Newman University College, BA (Hons), Education Studies with Local History and Heritage

Education studies Modules cover themes including: self, schooling and society; learning processes; the politics of education; educational research; education and the new technologies; schools and learning organisations; education equality and identity; contemporary developments in learning theory. Year 1: Modules may include: Introduction to education studies; classrooms and learning environments; teachers, teaching and pedagogy; interpersonal approaches in education; individual development in an educational context. Year 2: modules may include: the politics of education; learning processes; education, imagination and creativity; knowledge and ideology of education; education, equality and identity; research in education; individual differences. Year 3: modules may include: educational systems and social change; educational and the new technologies; education: contested values and praxis; learning theory: historical and contemporary perspectives; safeguarding children; critical theory and education; research dissertation. Local history and heritage Year 1: in the 1st year the student learns how to research the history of the local area and then use the skills they’ve developed to discover an aspect of the early industrial history of Birmingham and present their findings. Year 2: in the 2nd year, the student develops their local knowledge by studying the history of the West Midlands and investigating a community of their choice; the student also participates in a residential fieldwork course, in which they uncover the complex history of some of the most important structures in England: the cathedrals; the work placement in the 2nd year gives the student an opportunity to experience some of the jobs to which this degree can lead, such as in museums, media or tourism. Year 3: in the final year the student is introduced to the concept of oral history and asked to carry out an interview with a member of their community, as well as exploring the contested nature of history and how it is presented to a popular audience through museums, websites, television and school curricula; the student studies competing histories and the quest for truth in historical documents; through this work the student develops analytical and critical thinking skills including identification and evaluation of source material, understanding of context, viewpoint, and the issue of interpretation of evidence; the student explores the way in which history is kept alive through memory and stories.