Childhood and Society

Are you ready to take the next step towards making a positive impact on children’s lives? Our unique BA (Hons) Childhood and Society degree will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to support your aspirations. Focusing on childhood from conception to 14 years, this degree is for those planning a rewarding future in a diverse range of areas including education, social care and health care.

You’ll gain a broad view of childhood; child development and how different societies consider childhood. In addition to studying the core childhood themes, you’ll focus on modules related to society.

Give real-life context to your studies and become even more attractive to future employers with our enhanced placement opportunities. You’ll be well prepared for the world of work with our extensive network of 600 partnerships in a wide range of settings. There’s even the opportunity to take your placement overseas.

This course is delivered through the Nottingham Institute of Education.

Why study Childhood and Society at NTU?

• You will have the opportunity to undertake placement and work-like experiences through over 600 partnerships with local schools, colleges and organisations.

• Take your placement overseas with optional opportunities from teaching in Sri Lanka, to working with young children in a Ghanian orphanages.

• Study an interdisciplinary course ideal for students from a range of different backgrounds looking to pursue a career in a range of sectors.

• Receive a guaranteed interview for a PGCE Primary teacher training course at NTU on completing your undergraduate degree (terms and conditions apply).

What you’ll study

This course will allow you to develop a solid understanding of childhood in the contexts of families, peers and society at both a national and international level. As you develop and broaden your understanding of childhood, you will undertake research enquiries and placement opportunities, enabling you to reflect critically on perspectives of childhood.

The broad range of modules available within this course gives opportunities for you to develop both personally as a learner and professionally by incorporating the world of work and global perspectives into your studies. Key transferable skills are embedded in the modules and are reinforced whilst working alongside experienced practitioners.

Placement

You will have the opportunity to undertake a placement in Year One and Year Two. Placements can be in a wide range of educational settings, locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally. Placement options include working with disadvantaged children at a local authority provision; educational and support provision in a hospital context; supporting the provision of activities for children / young people with a range of disabilities and additional needs at a local charity or experiencing an outdoor Kindergarten in Denmark.

Putting your studies into practice helps you to understand your subject and its application in real-life. Placement opportunities support you both professionally and personally by ensuring you develop the key skills that will make you more employable at the end of your studies.

Year One: Academic Focus (20 credit points); Environments for Learning (40 credit points); Understanding Children’s Holistic Development (20 credit points); Contemporary Childhoods (20 credit points); Children and Society (20 credit points).

Year Two: Supportive Environments for Children and Communities (20 credit points); Researching Contemporary Childhoods (20 credit points); Social Constructions of Childhood (20 credit points); Global Childhoods (20 credit points); Societal Dimensions of Childhood - Part One (20 credit points); Societal Dimensions of Childhood - Part Two (20 credit points).

Year Three: Research Dissertation (40 credit points); Leaderful Practice (20 credit points); Sustainable Childhoods (20 credit points);
Digital Childhoods (20 credit points); Policy for Children and Families (20 credit points).

There are no formal exams during this course; we use a variety of assessment types to allow you to demonstrate your strengths across a number of skill sets.