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Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

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Module Title
Module Code	(ITS: ED8033)
Faculty		School
NFQ level		Credit Rating

Description

The aim of this module is to develop students' systematic understanding of knowledge related to children and childhoods in diverse learning contexts and critique the implications of such childhood experiences for development and early learning. This interdisciplinary module which includes early childhood education, philosophy and psychology of education provides varying perspectives on how children and childhood have been constructed and contextualised over time. There is a focus on key philosophical theorists in education, from Plato and Rousseau through to contemporary theorists such as Freire, Matthews, Dunne and Badiou and students reflect on this philosophical legacy in current educational practice. Students’ emerging understanding of children's intellectual, social and emotional development is developed through critical awareness of the complex range of issues that require consideration in the process of teaching and learning. Students will be supported to become reflective autonomous professionals through the analysis of contrasting views of development in teaching and learning, while critically engage with a range of key theories, current policies, curriculum frameworks and pedagogies and their application in the teaching of learning of children from birth-6 years, with a particular focus on communication, languages, early literacy and numeracy development and the critical role play pedagogy has on the holistic development of the child.

Learning Outcomes

1. 1DE00C02-BA2C-0001-CA1E-19B81CE050F0
2. Demonstrate systematic and critical understanding of key theories, theorists, concepts, principles, policies and practices in relation to children in diverse learning contexts from the disciplines of philosophy of education, psychology of education and early childhood education.
4. 22,20,7,12,6,23,13,8,19,21,11,9,10
5. 1
6. 1E497A3E-2B57-0001-773E-BCA08F5013E9
7. Critique the ways in which various experiences, relationships, cultures and environments such as school, home and community shape children's childhoods and influence the future processes of childhood development.
9. 22,17,20,7,12,6,23,13,19,21,14,9,10
10. 2
11. 1E14AD7B-67E5-0001-7BCC-8C125BA01269
12. Engage in independent thought and reflection on the emerging issues of diverse childhoods within a tradition of thinking philosophically and critically about education, themselves and of their position as teachers.
14. 22,17,20,18,7,12,6,23,13,8,19,21,11,9,10
15. 3
16. 1E14AD7B-7D38-0001-B1B0-12D7F2E427A0
17. Demonstrate a critical understanding of children’s holistic development, the significance of teachers’ emotional awareness and the educational implications of fostering positive and reciprocal teacher–child relationships.
19. 22,17,20,7,12,15,6,23,13,19,21,14,11,9,10
20. 4
21. 1E14AD7B-8417-0001-4AD7-1912194710DF
22. Evaluate and justify the implementation of an appropriate curriculum, pedagogy and assessment approaches that are informed by key early childhood education theory to support all children's communication, language, early literacy and numeracy development when teaching in an early years classroom.
24. 22,17,20,18,7,12,15,6,23,13,8,19,21,14,11,9,10
25. 5
26. 1E497A3E-7891-0001-B230-6ED017791416
27. Analyse and plan the environments, provision and pedagogy that can enable children to be agentic in their holistic learning and development in preparation for professional practice.
29. 22,17,20,7,12,6,23,13,8,19,21,14,11,9,10
30. 6

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	20	Participation in weekly 1hr lectures for module components Philosophy of Education: 10 hours Psychology of Education: 10 hours
Workshop	20	Participation in weekly 2 hour workshops for Early Childhood Education
Online activity	10	Completion of online (H5P) weekly tasks for Early Childhood Education
Independent Study	30	Reading to support learning in module components Early Childhood Education: 10 hours Philosophy of Education: 10 hours Psychology of Education: 10 hours
Assignment Completion	45	Completion of assignments across the module Early Childhood Education: 23 hours Philosophy of Education: 11 hours Psychology of Education: 11 hours
Total Workload: 125

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Essay	Individual written essay critiquing the relationship between language, thinking, mathematical development and play pedagogy.	50%	n/a
Short Answer Questions	Individual written reflections in response to various philosophical thinking.	25%	n/a
Short Answer Questions	Individual written responses to different theories of cognitive development. The purpose is to reflect on the learning principles put forward by Piaget, Vygotsky and researchers in the areas of attention and memory and observe how they have operated in own learning experiences.	25%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

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

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Indicative Reading List

Books:

Available on: 0, Module Loop page,
Glenda Walsh,Dorothy McMillan,Carol McGuinness: 2017, Playful Teaching and Learning, Sage Publications Limited, 240, 9781473948808
Elizabeth Wood: 0, Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum, 9781446280393
Ann Montague-Smith,Tony Cotton,Alice Hansen,Alison J. Price: 0, Mathematics in Early Years Education, 9781138731127
Dooley et al. (2014). Mathematics in early childhood and primary education (3-8) years). Dublin: NCCA.: 0,
Slavin, R. (2013). Educational psychology : Pearson new international edition pdf ebook : theory and practice. Pearson Education, Limited.: 0,
Patrick Leman,Andy Bremner,Ross D. Parke,Mary Gauvain: 0, Developmental Psychology, 2e, 9780077175191
Flanagan, Frank (2006), ‘Plato: Education for the State’, in The Greatest Educators Ever. New York: Continuum Press.: 0,
Dunne, Joseph. (2002) ‘To Begin in Wonder’. In Arista: Journal of the Association of Teachers of Philosophy with Children, vol. 1, no.: 0,

Articles:

Available on: 0, Module Loop page, 56876
0: 56877, 1
56878: 1, MacLure. M. (1992). The first five years: The development of talk in the preschool period. In K. Norman (Ed.), Thinking voices: The work of the national oracy project. London: Hodder & Stoughton., 0,
1: Tizard & Hughes (2002). The puzzling mind of the 4 year old. In Young Children Learning (2nd Ed.) (pp. 80-106). Oxford: Blackwell., 0,
Yopp, H., & Yopp, R. (2009). Phonological awareness is child's play. Young Children, 64(1),12-18. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200901/BTJPhonologicalAwareness.pdf: 0, 56881
0:

Other Resources

Digital resources and supports: Available on Module Loop page,
0: Government of Ireland (GoI). (1999). Primary school curriculum. Dublin: The Stationery Office.,
0: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2009). Aistear: The early childhood curriculum framework. Dublin: NCCA.,
0: Department of Education and Skills (DES). (2019). Primary language curriculum. Dublin: DES.,
0: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2020). Draft primary curriculum framework. Dublin: NCCA.,
0: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). (2018). Primary mathematics curriculum draft specification junior infants-second class. Dublin: NCCA.,

Module Teachers: Fiona Giblin, Andrew O'Shea, Maeve Dupont