Early Years Education and Care

Entry requirements

The course is designed for professionals already working or volunteering within the education or childcare sector.

Entry can be via

• an initial degree by an approved degree awarding body;
• a non-graduate qualification which is deemed to be of a satisfactory standard for the purpose of post-graduate study.

Non-graduates may also be admitted to the degree provided that they have gained a minimum of three years professional experience relevant to the course and they can demonstrate a satisfactory level of writing / analytical skills.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This postgraduate qualification is designed for those who want to develop their understanding and knowledge of early years education and care. It provides ideal training and staff development pertinent to those working with young children and their families in a range of settings and situations.

The degree is delivered so that students can integrate work commitments and study. The course combines face-to-face delivery at the University with independent study by the student from home. Lectures/ workshops are delivered as twilight/ evening sessions or on the weekend.

The course also uses blended learning where students use online resources provided by the tutors to complement and extend classroom learning.

The MA Early Years Education and Care programme takes a critical and analytic overview of children’s early learning and care and sets this in the context of social learning and societal influences. Students will be encouraged to take a critical approach to research, theories and beliefs about children’s learning. The crucial role of adults in that learning process, as policy makers and pedagogues, will be deconstructed and debated. The course focuses on the remarkable skills of young children as powerful and competent learners; studying what they learn, how they learn, why they learn.

The programme has themes and principles which run throughout and which are linked to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:

• The well-being of the child
• The role of the reflective and self-critical adult in children’s early learning and well-being
• The core values that underpin all adult relationships with children: inclusion, anti-oppressive practice, respect for the child.

These are threads that run through the programme, allowing students to appreciate the critical relationship between the integrative approach to children’s learning and good practice in early years settings.

Qualification and course duration

MA