- UCAS course code
- LN13
- UCAS institution code
- M20
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Course unit details:
Education and Society
| Unit code | SOCY20052 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 2 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Offered by | Sociology |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Key topics will include an overview of the relationship between educational outcomes and social inequalities; different theoretical perspectives on the purpose of education, including functionalism and cultural reproduction theory; higher education, employability and the knowledge economy; schooling and the negotiation of masculinities and femininities; schooling, ethnicity and whiteness; and critical pedagogy as a movement and a philosophy of education.
Aims
To introduce students to sociological perspectives on education and schooling
• To explore how experiences of schooling are affected by variables such as social class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and (dis)-ability.
• To consider how formal schooling systems shape individual and collective identities and reflect and reinforce and challenge dominant societal values
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit students will:
(i) be able to distinguish between key sociological perspectives on educational inequalities and demonstrate how these may be applied to a range of contemporary educational concerns.
(ii) have identified a range of topics of contemporary concern to educational sociologists and evaluate the validity of different approaches to those topics, drawing upon relevant theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence.
(iii) be able to reflect on their own experiences of schooling in a theoretically-informed manner.
Teaching and learning methods
Weekly two-hour lecture and one-hour tutorial, incorporating small group discussion of key readings focussed upon questions set by the lecturer, focused small group tasks, student presentations, and whole group interactive learning.
Assessment methods
Exam and essay (50/50) with a mid-semester essay and end of semester exam.
Feedback methods
Recommended reading
Gewirtz, Sharon and Cribb, Allan (2012) Understanding Education: A Sociological Perspective, Cambridge: Polity Press – particularly useful for the first half of the unit.
Coffey, Amanda (2001) Education and Social Change, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Ball, Stephen (2004) (ed.) The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in the Sociology of Education, RoutledgeFalmer – includes some key articles in the field.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria and Gilborn, David (2004) (eds.) The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Multicultural Education, London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Francis, Becky and Skelton, Christine (2002) (eds.) Investigating Gender: Contemporary Perspectives in Education, Open University Press – very useful for the second half of the unit.
Arnot, Madeleine and Mac An Ghaill, Mairtin (2006) (eds.) The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Gender and Education, RoutledgeFalmer - particularly useful for the second half of the unit.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Assessment written exam | 2 |
| Lectures | 20 |
| Seminars | 10 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 168 |