An Introduction to Education Studies Stranmillis University College BEd Year One Module Guide Primary SES1005 Post-Primary SES1014
An Introduction to Education Studies provides insights into issues that have informed the Professional Values and Competences identified in the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland Code of Practice. Please see: http://www.gtcni.org.uk/index.cfm/area/information/page/profstandard In this module we are concerned with introducing BEd students to Teacher Values - that teachers should have a knowledge and understanding of: 1. Contemporary debates about the nature and purposes of education and the social and political contexts in which the aims of education are defined and implemented. 2. Factors that promote and hinder effective learning, and be aware of the need to provide for the holistic development of the child. 3. The statutory framework pertaining to education and schooling and their specific responsibilities emanating from it. It must be emphasised that knowledge and understanding of the above values are developed throughout a teacher s career. This module provides an introduction to key fundamental educational issues central to your BEd degree. The content and assessment of this module is structured around the three core values above. In addition, the module meets both the general objectives outlined in the BEd programme specification and the specific objectives for Education Studies. This includes the following General Objectives: To provide a professional preparation for teachers; To challenge students intellectually; To encourage a flexible and adaptable approach by students towards professional issues; To enable students to engage with professional issues; To enable students to adopt a problem solving approach within the development of their teaching. 2
The GTCNI Teacher Competences Listed below are those teacher competencies that relate directly to the contents of this module. 1 Teachers should demonstrate that they understand and uphold the core values and commitments enshrined in the Council's Code of Values. 2 Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of contemporary debates about the nature and purposes of education and the social and policy contexts in which the aims of education are defined and implemented 3 i) Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of the learning area/subjects they teach, including the centrality of strategies and initiatives to improve, literacy, numeracy and thinking skills, keeping curricular, subject and pedagogical knowledge up-todate through reflection, self-study and collaboration with colleagues pedagogical knowledge to teach the curriculum. 6 Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of the factors that promote and hinder effective learning, and be aware of the need to provide for the holistic development of the child. 8 Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of the need to take account of the significant features of pupils' cultures, languages and faiths and to address the implications for learning arising from these. 9 Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities under the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and know the features of the most common special needs and appropriate strategies to address these. 12 Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of the interrelationship between schools and the communities they serve, and the potential for mutual development and well-being. 13 Teachers will have developed a knowledge and understanding of the statutory framework pertaining to education and schooling and their specific responsibilities emanating from it. 21 Teachers will employ strategies that motivate and meet the needs of all pupils, including those with special and additional educational needs and for those not learning in their first language. 23 Teachers will contribute to the life and development of the school, collaborating with teaching and support staff, parents and external agencies. 3
Summary of Module Content 1. The History of Education in Ireland 2. The Aims and purposes of Education including International Perspectives 3. Development of the child to the adult 4. Approaches to learning including play 5. Special Educational Needs policy and practice 6. Human Rights and the Voice of the Child Students should demonstrate: Specific Learning Outcomes developing understanding of contemporary debates about the aims and purposes of education (both locally and Globally) and the social and political contexts in which these aims are defined; an understanding of the core values and commitments enshrined in the GTCNI Code of Values and Professional Practice; a basic understanding of the Northern Ireland Education system and its historical evolution; a basic understanding of theories of learning and the factors that promote and hinder effective learning; a basic understanding of development from childhood to adulthood; a basic understanding of their responsibilities under the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice; a basic understanding of a Rights Respecting School. 4
