This module provides a comprehensive understanding of human growth and development throughout the lifespan. You'll explore key theories and research, examining the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence development. By the end of this module, you'll have the skills and knowledge needed to create effective learning environments and support the diverse developmental needs of your students. This module aims to equip you with a deep understanding of human development, enabling you to support the diverse needs of learners across the lifespan.
In this module, you'll develop an essential understanding of the concept of safeguarding and wellbeing, which is crucial for working with children. You'll gain an appreciation of the contemporary factors and challenges involved in safeguarding children, including considerations such as children’s rights and multi-agency working to support both families, children and young people. The module will enable you to develop a rigorous understanding of the UK legislation and government policy guiding safeguarding provision and practices relevant to your role as a practitioner. Additionally, you will provide evidence of your engagement with supplementary training specific to UK safeguarding standards. This training will give you practical insights into current safeguarding protocols, ensuring that you can apply these standards to protect and support children effectively within professional settings.
In this module, you'll explore some of the key issues, perspectives, and debates within the discipline of educational studies. You'll begin by reflecting on aspects of your own past educational experiences. You will then be introduced to research processes, including both qualitative and quantitative research, as well as a variety of research methods used by researchers. You'll learn the basic principles of research design and be encouraged to consider ways in which research is applied in practice. You'll evaluate the strengths and limitations of different research methods, including the importance of ethical procedures. Throughout the module, you'll participate in activities and discussions to develop your understanding of the research process.
This module introduces you to the fundamental theories and practices of building relationships within educational settings. You'll explore key concepts and strategies for developing positive and effective relationships with students, colleagues, and the wider school community. Through theoretical analysis and practical application, this module aims to equip you with the skills necessary to foster a supportive and collaborative educational environment. This module is designed to provide you with a comprehensive foundation in building relationships, preparing you to create positive and effective educational environments.
In this module you will survey the history of English Literature between William Blake and the present day. Mainly using Volume 2 of The Norton Anthology of English Literature you will study period, genre and form through a range of texts including: the novel; the short story; the essay and manifesto; poetry; drama; letters and graphic art. Each week, you will attend a lecture which will introduce you to key issues from the text and period, followed by week a three-hour seminar. The first two hours of the seminar will be spent on close reading and discussion. These activities will allow you to develop your analytical skills as well as your abilities in communicating the research and analysis that you will apply to the literatures under discussion. Working with other students in class you will develop your social capital and critical skills in whole and small group discussions. You will develop your sense of identity as a critical and adaptable thinker, problem-solver, researcher and creative agent as you apply theoretical material to the primary literatures under discussion. You will also realise the broader social and cultural capital of the course as you engage with key ideas and concepts related to, but also transcending, the literatures under discussion.
On this module you will identify, examine, and develop the key skills of the historian: critical reading; stylish, persuasive, and accessible writing, and a keen understanding of archives, sources, and historical interpretation. You will analyse the modes of communication by which history is transmitted - from documentaries and books to feature films and newspapers - and develop a critical appreciation of how history is discussed across different forms of media and in different areas of public life. Finally, you will apply those skills and critical understanding to a group project in collaboration with a local museum or archive. This module offers the chance to get into the archives and make use of the fantastic collections available to historians in the Cambridge. Your assessments will involve the application of historical literacies to readings and sources, individual blog posts based on source analyses, and a group live brief. You will thus develop the ability to work both individually and as part of a group in understanding the past. More importantly you will develop your identity as a historian, an identity you will take with you into the wider world on finishing your degree. This is not just a description of somebody who writes and researches history for a living, but a way of thinking critically about the past and present.
