module specification

Module Description

This module will introduce you to the ideas of learning, pedagogy, assessment and curriculum. It is envisioned as a generic entry point into debates around key issues related to contemporary educational provision. You will be introduced to different perspectives on learning, teaching, assessment, human knowledge and models of curriculum planning. The module will encourage you to critically analyse different types of curricula and educational provisions. Doing this will enable you to appreciate the socially constructed and ideologically driven nature of educational policies and processes. The module will use the English education system as a point of reference to analyse how social, historical, economic and political processes inform and influence educational policies and provisions. This module will equip you with knowledge, understanding and skills to critically analyse curricular provision and contribute to its review and development.

Module Aims

The module aims to:

introduce students to some key perspectives on human knowledge and important theories of learning.

familiarise students with curriculum theory and some important theoretical perspectives with a view to enable them to analyse and evaluate curricular provision.  

develop in the students a critical understanding of different models of curriculum planning and development.

equip students with the skills to critically analyse educational provisions and contribute to the processes of curriculum development.

Students will be introduced to the problematic nature of human knowledge and learning from philosophical, psychological and socio-political perspectives and the implications of this for curriculum design and policy. They will be provided opportunities to engage with different models of curriculum planning. The module will encourage students to engage with and interrogate the philosophical bases of these models and evaluate the implications for learning, pedagogy and assessment. (LO: 1, 2, & 3)

The module will introduce students to some main theories of learning will encourage them to use these insights to analyse and evaluate curricular provisions and arrangements. (LO: 1 & 2)

The module will critically analyse the processes of teaching, learning and assessment. Understanding of these processes will be used to analyse the English National Curriculum as an exemplar of official statement of intent and a framework of curricular provision. This will involve critical discussion of the historical, political, social and ideological circumstances that paved the way for the introduction of a centralised curriculum in England and Wales. (LO: 1, 2, 3, & 4)

During the course of the module, we will look at some national and international curricular policies and frameworks. Students will be encouraged to analyse these policies using some of the key insights and understandings they would have acquired in the module. (LO: 1, 2, 3, & 4)

The module comprises twelve 3-hour scheduled teaching sessions. There will be a variation in the way these sessions are organised and delivered. The sessions will be organised in the form of lectures, seminars, and workshops. A certain degree of flexibility has been built into the delivery format to enable the tutors to respond to the needs and preferences of the students.

It is expected that the students will engage in substantial independent study activities, which will include, reading, writing, reflection, and small group discussions.

Weblearn, the university’s virtual learning environment, will be used as an indispensable complementary learning resource. Students will be expected to familiarise themselves with the module on Weblearn and make optimum use of the learning resources uploaded on the platform. It is also envisaged that students will make good use of the learning resources held by the university library.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

discuss different perspectives on knowledge and human learning.

use theoretical perspectives to analyse, evaluate, and review the curriculum and educational processes and as such demonstrate awareness of the dynamic and contingent nature of educational policies, curricula, and learning provisions and how these might be affected by a range of contextual factors and processes.

explain and critically analyse different approaches to and models of curriculum planning and development.

Critically analyse curricular provisions and contribute to the processes of curriculum development and evaluation.

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