Skills Acquired with Taking this Module Students will be able to demonstrate: A basic ability to analyse educational concepts; A basic ability to reflect on their own value system; Some ability to accommodate to new principles and understandings; A developing ability to question concepts and theories encountered in their study; A basic understanding of the significance and limitations of theory and research; A basic ability to communicate adequately in speech and writing using some specialist vocabulary; A basic ability to collaborate and plan as part of a team, to carry out roles allocated by the team and to keep to agreed responsibilities. Teaching and Learning During the study of this module students will experience a variety of teaching and learning methods and techniques. They will gain knowledge and understanding through: lectures seminars and tutorials peer group discussions and debates peer group collaborative tasks individual consultation opportunities presentations and independent study time 5
Please note A number of your classes will be student led following guidance from your Education Tutor. The pattern of contact may vary during the semester this will be explained at the initial module briefing. Module Reading For many of you reading has formed a central part of your previous educational experiences/requirements and you will be confident in engaging with academic texts. Other students, largely due to prior subject choices, will initially find course reading a challenge. Stranmillis lecturers recognise this and will offer you their support. They will also direct you to specific support services such as the peer led Communication Skills Centre. However, failure to read as directed and therefore to develop this core academic skill will impact negatively on your experience and degree classification. Reading as part of Seminars To engage fully with seminar discussions/task and to meet the academic requirements of the module students must engage in appropriate reading and research. You may be asked to read and comment on a common text that all year one students will read. Alternatively you will read and report on a selected text and share this with your seminar group. To save any embarrassment, make sure that you are prepared for all seminars. Obtaining Readings You will be provided with key readings on QOL resources and directed to consult alternative sources. These are available in the Stranmillis library or Internet sites. This module guide does not include a reading list but full details of any readings will be given in lectures. Reading as part of Assessment In addition to demonstrating that you are familiar with course readings during seminars it is essential that you refer to these readings in both the coursework essay and written examination. While evidence of additional reading beyond the core module texts is welcomed this should not form the majority of your answer. Be careful to ensure that the author of any additional reading is reliable this will be explained to you in week 5. 6
Module Assessment The module will be assessed by one piece of written coursework (worth 40%) and an examination (worth 60%). Outline details on the module assessment are included below. You will be given further guidance within lectures and seminars regarding what is expected for the assessment tasks. More specific criteria will also be provided for each assessment element. This may be provided orally, as a handout, on QOL or by email. Please note that students must pass both the examination and coursework in order to pass the module. Coursework 40% One 1200 word essay Drawing upon module readings and your own personal/professional experience critically discuss the contention that every school is the product of historical legacy and various, on-going, interpretations of the aims of education. Date of coursework submission will be advised Examination 60% One 2 hour Examination The content of the second part of the module will be assessed through a twohour written examination in January. Here you will be expected to respond to questions centred on the main topic areas covered in the second part of the module. Further details will be given towards the end of the module and specifically during the lecture in week 12. 7
Office no later 12.30pm: General information for written assignments Essay Format: A4, Times New Roman (font size 12), double/1.5 spacing, single-sided, stapled, coversheet completed and signed Note on Word Count A written assignment must not exceed the maximum word limit set for that assignment. Students are required to enter an accurate word count on the Assignment Cover Sheet. Tutors will not read or assess any part of the work which exceeds the word count by 10% - for example with a word limit of 1200, reading will cease at 1320 words. Essay Referencing Use the Harvard referencing style and one single list of references at the back of your assignment (see Guide to Using the Harvard Reference System on QOL) Late submission of coursework Coursework submitted after the deadline will be penalised at a rate of 5% of the assessed mark per working day up to 5 working days. Coursework submitted more than 5 working days after the deadline will be recorded as zero for that assignment. Exemptions will be granted only if there are extenuating circumstances and the student has formally notified the Module Co-ordinator in writing within 3 days of the submission deadline. Coursework submission and Authorship Coursework submission (hardcopy only) is the personal responsibility of the student and should be accompanied by a coversheet and a declaration form confirming that it is entirely your own work and is original. Do not hand your coursework to anyone else