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International Education

EQ104
Year 1
Core Module BA Education Studies
Term 2
10 Weeks
3 Hours
15 CATS
1x 2 hour exam

What is this module about?

This module will explore models, concepts and themes relating to education at a global level. There are two overarching trends which structure the sessions. First, processes of globalisation provide a theoretical frame within which students will examine themes and trends that cut across geographical and national boundaries. Among other things, globalisation and children’s rights to education, the Millennium Development Goals, the investment in early years education, and the marketisation of schooling and higher education are discussed. Second, the module will focus on the way that education is promoted within different international contexts, thereby exploring how factors such as ideology, culture and economics impact on education. There will be more of a case study approach here with students focusing on country specific education systems, such as Scandinavia, America or Italy. In each case the focus may be on the schooling system, the provision of early years education or the shifting role of higher education.

Topics covered:

  • Globalisation and children's rights to education
  • International commitments to children’s schooling
  • Global investment in early years education
  • The integration of education and care
  • Global marketisation of schooling
  • Migrant children and their schooling
  • New Zealand early years provision - Te Whariki
  • Schooling in Sub-Saharan African Countries
  • Schooling in Asian countries
  • Reggio Emilia
  • Scandinavian Forest Schools
  • Higher Education in Europe

Learning outcomes:

  • To develop an informed understanding of the nature of education in an international context
  • To be able to compare and contrast education systems in different countries
  • To develop an informed understanding of the impact of globalisation on education and schooling
  • To develop an informed understanding of the range of life-long learning in different international contexts
  • To develop an ability to present case study material relating to educational initiatives within an international context

Sample reading list:

McMahon, M. (2009) International Education: Educating for a Global Future, Dunedin

Kaufman, N and Rizzini, I. (eds) (2002) Globalization and children: exploring potentials for enhancing opportunities in the lives of children and youth, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

J. Boyden and M. Bourdillon (eds) (2012) Childhood Poverty: Multi-Disciplinary Approaches, Basingstoke: Blackwell

Fenton, Steve (1999) Ethnicity – Racism, Class and Culture, Basingstoke, MacMillan

Faas, D. et al (2013) Intercultural education in Europe: policies, practices and trends, British Educational Research Journal

United Nations (2012) Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, Geneva: United Nations

Edwards, C. Gandinin, L.Foreman, G. (2012) The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilla Experience in Transformation, ABC, California

Brooks, R. and Waters, J. (2011) Student Mobilities, Migration and the Internationalisation of Higher Education, Palgrave

Adams L. and Krova A. (2009) Global Migration and Education, Palgrave