module specification

This module offers an opportunity for independent study and aims to enable students to:
• Develop further professionally by pursuing a line of study which arises out of an aspect of her/his work with young children.
• Extend professional competence by developing a critical understanding of the relationship between theory and early childhood practice
• Gain experience of the processes and methodological and ethical issues involved in conducting and completing a piece of research
• Design, execute and evaluate a small-scale research project and experience supervised independent study of an extended nature.
• Develop some of the skills required for post-graduate study

Students should normally have already completed, or will study concurrently reading research and research methods in early childhood

This is an individual project that allows the student to carry out a systematic investigation of a topic.  The area of investigation is chosen by the student and should arise from personal and professional interest in an area of Early Childhood Studies.  The content of the project may be an extension of work already undertaken on the BA (Early Childhood) course, may arise out of an aspect of the student’s professional concerns, drawing together issues of theory and practice, or may be drawn from other topics within the field of early childhood studies.  LO1,2,3,4 and 5

Learning will be supported in face to face and / or telephone tutorials, introductory workshops and seminars (including accessing online resources) and independent study.

Students will be expected to actively engage with additional materials and discussion opportunities that will be available via WebLearn.  A record of tutorials will be kept and signed by both tutor and student.

Reflection and discussion are key to teaching for all students - experiential learning promotes their growing ability to act as a reflective practitioner.

Teaching and learning strategies and methods also focus on workplace skills and professionalism. Observations and action research, closely related to their work, support the growth of practitioners’ professional competence. 

The development of transferable skills in presenting evidence, arguments and points of view to a range of audiences, through a range of media, including the use of ICT also supports individual learning.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Generate and explore research questions relating to early childhood that consider the context of children and childhood and the position of the researcher within the study
2. Describe, analyse and constructively critique research and theoretical perspectives related to the research focus, accessing information from a wide range of sources, having regard to the relative validity of the information and it’s social, cultural and political context. 
3. Demonstrate competence in research skills related to early childhood through designing and  carrying out an independent study using appropriate methods of data collection and engaging in critical reflection upon the ethics of studying children and their families 
4. Discuss and evaluate research findings using theory to examine data and to develop plausible arguments; critically reflect on practice and present collected data in ways that are congruent with the chosen research paradigm.  
5. Demonstrate insight into an aspect of early childhood studies and a commitment to embrace an anti-bias approach and act as an advocate for children and families.

Core:

Aubrey, C., Davies, T., Godfrey, R. and Thompson, L. (2000) Early Childhood Educational Research: Issues in methodology and ethics, London: Routledge/Falmer, E book

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project : a guide for first-time researchers (6th editiion), Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, E book

Christensen, P. and James, A. (Eds) (2017) Research with children : perspectives and practices, London: Falmer Press, E book

Clark, A. and Moss. P. (2017) Listening to young children: the mosaic approach (3rd Ed), London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, E book

Clough, P. and Nutbrown, C. (2012) A Student’s Guide to Methodology: Justifying Enquiry,(3rd Ed), London: Sage

Costley, C., G. Elliott and P. Gibbs (2010) Doing Work Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider-Researchers, London: Sage

Denscombe, M. (2014) The good research guide: for small-scale social research projects (5th Ed), Maidenhead: OUP, E book

Greig, A., Taylor, J. and MacKay, T. (2013) Doing Research With Children (3rd Ed), London: Sage

Harcourt, D., Perry, B.  and Waller, T. (Eds) (2011) Researching Young Children’s Perspectives: Debating the Ethics and Dilemmas of Educational Research with Children, London: Routledge

Hewson, C., Vogel, C. and Laurent, D. (2016) Internet Research Methods (2nd Ed), London: Sage Publications

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe,  A. and Siraj-Blatchford, I. (Eds) (2010) Doing Early Childhood Research, (2nd Ed), Buckingham: Open University Press

MacNaughton, G. (2009) Doing action research in early childhood studies: a step by step guide, Maidenhead: Open University Press

Mukherji, P. and Albon, D. (2018) Research methods in early childhood: an introductory guide (3rd Ed), London: Sage

Roberts-Holmes, G. (2014) Doing Your Early Years Research Project (3rd Ed), London, Sage.

Stake, R. (2010) Qualitative research: studying how things work, New York: Guilford Press, E book

Yin, R. (2018) Case study research and applications: design and methods, London: Sage

Websites

British Educational Research Association (BERA) (2018) Ethics and Guidance, available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/researchers-resources/resources-for-researchers

McNiff, J. (2018) Action research for professional development, available at: http://www.jeanmcniff.com/ar-booklet.asp

London Metropolitan University (2018) Studyhub - Research, available at: https://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/studyhub/research.html
London Metropolitan University (2018) Studyhub  - Literature Review, available at: https://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/studyhub/literature.html

The Social Research Association (2018) Ethics guidelines, available at:  http://the-sra.org.uk/research-ethics/ethics-guidelines/

Journals

Brooker, L. (2011) ‘Taking children seriously: An alternative agenda for research?’, Journal of Early Childhood Research, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 137–149

Skanfors, L. (2009) ‘Ethics in Child Research: Children’s Agency and Researchers’ ‘Ethical Radar’, Childhoods Today, Vol 3, No 1, pp. 1-22

Electronic Databases: (available via London Met Library E Resources)

British Education Index (BEI)

ERIC (Educational Resources Information Centre)