View the full module definitionThe purpose of this module is to provide you with a grounding in the development and practice of environmental sustainability education (ESE) in different educational settings, in the UK and elsewhere, to set out some common and effective pedagogical approaches and models to achieve this, and to critically analyse the evidence for their effectiveness in different settings. The module will be divided into two themes. In theme 1, you'll begin by exploring the history of ESE in the UK, including how this has been affected by the international and national policy landscape. Beginning from the idea of nature connection as an early form of ESE, you'll look back at how children have connected to nature in the recent past, and then consider how this has changed and what policies have affected the shifts. This will lead us to talk about the work of the United Nations and UNESCO, and the Sustainable Development Goals, and how these are enacted in a range of settings. We will focus on one country in the UK, and one other European country, so that we can develop an understanding of the importance of context for the teaching and learning about the environment and sustainability. Building on the contexts introduced in theme 1, in theme 2 you'll learn about different pedagogical models that have been developed for teaching ESE, and the research that underpins these. Approaches will include education for/in/through/as the environment, the 4 Cs model, outdoor learning and forest schools, action competence, place-based learning, solutions-driven teaching, and ESD. You'll look at a range of settings where these approaches can take place, including outdoor learning centres such as city farms and wildlife trusts, botanic gardens, schools, museums, colleges and further education settings, higher education, community-based environmental regeneration projects, and more. You'll link these settings to national contexts, and consider how to match particular pedagogical approaches to specific settings. We'll invite guests to come and talk to us about their environmental educational work in two of these different settings, local to Cambridge.
This module explores the multifaceted concept of disability within contemporary society, with a particular focus on educational contexts. You'll examine the social, cultural, and political dimensions of disability, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the key issues and debates surrounding disability. The module encourages you to critically reflect on the ways in which society constructs and responds to disability, fostering an inclusive perspective that values diversity and promotes equality. This module aims to equip you with the knowledge and skills to critically engage with issues of disability in society, with a special focus on educational contexts, fostering a more inclusive and equitable perspective.
In this module, you'll be introduced to the fundamental concepts of leadership and organisational theory within educational settings. You'll explore various leadership styles, organisational structures, and cultural dynamics that influence the effectiveness of educational institutions. Through theoretical analysis and practical application, you'll gain the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and shape leadership cultures in education. This module is designed to provide you with a comprehensive foundation in leadership and organisational theory, preparing you for further study and professional practice in educational leadership.
In this module, you'll explore the dynamic relationship between identity, social justice, and education in both national and international contexts. Over the two themes, you'll delve into how identity shapes educational experiences, influences attainment, and intersects with concepts of social justice and equality. In Theme 1, you'll focus on identity in education within the UK context. Through examining historical, sociological, and philosophical perspectives, you’ll gain insights into how factors such as gender, race, class, and culture impact educational experiences and outcomes. You’ll reflect on your own educational identity and critically engage with concepts of social justice, including equality, equity, culture and citizenship, understanding how they shape—and are shaped by—the education system. This trimester lays the groundwork for assessing how UK policies and social structures influence identity formation and educational equity. Theories which will be focused on include Freire’s critical pedagogy, Bourdieu’s cultural capital and social reproduction, critical race theory and Crenshaw’s intersectionality and social identity theory. The focus then shifts towards attainment, assessment, and effective teaching practices on a global scale. You'll analyse assessment and attainment data to uncover trends in educational equity, exploring how these practices impact students' identities and opportunities in education. Through case studies and comparative analysis, you’ll examine teaching practices from high-performing systems worldwide, understanding how diverse approaches to pedagogy align with social justice principles. The trimester culminates with a return to identity and social justice, now viewed through a global lens, as you consider what globalisation means and how education can support social justice and equality internationally. Theories you will focus on include globalisation theory, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, human capital theory, capabilities approach and postcolonial theory.
Ruskin Modules are designed to prepare our students for a complex, challenging and changing future. These interdisciplinary modules provide the opportunity to further broaden your perspectives, develop your intellectual flexibility and creativity. You will work with others from different disciplines to enable you to reflect critically on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns. You will be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines to apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, seek and maximise opportunities to realise your potential to give you a distinctive edge and enhance your success in the workplace.
Building on the foundational knowledge from Lifelong Growth: Understanding Human Development, this module delves into the key learning theories that are essential for understanding learning in educational settings. You'll explore various theoretical perspectives on how learning occurs, examine the practical applications of these theories, and develop strategies to enhance teaching and learning. The module aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of learning and the factors that influence it. This module aims to equip you with a deep understanding of learning theories, enabling you to apply this knowledge to enhance teaching and learning practices.