to submit for you. Plagiarism Plagiarism is a serious academic offence. Issues of plagiarism are taken very seriously by the University College. Students are responsible for knowing the University s standards and abiding by them. According to the University General Regulations It is an academic offence for a student to commit an act whereby he/she gains or attempts to gain an unfair advantage. A serious offence, will be penalised and could result in you failing the module or even the degree. Plagiarised material will be deemed to be: passages from other work (including internet sources) incorporated without appropriate acknowledgement and with the intention of them being taken to be the candidate's own work; passages from other assignments that the candidate has already submitted in partial satisfaction of degree requirements. Passages from other works may be quoted only if shown as quotations with acknowledgement of the sources and similarly may be paraphrased only if the sources are 8
acknowledged. Note that it is also an offence for a student to permit another student to copy his/her work submitted for assessment. Both parties will be dealt with in accordance with college procedures. Assignments require you to develop a written argument in response to a particular issue. This will require you to draw upon a variety of sources, as well as literature written by other academics. You are expected within your assessments to use such material, but you should always acknowledge the fact that you have done so. This means citing the relevant details of the author and title of the piece used (see below) every time you use them. So if you use their words you must put them in quotation marks and indicate where you got them from; if you use their ideas, you must similarly indicate the source. If you fail to do so, you could be found guilty of plagiarism. Any instance of plagiarism will be treated as a serious disciplinary offence, without any warning being given. The penalties can be severe: See Section 8 in the Stranmillis student handbook. The General Regulations define plagiarism as the presentation of the work of others as the writer s own without appropriate acknowledgement. The Regulations go on to say It is also an academic offence for a student to permit another student to copy his/her work submitted for assessment. The following excerpt about academic dishonesty is from Queen s University s General Regulations also duplicated in the Stranmillis Student handbook - Section 8 Plagiarism 7.10 It is an academic offence for students to plagiarise. Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of the work of others as the writer s own without appropriate acknowledgement. 7.11 It is an academic offence for a student to permit another student to copy his/her work submitted for assessment, and both parties will be dealt with in accordance with these procedures. Collusion 7.12 It is an academic offence for two or more students to work together on an assignment that is meant to be done individually and hand the work in as if they had each worked independently. It is expected that the work being assessed, unless specifically designated as a group assessment, shall be the sole work of that student. Fabrication 7.13 It is an academic offence for a student to claim to have carried out experiments, interviews or any form of research which he/she has not in fact carried out, or to invent or falsify data, evidence or experimental results. It is also an academic offence for a student knowingly to make use of falsified data as described above. Plagiarism and fabrication are viewed as very serious breaches of the university regulations. They are deemed to be major offences and you should be aware of the penalty that can be imposed in such cases. It could mean, for instance, that you would receive zero for the work, or zero for the whole module. The same could hold for any student permitting you to copy his/her work. If you are in any doubt about the proper referencing of sources, you should seek guidance from your module tutor. 9
Sample timetable of classes Week Wk 1 : Wk 2 : Wk 3 : Wk 4 : Wk 5 : Seminar Wednesday 9.30-10.50 Your Ed. Tutor Seminar Thursday 9.30-10.50 Your Ed. Tutor Meeting your tutor and seminar group. GTCNI Teacher Competencies Student Reflection on Religious Segregation and Selection Year 4 and International Student Presentations NOTE - Mass Lecture Wed. 9.30-10.45 Group seminar on the Aims and Purposes of Education Lecture Thursday 2.00-3.00 Various Lecturers Course Overview / Expectations History of Schooling in Ireland Dr B Cummins History of Schooling in Ireland Dr B Cummins Schooling - An International Dimension Mrs L Siberry The Aims and Purposes of Education Dr B Cummins Coursework Essay Briefing Dr B Cummins Wk 6 : Wk 7 : Coursework Submission During Wk7 Wk 8 : International Day Tutor consultation for final drafting of Coursework Essay School Visits No Lecture - Coursework Reading/Writing Child Development Play/Active Learning Dr D Mitchell Wk 9 : Group seminar on Play/Active Learning Introduction to the Psychology of Learning 1 Dr Gray Wk 10 : Wk 11 : Group seminar on the Psychology of Learning Group seminar on Special Educational Needs-Policy and Practice Special Educational Needs-Policy and Practice Dr N Purdy The Rights Respecting Classroom Mrs J Dunn Wk 12 : Group seminar on the Rights Respecting Classroom Review of the Module Examination Briefing