EDUC30050

Education is one of the most significant and effective lenses through which we examine how society operates. How an individual society operates, assesses and shapes the way it educates its people is a powerful reflection of its own values and mores. This is particularly the case for marginalized groups, whose othered status is often reinforced and reproduced, wittingly or unwittingly, by seemingly unchanging and inflexible systems of education.
This module draws upon the discipline of sociology of education and examines the key ideas, movements and forces that have shaped education systems today, both nationally and internationally. Underpinned by principles/concepts of equality and social justice, this module will employ sociological perspectives to interrogate key concepts, ideas, values and discourses which continue to influence contemporary education. Grounded in the practice of teaching, the module includes: the role and function of the education system; access and experience of the system mediated by social class, gender, sexuality and ethnicity; power and control, inclusion and exclusion. It will question the concept of educational “success” and, by challenging taken-for-granted truths about the function of education, will challenge students to posit alternative perspectives to meet the needs of a modern, pro-active society.