Children, School, and Education, 7.5 credits

Main field of study

Course level

Advancement level

Course offered for

• Master´s Programme in Child Studies

Entry requirements

A bachelor’s degree in the humanities, social sciences or the behavioral sciences with a major (or its equivalent) in a field relevant to the programme, e.g. anthropology, communication studies, education, history, language studies, media studies, political science, psychology, social work and sociology
and passed 45 credits of the first year’s courses on the Master´s program in Child studies.
Documented knowledge of English equivalent to "Engelska B"/”Engelska 6”.

Intended learning outcomes

After completion of the course, the student should on an advanced level be able to:
- account for and discuss how social categories such as class, ethnicity and functional variation are relevant in relation to the organization of school and children’s everyday lives in schools.
- account for and compare the citizenship education task that schools are ascribed in different societies
- account for and discuss social and socializing processes in schools in a micro perspective
- in an academic manner, critically scrutinize the role that schools play for the socialization and citizenship education of children

Course content

The course deals with how schools contribute to socializing children and to train them as citizens. The course comprises macro and micro perspectives. With the aid of for example international and historical comparisons and insights into the everyday lives of children in schools, students will gain academic tools for critically scrutinizing the task of school to socialize children and to train them as citizens. The tools include knowledge about the diversity in how the citizenship education task of schools is framed in different political and national contexts, as well as insights into how the diverseness of school children, children’s socialization in peer groups and the social processes in the everyday activities in schools influence the outcome of that task and its outcome. 

Teaching and working methods

Lectures and related discussions take place online on an interactive learning platform. Between the lectures and the seminars the students independently acquire the course literature, complete assignments, and communicate with other students online.

The student must have access to e-mail and Internet. The course is presented in various multi-media formats. In order to guarantee a positive learning situation online, and, in order for the student to be able to actively participate in the course and communicate with fellow students and the teacher, it is therefore important that the student have access to the correct hard- and software. Information concerning the specifications of the equipment necessary for the course can be found in the study guide.

Language of instruction: English

Examination

The examinations consist of active participation in seminars and group assignments online, as well as through individual written assignments submitted online. Detailed information on the examinations can be found in the study guide.

If the LiU coordinator for students with disabilities has granted a student the right to an adapted examination for a written examination in an examination hall, the student has the right to it. If the coordinator has instead recommended for the student an adapted examination or alternative form of examination, the examiner may grant this if the examiner assesses that it is possible, based on consideration of the course objectives.

Students failing an exam covering either the entire course or part of the course twice are entitled to have a new examiner appointed for the reexamination.

Students who have passed an examination may not retake it in order to improve their grades.

Grades

Other information

Planning and implementation of a course must take its starting point in the wording of the syllabus. The course evaluation included in each course must therefore take up the question how well the course agrees with the syllabus.

The course is carried out in such a way that both men´s and women´s experience and knowledge is made visible and developed.

Department