B.Sc (ECE) Year 3 Module Listings

Overview

Inquiry-Based Learning [IBL] as a theme of educational research has attracted considerable interest particularly in recent years. It currently influences curriculum development and teaching approaches and methodologies in a number of recent innovative programmes to construct new models of teaching and learning. This has led to research and development of inquiry-based curricula and the argument in support of inquiry-based learning is being heard increasingly and recognised as an appropriate pedagogical approach.

The course will investigate how Inquiry-Based Learning can be used as a way to explore and deepen our understanding of the world around us. It will focus on the role of the environment in the development of the young child. It will afford students the opportunity to critically examine their own attitudes and beliefs in relation to social, environmental and scientific issues. This area of study will explore scientific, geographical and historical concepts and how these are critical in the development of young children to deepen their understanding of the world around them. The course will focus on practical experiences and investigations that will provide the necessary skills and pedagogical understandings that Early Childhood practitioners need in order to explore some of these concepts successfully in various settings.

This module will strengthen students’ capacity to promote and critique children’s inquiry in an Early Childhood setting. They will have requisite knowledge, skills and capacities for reflection necessary to develop positive engagement with Inquiry-Based Learning.

Overview

This module is designed to provide a basic introduction to the research methodologies most commonly employed by researchers in the field of early childhood education, in order to prepare students for the completion of a research proposal outlining a research project that they will conduct in their final year of study (SS). Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method approaches will be introduced. Central to this module will be a basic understanding of research paradigms and methodologies. Students will be introduced to other key elements required for the successful preparation of the proposal including ethics in research, reviewing literature and academic writing.

Overview

Good relationships are key to quality care, development, and learning. This module explores the centrality of relationships in early childhood by considering different theoretical contributions and conceptualisations, and traces their ideas all the way to practice. The emphasis here is on the process, and how we can be reflective, respectful and nurturing to create a positive learning environment.

Overview

This module builds on the introduction to the practical implications of legislation, statutory regulations and guidelines which are related directly to or impact on early childhood education settings provided by the JF Module “A Nurturing Pedagogy”. In this module, the evolution and context of legislation will be considered against the backdrop of a changing socio-historical landscape. Children’s rights will form a thread running through this module as we begin with the UNCRC tracking how ‘children’s rights’ has influenced the enactment and content of key legislative provision. Students will be encouraged to adopt a critical lens when considering key legislation, regulations and guidelines related to child care. In examining legislation in early childhood education we will also consider how legislation impacts on childcare settings such as, for example, the relationship between regulations (particularly regulation 5) and Síolta.

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to critically discuss the main statutory provisions relating to early childhood settings and analyse major decisions in Irish case-law that have influenced practice in early childhood settings. Furthermore, this module develops students’ ability to evaluate the law on safety, health and welfare at work as it relates to early childhood settings and assess the duty of care expected of early childhood personnel. This module explores the responsibilities of management personnel in contemporary early childhood settings.

Overview

This module investigates specific methods and pedagogical practices which can be used to encourage spiritual development and the inner landscape of young people, whatever their religious or non-religious worldview. Spirituality is an intrinsic part of the human person. Contemplative practices are being increasingly recognised as foundational to young people’s wellbeing. Children have limited opportunities and space for reflection and contemplation in their busy lives which can be detrimental to the young person’s development, and which can be addressed through reflection and mindfulness-based practices. But there is also emerging research evidence that attention, behaviour and resilience, can be improved through mindfulness programmes and contemplative practice. The module explores international research on the increased competency gained by children to focus attention, the improved maintenance of emotional balance and the enriched resilience in the face of life’s challenges for children who experience spiritual education.

Overview

“Those who work with very young children have a unique opportunity to get it right from the start and to enhance children’s literacy though rich learning opportunities”. (French, 2013)

Literacy is not confined to printed ink on a page, therefore it is imperative that those working with our youngest learners afford consistent, language-rich, playful opportunities for young children to develop their emergent literacy skills. This module explores what ‘getting it right’ in early literacy resembles through the chosen early literacy practices of the contemporary early childhood educator.

Content has been designed to afford students with the opportunity to develop an in depth awareness and appreciation of the interconnected intricacies of early literacy development and the fundamental role of the contemporary early childhood educator in nurturing young children’s emerging literacy skills. Course content has been organised to equip students with relevant literacy knowledge and practical skill development to enable the facilitation of effective and developmentally appropriate early literacy learning experiences in ECE across their upcoming field placements and future professional practice. Across this module, students will explore the role of the early childhood educator in developing children’s oral language, phonological awareness, emergent reading and emergent writing. Students will be enabled to develop an awareness of key strategies and approaches to best support effective shared-reading practices, playful emergent literacy learning and opportunities to capitalise on the use of children’s literature to foster emergent literacy in the early years.

Overview

Building on the Inclusion and Diversity in the Early Years module delivered in Year 2 of the programme, this module seeks to further develop students’ understanding of the importance of inclusion for all children, taking account of disability, social class, language and culture. To that end, this module seeks primarily to develop in students, awareness and understanding of the various challenges to development and learning experienced by children in contemporary, multi-layered, cosmopolitan, globalised Irish society and the implications arising from these for practitioners in the field of early childhood education. This module challenges stereotypical understandings of diversity and disability.

Drawing on ‘universal design’, ‘critical multiculturalism’ and ‘critical pedagogy’ this module will focus on developing students’ awareness of their own positionality in relation to culture, ethnicity, disability and language, whether as members of the dominant or as members of a minority group. Students will examine some of the theoretical and empirical issues around identity, culture and ‘the self’. Students will develop their skills of ‘universal design’ and ‘intercultural communication’ and will specifically focus on effective engagement with parents / guardians from diverse communities.

Overview

This rationale for this Field Placement module is to enable students to prepare for, engage with and reflect on their third Early Childhood Education placement. It hopes to build on student’s field placement experiences from 1st and 2nd year to explore concepts of child agency, reciprocity of exchange and inter-subjectivity. It seeks to identify early childhood as a time when children learn through caring and nurturing relationships, emphasising a shift in thinking away from consideration of what children should learn and the content of the curriculum, in favour of exploration of how young children learn and, in response, how they should be 'taught'.

Overview

This module is designed to provide a basic introduction to the research methodologies most commonly employed by researchers in the field of early childhood education, in order to prepare students for the completion of a research proposal outlining a research project that they will conduct in their final year of study (SS). Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Method approaches will be introduced. Central to this module will be a basic understanding of research paradigms and methodologies. Students will be introduced to other key elements required for the successful preparation of the proposal including ethics in research, reviewing literature and academic writing.

Students will choose one module from the following options*:

• Nutrition and Healthy Eating
• Financial Management in Education
• Early Childhood Education through the Medium of Irish
• Leadership: Theory and Practice
• Creative Technologies in an Early Education Setting
• Effective Communication and Partnerships
• Holistic Education for Early Childhood Settings
• A Rights Based Approach to Early Childhood
• Relational Reflexivity in Early Childhood Education

Please see here for further information on each of these optional electives.

*Please note that all options may not be available each year