This module builds on your Level 4 Research Foundations module. It offers you the opportunity to prepare and develop a proposal for your Level 6 Undergraduate Major Project. You'll combine selecting literature with the development of your proposal and outline literature review to further develop your knowledge and expertise within an educational topic. The intention is also to enable you to develop the skills you will need for your dissertation in your final year of study. You'll be required to identify a topic for a specialist focus. Examples of topics you could consider include: a specialist subject focus such as maths or literacy, or an area of focus such as SEND, assessment and using data, or behaviour. If you are on one of our specialist pathway courses, your research proposal should consider this topic. The module will support you in developing literature-search strategies (including the use of research databases) and further developing your academic reading and writing strategies. Lectures, library support, seminars, and workshops will be used to support your learning.
In this module, we will look at different types of texts, also known as genres, and discuss their underlying structures. We'll discuss key technical concepts which enable you to explore how different text-types work, and how they are a response to their potential or imagined users. You'll look at how language is used to convey not only overt but also hidden meanings, and how such hidden meanings can be systematically analysed. In doing so, you'll learn to use a variety of traditional approaches as well as modern computational technologies. The latter will enable you to analyse larger amounts of texts with much rapid speed.
View the full module definitionThis module will introduce you to practical and theoretical aspects of the study of intercultural communication. It offers insights into interpersonal communication in a culturally diverse world and will explore how to effectively build bridges between cultures. This module will benefit your social, academic and professional life where you are likely to meet people from diverse backgrounds. You will build on your own cultural and linguistic knowledge, sense of identity and communication skills. You will examine your own culture and gain insights into the way in which cultural assumptions affect judgements of the behaviour and communication codes of other cultures. The key theoretical, analytical and descriptive terms will be introduced in weekly lectures, you will then be given the opportunity to explore these topics in seminars. These seminars will encourage to reflect on your own experiences.
View the full module definitionIn this module you'll explore the development of Victorian Britain. You'll examine changes in politics and social structure, focusing in particular on the development of the party political system as well as class, gender, sexuality and the economy. Key political and social figures such as Robert Peel, Florence Nightingale, Queen Victoria and William Gladstone will be examined. There is an emphasis on the emergence of liberalism and on Victorian Britain as a liberal society. You'll develop communication and teamwork skills during seminars, which will enhance your employability. You'll also deepen your analytical skills by focusing on more complex arguments than at Level 4 and strengthen your ability for autonomous learning and problem solving, in preparation for Level 6.
View the full module definitionCrime has been a problem for authorities since the dawn of time; however, what constituted a ‘crime’ and how people thought that criminals should be prosecuted has been everchanging. In this interdisciplinary module, you'll consider the history of crime, policing and punishment from the 1600s to present day. Through a range of primary and secondary sources, you'll explore how ideas of crime and attitudes to offences such as murder, rioting and drug use has changed and evolved throughout the centuries. You'll learn about how past societies detected and tried to prevent crime, as well as punished criminals such as through imprisonment, hanging, whipping and transportation. Case studies including Jack the Ripper, the Bloody Code and knife crime of the modern era will be brought in from week to week so that we can explore continuities and changes in crime across history to the present day.
