Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EPSM000: Educational and Professional Studies

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The principal aims of the module are to:

develop your knowledge of contemporary education policies and key pedagogical theories;
enable you to reflect critically on children’s learning and development, pedagogy and teachers’ roles and responsibilities in multi-professional contexts; and
engage with relevant government reports, policies and academic research in order to develop critical appraisal of contemporary social trends and issues in theory and practice

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. identify and critically evaluate educational theories and issues, and engage in critical debate about current educational issues, drawing on evidence from theory, policy, research and practice; 2. understand theories of pedagogy, learning and development and consider how these can inform professional practice; 3. demonstrate confident academic and pedagogic subject knowledge to teach in the early childhood and primary phase of education; 4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage, including assessment frameworks;
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. critically evaluate the relationship between educational theories and practice; 6. produce a critical synthesis of relevant literature to develop an argument; 7. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing; 8. use research findings and data in support of an argument (including government reports);
Personal and Key Skills	9. demonstrate competence in self-management: the management of time, tasks and evaluation of your professional learning; 10. demonstrate competence in learning independently and cooperatively; 11. demonstrate competence in communication and presentation including the capability to express ideas coherently in written tasks, participate in group tasks by expressing ideas and personal judgement, and argue rationally using relevant sources to substantiate opinions and arguments; 12. demonstrate competence in using IT - search electronic databases in the library, use ELE, email, word processing, use the internet for resources and information; 13. work productively in different kinds of teams (formal, informal, project based); 14. identify and reflect on the main features of practice-based problems and develop strategies for their resolution; and 15. interpret and use data effectively.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

All lectures are normally underpinned by the Ten Key Principles of Effective Pedagogy from the TLRP (Teaching and Learning Research Programme). The lead lectures include:

National policy frameworks;
Theories of children’s learning and development;
Pedagogy – choices in theory and practice;
preparing to teach learners from a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Background;
Creativity in Primary Education;
Child Development;
The importance of informal learning to children’s educational development;
Addressing Gender and Social Class Inequalities in Primary Schools;
Provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND);
English as an Additional Language (EAL);

There are additional lectures which address other generic aspects of professional development, e.g.:

Child protection and Safeguarding;
The Exeter Model of Education;
Behaviour Management etc.
Seminar days and workshop activities and other events will provide additional learning opportunities e.g. Employability, NQT year etc.

Further extension will be provided through the Professional Studies element of school-based work

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
32	268	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	9	9 x 1 hour Lead lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	9	9 x 1hr seminars to discuss and explore in more detail the issues raised in the lead lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	8	8 x 1 hour additional lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	6	3 x 2 hour seminar day lectures and seminars
Guided independent study	60	reading for seminars
Guided independent study	80	preparation and writing of formative and summative assignments
Guided independent study	50	school placement framework tasks
Guided independent study	78	school placement planning and evaluations

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Basic reading:

Alexander, R. (ed) (2010) Children, their World, their Education: Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. London: Routledge.
Arthur, J. & Cremin, T. (2014) Learning to Teach in the Primary School (Third Edition). London: Routledge.
Bates, J. (2011) Education Policy, Practice and the Professional. London: Continuum
Cox, S. (2011) New Perspectives in Primary Education: Meaning and Purpose in Learning and Teaching. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Hansen, A. (ed) (2015) Primary Professional Studies (Third Edition). Exeter: Learning Matters.