ObjectivesThe course aims to meet the professional requirements of people working in early years settings. It will provide an opportunity for experienced professionals to gain higher level knowledge and skills in relation to early years work. The course is based on a practitioner research model which is combined with a model of workplace learning to enable students to develop critical/evaluative skills and apply these to early years’ problems, issues and questions. The course is taught by a skilled multi-disciplinary team and is delivered at the Pen Green Research, Development and Training Base, linked to the Pen Green Children’s Centre, a Government recognised Centre of Excellence for Childhood Provision.
Entry requirementsEntry requirements Applicants must be early childhood workers with appropriate qualifications and experiences. Normally a good second class honours degree/professional qualification in Teaching or Social Work. However, alternative qualifications and experiences will be considered. In some cases applicants with alternative qualifications may be asked to submit written work (3-5000 words) in order to establish readiness for masters level work.
Academic titleMA Integrated Provision for Children and Families
Course descriptionCourse modules
All modules are mandatory.
-Early Childhood curriculum
-Practitioner action research
-Pedagogy
-Early Years leadership and management
-Working with parents
-Ethics and social policy for integrated services
Teaching and assessment methods
Teaching is by a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops. A feature of the course is that it is delivered in a series of residential blocks which are combined with workplace learning. There are three five day, one three day and one two day blocks of this kind spread out across the three years of the programme.