View the full module definitionThe purpose of this module is to deepen your thinking about and understanding of Environmental Sustainability Education (ESE) by providing you with an opportunity to appreciate the role of place and the outdoors in ESE. Building on the model introduced in Level 4 on Education for/in/about/as the environment, you'll begin the module by exploring theory on outdoor learning, place responsive pedagogy, and critical and material pedagogies of place through literature about these approaches. You'll revisit some of the settings you were introduced to in the ESS Level 4 module to reconsider these experiences through the lens of place responsive pedagogy. You'll also learn how the arts can be used as a record of learning in and about place. Then you'll go into a range of different outdoor settings to experience outdoor learning and place responsive pedagogy, engaging with a range of experts such as educators in botanic gardens, forest school educators, wildlife trust educators, and others that work in Education in outdoor settings. Through walking the city, and local wilder spaces such as Co Fen, and the River Cam, you'll consider your connections to place and how identity emerges in and through place, and what all this means for wellbeing. You'll consider what role education does and can play in mediating some of the effects of place connections and disconnections, on identity and wellbeing. Our explorations of Cambridge will centre around water and how it has shaped the landscape in and around Cambridge, and how access to water has changed over time, and how it might change in the future. We'll consider how the need for water has in turn shaped the local landscape. By understanding what water means and how it matters in Cambridge in the context of a changing environment, you'll learn about history, geography, science, the arts, and yourself. Through reflecting on your own learning, you'll come to understand how the places we inhabit are key sites for learning, and you'll consider what this means for educators and education policy and practice, particularly in relation to curriculum. The module will include an opportunity to participate in some volunteering activity with a local environmental charity focused on water. We'll think about what we can learn from volunteering, and we'll also think about the links between volunteering and wellbeing, including through participating in some volunteering activities. As part of the assessment for this module, you'll produce a creative diary with regular entries across the two terms, that uses the arts to demonstrate learning across the module. At the end of the module, you'll critically analyse your diary entries using the theories we have introduced in the module to demonstrate how places can be sites of learning, and the basis from which to develop curriculum for learning in different settings. To demonstrate your understanding of this, you'll be given a prompt arising from the activities across the year, and you'll be asked to use the prompt to design an educational encounter using the affordances of place to meet goals of the prompt.
Building on the foundational knowledge from Redefining Ability: Perspectives on Disability in Modern Society, this module delves into global perspectives on inclusive practices in educational settings. You'll explore how different countries approach inclusion, examining policies, practices, and cultural attitudes towards disability and education. The module aims to provide a comparative understanding of inclusive education, highlighting best practices and challenges across various contexts. This module aims to equip you with a global perspective on inclusive education, enabling you to critically engage with diverse practices and apply this knowledge to enhance inclusion in your own future educational settings.
Building on the foundational knowledge gained in the module Leadership Cultures and Organizational Theory, this Level 5 module delves deeper into the practical aspects of developing staff and leading teams within educational settings. You'll explore advanced strategies for fostering professional growth, enhancing team collaboration, and creating a supportive learning community. This module aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to build and sustain effective teams that contribute to a positive and productive educational environment. This module is designed to provide you with advanced tools and strategies for developing staff and leading teams, preparing you to build and sustain effective learning communities in educational settings.
The individual Major Project module allows you to engage in a substantial piece of individual research and/or product development work, focused on a topic relevant to your specific discipline. The topic may be drawn from a variety of sources including: Anglia Ruskin research groups, previous/current work experience, the company in which they are currently employed, an Anglia Ruskin lecturer suggested topic or a professional subject of your specific interest (if suitable supervision is available). The project topic will be assessed for suitability to ensure sufficient academic challenge and satisfactory supervision by an academic member of staff. The chosen topic will require the student to identify/formulate problems and issues, conduct literature reviews, evaluate information, investigate and adopt suitable development, determine solutions, develop hardware, software and/or media artefacts as appropriate, process data, critically appraise and present your finding using a variety of media.
Develop your theoretical understanding of a range of potential barriers to learning, which may arise for pupils in their educational contexts. This module consists of two themes: Understanding Neurodiversity and Inclusive Educational Practices. In Understanding Neurodiversity, you'll explore the diverse spectrum of neurodivergent conditions, delving into the neuroscience behind how different brains process information and learn, to better understand and support neurodivergent students. Inclusive Educational Practices will help you discover strategies for creating inclusive classrooms that cater to all learners, focusing on differentiated instruction, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and practical approaches to support neurodivergent students effectively. This module will develop your knowledge and understanding of the complex issue of ensuring that each child is supported in their education. Your previous and current learning will inform your practice and help you develop approaches to addressing barriers to learning and personalising provision. Assignments for this module will enable you to develop both your academic and practical skills for the inclusive multi-agency professional context.
In this module you’ll explore how education is evolving in response to new technologies and international policy trends. You'll gain hands-on experience with AI tools and digital platforms, examining how these can be ethically and effectively used in diverse educational settings, from primary to higher education. Through discussions and case studies, you'll critically analyse global policies from influential non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), understanding how they shape digital literacy, inclusivity, and sustainability in education. By the end of the module, you’ll have been further introduced to key theories including connectivism, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and critical theory of technology, as you are equipped with the skills and insights needed to navigate and lead in the future-focused educational landscape.
