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Module Specifications..

Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title Human Development - Power and Politics
Module Code ES126
School 76
Module Co-ordinatorSemester 1: Jane O'Kelly
Semester 2: Jane O'Kelly
Autumn: Jane O'Kelly
Module TeachersJane O'Kelly
David Gibson
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
None
120min exam
Description

In this course students are introduced to the life-course approach to human development. Although the common sense view of the human life-cycle is widely accepted in society and strongly suggests that there exists a universal and uniform set of stages through which all people pass, historically and sociologically, it has been acknowledged that these apparently natural biological stages are part of the human life-course which is social as well as biological. Stages of the life-course are influenced by cultural differences and also by the material circumstances of people’s lives in given types of society. Other social factors, such as social class, gender and ethnicity also influence the way the life-course is experienced. For example, some people due to their positioning in the class/race/ethnicity The life-course approach allows us to see how advantage and disadvantage has a cumulative effect over time. In this course we will analyse educational experiences in order to see how inequalities are socially constructed over the life-course. In doing so, we will see how disadvantage and inequality accumulate as a child transitions between the various stages of education beginning in pre-school through to further, adult and continuing education. Moreover, while both children and adults experience inequality differently, and some more than others, we will see that they, as active agents in their own lives, have the capacity to construct and reproduce inequalities. They are also presented with opportunities to challenge and transform them.

Learning Outcomes

1. Appreciate the advantages of adopting the life-course approach to human development
2. Discuss the cumulative effect of inequality and disadvantage over the life-course.
3. Document how the educational system contributes to the reproduction of class, gender and racial/ethnic inequality over time.
4. Critically assess the part that both children and adults play in reproducing inequality in society.
5. Discuss the role that the new sociology of education has played, and continues to play, in challenging and transforming inequality, particularly in the field of further, adult and continuing education.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture24Lecture time
Independent Study25reading
Assignment Completion51Preparation for and sitting examination
Independent Study25study
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Introduction to the life-course approach to human development

Contemporary issues for early childhood.

Barriers to parental involvement.

The role of the teacher.

From pre-school to primary school.

From family to peer groups.

Learning racism, classism, and sexism from childhood to adolescence

The politics of class, race/ethnicity and gender in transition

Transition from primary to secondary school.

Expectations of femininity and masculinity.

Reproducing or transforming inequality?

Processes of inclusion and exclusion within the education system.

Youth culture/Youth subculture

Contemporary issues for higher education

Credentialism and adult education

Higher education/adult education and the cumulative effect of educational constraints over the life-course

The role of the teacher/educator in facilitating transformation

The facilitation of student autonomy/critique curriculum and classroom pedagogy/culturally relevant curricula

Introduction to critical class/race/ethnicity/feminist theory/

The potential to challenge the cumulative effects of inequalities in the education system over the life-course.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Hunt, Stephen: 2005, The Life Course, Palgrave Macmillan, New York,
  • Lynch, K. and Lodge. A.: 2002, Equality and Power in Schools: Redistribution, Recognition and Representation, RouteledgeFalmer, London,
  • Lynch, K. and Lodge. A.: 2004, Diversity at School, The Equality Authority, Dublin,
  • Drudy, S. and Lynch, K.: 1993, Schools and Society in Ireland, Gill and Macmillan, Dublin,
  • Deegan, J., Devine, D. and Lodge, A.: 2004, Primary Voices: Equality, Diversity and Childhood in Irish Primary Schools, Institute of Public Administration, Dublin,
  • Arnot, M. and Mac an Ghaill (eds): 2006, Gender and Education, Routledge, London,
  • Connell, R.W.: 2002, The Men and the Boys, Polity, Cambridge,
  • Roche, J., Tucker, S., Thomson, R. and Flynn, R.: 2004, Youth in Society, Sage, London,
  • Archer, L., Hutchings, M. and Ross, A.: 0, Higher Education and Social Class: Issues of exclusion and inclusion, RoutledgeFalmer, London,
  • Finger, M. and Asun, J. M.: 2001, Adult Education at the Crossroads: Learning our way out, Zed, London,
  • McLaren, P.and Giarelli, J.M.: 1995, Crossroads, Directions and a new Critical Race Theory., Routledge Falmer, London,
  • Sleeter, C.E. and McLaren: 1995, Multicultural Education, Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Difference, Suny Press,
Other Resources

6684, Online Lecture, UL, 2010, The Role of Higher Education in Promoting a just and Equal Society:, University of Limerick, http://www.ul.ie/sociology/index.php?pagid=67&useid=fcs0681617,
Programme or List of Programmes
AFUAge Friendly University Programme
ETBSc in Education & Training
HMSAStudy Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)
HMSAOStudy Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)
IESAStudy Abroad (Institute of Education)
IESAOStudy Abroad (Institute of Education)
SMPESingle Module Programme Education
Date of Last Revision10-JUL-09
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