| Unit name | Development Perspectives on Education Quality |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EDUCM5211 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Dr. Mbogo Barrett |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Education |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Internationally, governments and development agencies have committed to ensuring every child completes a primary education. Meanwhile in many low and middle income countries are seeing expansion in higher levels. This is because of education’s contribution to economic and human development. The unit will explore four internationally influential perspectives on the relationship between education and development - Human Capital Theory, Human Rights, social justice - particularly the capabilities approach - and postcolonial and indigenous knowledge perspectives. Within all perspectives, the power of education to contribute towards development and social justice depends on quality. Specific initiatives to improve education quality will be considered with special attention given to the needs of disadvantaged groups. Themes explored will include inclusion of marginalised groups, relevance of curricula and pedagogies, public private partnerships and education for sustainable development. All levels of education from early years to vocational and higher education will be covered.
The unit aims to:
By the end of the unit, students will be able to:
The course will be delivered through a combination of teaching strategies, which may include whole group lecturers, visiting speakers, case studies, group discussion, student presentations and critical analysis of key readings. Ten sessions will be spread over the whole term. It is anticipated that a significant proportion of the students will be international students from low income countries with many years professional experience. The teaching sessions will be spread over the whole term to allow students time to engage with key texts between sessions and prepare student-led activities. Most sessions will include an activity that allows students to relate new knowledge to previous experience.
The needs of a wide range of students, including those with disabilities and international students have been considered. It is not anticipated that the teaching and assessment methods used will cause disadvantage to any person taking the unit. The Graduate School of Education is happy to address individual support requests as necessary.
Summative assessment for the unit will be on the basis of a 4,000 word assignment excluding abstract (if you chose to write one) and references. The assignment topic should be chosen from the following list of options.
The assignments should demonstrate your critical understanding of how theoretical perspectives on development influence how understandings of education quality. Marking criteria are given in the M level Student Handbook. A list of key readings is provided for each session and this may be a good starting point for finding useful literature but you are expected to go beyond the reading list and texts relevant to your assignment individually.
Core Readings that introduce themes of unit as a whole
Tikly, L. & Barrett, A.M. (2011) Social justice, capabilities and the quality of education in low income countries, International Journal of Educational Development 31(1): 3-14.
Tikly, L. & Barrett, A.M. (Eds.) (2012) Education Quality and Social Justice in the Global South: Challenges for policy, practice and research, London: Routledge.
Robertson, S.L., Novelli, M., Dale, R., Tikly, L., Dachi, H. & Alphonce, N. (2007) Globalisation, Education and Development: Ideas, Actors and Dynamics, London, DFID. Available at: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/global-education-dev-68.pdf.