This module will provide you with an experiential learning opportunity by planning and delivering an event linked to business and enterprise in an educational arena. In doing so, you'll broaden your skills in three key areas of education enterprise: developing a plan, applying for funding and critically reflecting on practice. You'll also develop valuable transferable skills by planning and delivering an event as a group activity. This module has been designed to develop knowledge relevant to a wide range of careers in the education field. It has been designed to support you to develop transferable skills. Importantly, the curriculum has been designed to support the holistic learning of the latest academic theory and practice delivered using cutting edge pedagogies and teaching methods. This module will be assessed via a number of written documents (including minutes of meetings, weekly reflections, event strategy plan, funding bid) as well as the completion of project management short courses and will culminate in a viva. This mode of assessment has been chosen as it develops a range of skills that are relevant to future careers in education. You'll be given feedback on your assessment(s), as part of our commitment to support your learning, and it is important you are able to use this feedback to support your academic development.
In this module, you'll take as a starting point the need to be critical about literature written for young audiences, including early years and YA fiction. You'll read children’s literature primarily as literature, instead of as a contributing factor towards childhood development. Children’s books have been controversial since their inception. Your special focus on this module will be to investigate a historical sweep of controversial books, including banned ones, and the reasons behind their censorship. We'll explore primary texts from the ‘Golden Age’ of children’s literature in the nineteenth- and early-twentieth centuries and form more contemporary works. You'll engage with changing historical constructs of childhood and the generic fluidity of children’s and fantasy literature.
View the full module definitionIn this module you'll look at a range of texts written in the last 10 years, examining formal and thematic issues and the relationships between them. You'll consider narrative experimentation and the recycling of old stories and forms; the representation of and return to history; posthumanism and the limits of the human; globalisation and technology. The module will invite you to consider the power and role of literature in contemporary society and the impact of literary prize culture on publishing and publicity. It will encourage you to reflect upon literary developments that have led to 21st-century writing and thus the texts’ relationship to those studied on other modules on the degree. Since there is inevitably an absence of established critical texts on the contemporary works studied, you'll consider alternative sources of critical opinion (academic journals, the internet, broadsheet and broadcast journalism), existing relevant theoretical material and the ways in which new novels demand and shape new criticism. Each seminar will begin with one or more student presentations incorporating close reading, a thematic focus and critical issue. The presentations will be followed by close reading and discussion of related texts in the seminar group. These activities will allow you to develop your analytical skills as well as your abilities in communicating the research and analysis that you will apply to the literatures under discussion. Working with other students in class you will develop your social capital and critical skills in whole and small group discussions. You will develop your sense of identity as a critical and adaptable thinker, problem-solver, researcher and creative agent as you apply theoretical material to the primary literatures under discussion.
View the full module definitionThis module‘s focus will move chronologically but also thematically from 1880 to 2000. We'll open by examining late nineteenth-century concerns with the ‘new woman’, the male homosexual, and newly defined sexualities. We'll then move on to consider first-wave feminism, and the First World War in relation to issues of gender. A subsequent focus on the interwar period will cover the emergence of the ‘flapper’, anxieties about male effeminacy, male body building and the development of miscegenation fears – all fuelled by the ever-growing popular press. The effects of gender-differentiated (un)employment in this period will be analysed as well as the development of birth control, taking the work of Marie Stopes as a central focus. We'll examine the trial of The Well of Loneliness and the slow emergence of the idea of the lesbian. We'll investigate women’s role during the Second World War, including drawing on the reportage of Mass-Observation. For the post-war years, we'll consider relations between, and reaction to, British women and African-Caribbean men. The 1950s’ Wolfenden Report offers an opening to the discussion of male homosexuality and prostitution in this period and beyond. The so-called swinging ‘60s and sexual ‘permissiveness’ will be followed by an examination of the rise of the Women’s Liberation Movement and Gay Liberation in the 1970s. We'll look, too, at how feminism developed on from the 1970s up until the turn of the century. This overview of the history of gender and sexuality in modern Britain in the period 1880-2000 will allow you to appreciate how sexuality needs to be understood as socially constructed and regulated, as well as always historically specific. The module will also enable you to appreciate the shifts in the ways in which men and women have conceived of their appropriate ‘roles’, paying attention to differences of class, race, ethnicity, geographical location, sexuality and age. Analysis of certain primary sources will enrich this understanding. The module is taught through lectures and seminars, and is assessed by an oral history essay and the report of an in-class presentation.
