SS5019 - Sociology and the Curriculum (2024/25)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2024/25 | ||||||||||||
| Module title | Sociology and the Curriculum | ||||||||||||
| Module level | Intermediate (05) | ||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 30 | ||||||||||||
| School | School of Social Sciences and Professions | ||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 300 | ||||||||||||
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| Assessment components |
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| Running in 2024/25(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
This module builds upon the understanding gained at Level 4 (in particular in SS4021) about the social function of education and the nature of the knowledge it transmits. It serves both as an introduction to the sociology of education and an opportunity to reflect upon the social and ideological forces shaping formal education in the UK today.
This module will introduce you to debates about the school curriculum. Why are particular subjects taught and why are some considered more important than others? How is it decided what the content of each subject should be? In order to address these questions we will explore various theories in the sociology of knowledge and education. An understanding of these theories will help us understand the ways in which curricula are moulded by ideas both about the function of education and about the nature of society.
The module aims to:
• Critically explore the curriculum as a site of contestation between different views on the purpose of schooling
• Introduce students to theories within the sociology of knowledge in relation to concerns about whether school curricula convey knowledge or ideology
• Identify and analyse competing ideological positions surrounding current curriculum debates
• Consider the nature and purpose of individual subjects within the National Curriculum
Prior learning requirements
As a 30 credit module it is not available for Study Abroad. But there is a 15 credit version SS5019A.
Syllabus
This module builds upon and deepens students’ understanding of positions and key themes in the sociology of education that they first encounter at Level 4/Year 1 of the Education BA.
Part 1
In the first semester of the module, students are asked to consider the possibility and extent of ideological purposes within the school curriculum and educational institutions, with reference to opposed theoretical positions – Functionalism, Social Justice Education and Social Constructionism, Social Elitism, the Enlightenment, Marxism and Foucault’s Poststructuralism. Students will be able to distinguish these key positions with reference to Ralf Dahrendorf’s contrast between consensus and conflict theories of society, and and understand what this means for education. (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO6)
Part 2
In the second semester, the module builds upon the content in the first part by narrowing its focus and examining the history of the contemporary school curriculum, and particular subjects within it, in relation to the share that they might have in promoting either knowledge or ideology, consensus or conflict. Specific subjects examined include Geography, History, Religious Education, Science, Maths, Citizenship and English Literature. (LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6)
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Learning in this module is transacted through a combination of lectures, seminar discussions and workshops as well as independent (but guided) study and reading.
Selected key readings are available to students via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Students are expected to read in advance of classroom sessions and to regularly reflect on their reading as the module progresses.
Dedicated sessions on essay planning and writing are held in each semester as preparation for the assessments.
Regular feedback (formal and informal) on assessment tasks is provided to enhance students’ learning.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
1. Describe and critically analyse key positions within the sociology of education – Functionalism, Social Justice Education, Social Constructionism, Social Elitism and the Noble Lie, the Enlightenment ideal of rational education, Marxist & Foucauldian critiques of education
2. Distinguish and explain the distinction between a consensus theory of society and a conflict theory of society, and the relevance of the distinction to the curriculum
3. Understand the relation between these sociological positions and debates concerning whether the curriculum conveys knowledge or ideology, and to what degree
4. Identify the extent to which ideological positions and political processes have and may impact on curriculum content and design
5. Apply positions within the sociology of knowledge and sociology of education to individual curriculum subjects
6. Be able to draw upon and consider the merits of a range of different positions concerning the nature and purpose of the curriculum in written assignments.