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Curriculum, Learning and Society (803X3)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

The aim of this module is to study how the curriculum, learning and society interrelate in low- and middle-income countries. It will engage with the major issues, concepts, and theories relating to curriculum development, pedagogy and social inclusion in education. These will be related to policy and practice. It will address questions such as:

• What are the patterns of curriculum worldwide and how is curriculum reform being accomplished in different settings?
• To what extent are equity and social justice enacted through the curriculum and how might this be furthered?
• What are the processes of curriculum development and what power do teachers and other stakeholders have in deciding what knowledge is included? 
• What do different definitions of educational quality say about what is valued in education? 
• What pedagogies are espoused and practiced in low- and middle-income countries and how appropriate are these for different kinds of learners? 
• What are the pedagogical and social effects of different systems and practices of assessment?
• How are instructional materials incorporated in educational practice at national and local level? 
• How does the curriculum relate to local and global cultures and teacher and learner identities? 

The module will engage with these questions at various levels, including especially a study of how macro issues are played out in the micro/meso contexts of classrooms and other educational institutions.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 267 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.