View the full module definitionWe live in a world dominated by media. Our first port of call when we want to know something is to Google it. Landmark books have shaped and influenced wide-ranging historical and contemporary issues such as the French Revolution, feminism and Black Lives Matter. Social media has played a central role in presidential elections, as well as been linked to a decline in people’s mental health. In this module you'll learn about the past, present and future of media and its role in society. Media is very broadly defined here to include the publishing industry, the internet, social media, TV, radio and many more. Each week, we will focus on one particular form of media and consider its history, before moving on to analyse its role in today’s society and its future. To do this, we will use a wide range of case studies relating to elections, referendums, conspiracies, celebrity culture, censorship, and many more. You'll develop a keen awareness of the importance of media from this and have a sound understanding of how the industries look today. This will put you one step ahead of many candidates on the job market as digital proficiency and understanding media is vital to many positions and businesses.
View the full module definitionThe purpose of this module is to expend your thinking about and understanding of Environmental Sustainability Education (ESE) by moving you from the local perspective in Level 5 to a more global outlook. We will achieve this by presenting you with a range of critical environmental justice perspectives that can act as an analytical lens through which to view the work of transnational organisations such as the United Nations and their SDG programmes and policies. In theme 1, under the umbrella of environmental justice, you'll consider eco-feminist and eco-centric critiques alongside theoretical concepts such as ‘slow violence’, pluriversality, new materialism, the Gaia hypothesis, and relationality. You'll critically consider the concept of the Anthropocene through these different lenses. You'll consider what role public pedagogy plays in social learning about environmental justice. The aim of studying these critical perspectives is to broaden your experience of different contexts that affect the effectiveness of environmental initiatives, and the education that accompanies them. Building on the local, place-based focus of the previous module, you'll be encouraged to take a global perspective, but you will go beyond Western-centric perspectives and ideas of the global that have underpinned the need for environmental protections and environmental education, and the policies that have been developed to achieve these. In theme 2 we will build on our creative practice in Level 5, focusing specifically on the arts and arts education. You'll take a deep dive into relational education and aesthetic education to strengthen your understanding of the range of different approaches that can be taken to education in relation to the environment, and education more generally. You'll explore their roots in indigenous worldviews through focusing on two or three case studies of Indigenous approaches to education and their foundations in relational and aesthetic experiences. You'll look at a range of works of art that seek to reveal human-nature relations, and you'll learn some techniques for analysing the purpose of specific works of arts. You'll also consider, for example, what a curriculum that has the arts as its foundation might look like, and how thinking with and through the arts might reposition humans within Earth, using work on Gaia theory to link the arts and sciences together, and to understand our position in Gaia as intrinsic and always in relation.
This module builds on the foundational knowledge from Redefining Ability: Perspectives on Disability in Modern Society and Inclusive Education Around the World: Best Practices and Innovations. It focuses on developing leadership skills necessary for promoting and implementing inclusive practices in educational settings. You'll explore theories of leadership, strategies for fostering inclusive environments, and practical skills for leading change. The module aims to equip you with the knowledge and abilities to become effective leaders in advocating for and achieving inclusive education. This module aims to equip you with the leadership skills necessary to advocate for and implement inclusive practices in educational settings, preparing you to be a change agent in promoting equity and inclusion.
This module builds on the knowledge and skills developed at Level 4 and 5, focusing on strategic leadership and the management of change within educational settings. You'll explore advanced concepts in leadership, strategic planning, and change management, with an emphasis on practical application in real-world educational contexts. This module aims to prepare you for senior leadership roles by equipping you with the tools and strategies needed to lead effectively and manage change successfully. This module is designed to provide you with advanced tools and strategies for strategic leadership and change management, preparing you for senior leadership roles in educational settings.