Module: Human Development - Power & Politics

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Human Development - Power & Politics
Module Code	EDU1057 (ITS: ES126)
Faculty	Policy & Professional Practice	School	DCU Institute of Education
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

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. 1D6466DB-526B-0001-6D5F-A6D09C409960

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Lecture time
Independent Study	25	reading
Assignment Completion	51	Preparation for and sitting examination
Independent Study	25	study
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	10531	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Orna Farrell	Module Teacher	David Gibson, Jane O'Kelly, Sophie Butler

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Formal Examination	End-of-Semester Final Examination	100%	End-of-Semester

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

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.

Indicative Reading List

Books:

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, (Ch 6 and 7),
Sleeter, C.E. and McLaren: 1995, Multicultural Education, Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Difference, Suny Press,

Articles:

Connell, R.W.: 1989, Cool guys, swats and wimps: the interplay of masculinity and education', Oxford Review of Education, 15 (3), 520445
1998: Inequality in higher education: a study of class barriers’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol 19 : No.4, 520446, 1
Becoming a mature student: How adult applicants weigh the advantages and disadvantages of higher education’: Higher Education, 48, 291-315, 520447, 2, Ferree, M.M. and Hall, E
American Sociological Review.: 61, 520448, 2, Byrne, D., McGinnity, F., Smyth, E. and M. Darmody., 2010
29: 3: 271-288., 520449, 2, Devine, D., 2009, Mobilising capitals? Migrant children’s negotiation of their everyday lives in school’
521-535.:

Other Resources

1: Online Lecture, UL, 2010, The Role of Higher Education in Promoting a just and Equal Society:, University of Limerick,