmes which require increasing levels of mathematical sophistication, typically in Economics, Finance and Management. In this latter case, much larger numbers of lectures - up to 18 hours a week depending on option choices - and fewer small group classes are normal, as in the sciences.
As a result, and depending on your particular programme and option choices, your timetable is likely to be a lot less structured than that of fellow students who are linguists, scientists, engineers or medics. But the time that others spend in laboratories you should be spending in private study. In a sense, the library is your laboratory, and you will want to make best use of the excellent range of resources available to you here. A good University education does not tell you 'what you need to know'. Rather, we assume that, like your lecturers and professors, you are intellectually curious about your subject. We invite you to join us and we are there to help you satisfy your curiosity as best we can.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bris.ac.uk/fssl/current-students/fssl-undergraduates/assessmentandfeedbackstatement.pdf
Additional costs
In addition to the fees for the programme, a student may encounter the following costs:
Depending on optional unit choice in the 2nd year of study, a student may have the opportunity to do a placement within a professional setting.
Students will also have the opportunity to carry out fieldwork in Schools across the city.
Costs for local travel within the city will be incurred (approximate costs are within £60-£100) but will be reimbursed by the School.
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Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Education and Social Change | EDUC10002 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Introduction to Psychology in Education | EDUC10005 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Learning Lives | EDUC10003 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Researching Educational Questions | EDUC10001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Education, Climate Change and Social Justice | EDUC10008 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Select 20 credit points from: | ||||
Debates in Psychology of Education | EDUC10004 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Contemporary Debates in Global Childhood | SPOL10024 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Choose open units | OPEN | 20 | Optional | |
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Researching Education in the City | EDUC20003 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Policy and Research in Education | EDUC20004 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Select 80 credits from: | ||||
Curriculum Design for Learning | EDUC20001 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Education Viewed from the Global South | EDUC20002 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Developmental and Educational Psychology | EDUC20007 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Social Psychology and Individual Differences | EDUC20008 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Education in Practice | EDUC20012 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 |
Educational Statistics | EDUC20013 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Language, Literacies and Identities | EDUC20010 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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