| Unit name | Philosophy of Education |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL30145 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Pettigrew |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will introduce students to philosophical questions about education and the philosophical, political, and sociological literature that discusses them; and it will allow students to reflect on their own experience of education and consider what they value in it, what they want from it, the role it plays in their lives and in the society in which they live. The unit will cover the epistemological, political, and ethical issues raised by education. What is the purpose of education in its primary, secondary, tertiary, and lifelong learning forms? What role does education play in society and what educational systems best play that role? How should we set curricula and who should be involved in these decisions? How does education fit into socialist, liberal, conservative, and libertarian conceptions of the state? Students will be introduced to classic works by John Dewey, Martha Nussbaum, bell hooks, Paulo Freire, and others, as well as engaging in the recent literature.
The unit fits with a number of strands from the university’s strategy, specifically personal development (students will reflect on their own educational experiences) and global civic engagement (since we will be looking at and learning from educational systems and issues around the globe).
Compulsory units Y1 Intro A, Intro B, Readings in Value Theory, and Knowledge and Reality constitute a solid foundation for all Philosophy students (both SH and JH) who want to take the Philosophy of Education unit, providing the background in epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy that this unit will build upon. The unit also complements content that is covered in the Political Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, and What is Democracy? units.
An overview of the content of the unit
The unit will begin by looking at historical, anthropological, and sociological aspects of education, asking what forms education takes at different times in history and in different places in the world. We seek to defamiliarize the education systems with which we are most familiar, seeing how they were shaped by historical processes and how they might be different. Then we will begin to ask about the roles that education might play for the individual and for society as a whole, and we will consider arguments in favour and against different roles. Then we will ask which education systems and processes by which to establish these systems might best play these roles. And we will conclude by considering the ethical and political issues that arise for these different systems and processes.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will learn historical and sociological facts about education systems; they will become familiar with philosophical and political arguments concerning those systems; and these will allow them to reflect on their own experience of education, what they value in it and what they want from it, and how it fits into other aspects of their ethical and political viewpoints.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Students will learn via 2-hour lectures and 1-hour seminars. Topics of this unit are likely to generate interesting discussions. For this reason, seminars will lean towards maximising discussion and debate. E.g. the second hour of lectures will typically include small group discussion and feedback to the lecture group prompted by questions on the topic covered.
The formative assessment is designed to engage student with the literature covered in the first part of the unit and prepare them for the summative assessment in the second half. The summative assessment is chosen to encourage students to think collaboratively about how best to design a policy proposal. This will require them to engage with the reading, think deeply about the arguments presented there, and present their proposal in the most persuasive way possible.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Two Journals. 250 words each (20%) [ILOs 1-3]
Group Presentation (80%) [ILOs 1-5]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
The re-assessment of the journals will be the same format: two 250-word journal entries. The re-assessment of the Group Presentation will be a solo presentation to the unit director covering a portion of the material that would be covered in the group presentation.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHIL30145).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
