Unit information: Education, Inequality and Social Justice in 2022/23

Unit name	Education, Inequality and Social Justice
Unit code	EDUCM0022
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Walker
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one
School/department	School of Education
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

The unit will explore the role of education in perpetuating and overcoming inequality and in promoting social justice. Topics covered will include the nature of and interaction between different kinds of inequalities in the global era including those based on social class, ethnicity and gender; theoretical perspectives on the relationship between education, inequality and social justice; evidence for the role of education in reproducing and overcoming inequalities; and, practical strategies that can be used by policy makers, leaders and practitioners for overcoming inequalities. The unit will draw on evidence and on case studies from the UK and from around the world including Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas and from a range of organisational settings. Participants will be encouraged to apply insights gained to their own contexts. The aim of the unit is to develop critical understanding of educations role in reproducing and overcoming inequality and in promoting social justice in the UK and internationally.

The unit aims to:

• develop critical understanding of education’s role in reproducing and overcoming inequalities in education including those based on social class, gender and ethnicity and in promoting social justice in the UK and internationally;
• introduce relevant theoretical perspectives for understanding inequality and social justice;
• apply these to a range of contemporary issues facing disadvantaged groups; and
• draw out implications for policy and practice.

Your learning on this unit

By the end of the unit students will demonstrate:

• a conceptual understanding of different kinds of inequalities including those based on social class, ethnicity and gender, of the relationship between them;
• an awareness of the impact of globalisation and of the historical, economic, political, social and cultural context on shaping inequalities in the UK and selected other regions and countries;
• an understanding of social justice and other theoretical approaches towards understanding the relationship between education and inequality as a foundation on which to build further understanding;
• awareness of different kinds of evidence that can be used to evaluate the role of education in perpetuating and overcoming inequalities based on social class, ethnicity and gender;
• ability to independently source, manage and engage critically with a range of texts related to initiatives and practical strategies that have been used by policy makers, educational leaders and managers, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and classroom practitioners to overcome inequalities in education;
• ability to build and clearly articulate orally and in a written assignment a critical analysis of education inequality and social justice in a specific context; and
• ability to coherently and convincingly propose strategies for promoting social justice and reducing inequalities in education in a specific context.

How you will learn

This unit will be taught using a blended approach consisting of a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous activities including seminars, lectures, reading and discussions.

How you will be assessed

The Summative assessment for the unit will be on the basis of a 4,000 word assignment in which students will be required to develop the case studies used in their class presentations. This will demand that students apply key concepts and theoretical approaches to cases related (wherever possible) to their own practice with a view to developing clearer understanding of equality issues.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EDUCM0022).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.