EDIC+ module: Social and Educational Inclusion in Schools and their Communities

 Bath Spa University

Module Content

This module will look critically at social and educational inclusion, opening up assumptions about the question of rights, equity and inclusion with regard to race/ethnicity, gender, social class and disability. The broad aim of the module is to look at human rights and the value of intercultural understanding and dialogue, providing students with opportunities to develop social and moral understanding of complex issues. Students will be invited to engage in debate and argument about the dilemmas faced by teachers and their students, to think of ways forward, and to connect these to curriculum-based experiences. These will be considered with reference to policy and practice in their own country. 

The module comprises of three sections. The first section will cover philosophical and policy issues. It will encourage debate and develop an understanding of the key concepts . The second section will focus on the psychological and educational aspects of social and educational inclusion.  Thirdly, the module will focus on practical skills related to social and educational inclusion. This will mean listening to people who work in the field and visiting voluntary organizations to see how they engage in problem solving in their day to day work. 

Identity is important for all students. Why is it that in the UK those young people who might have considered themselves ‘European citizens’ or ‘global citizens’, may  have to reconfigure their identity after Brexit? Is this a real or imagined identity? Where do new migrants and refugees/ asylum seekers fit in European cities? Are schools equipping them to have high aspirations and to make a positive future contribution to society? How can teachers and other education professionals become culturally responsive? The module will be further enhanced by contributions from visiting speakers who will share professional and personal experiences of working creatively with the challenges of inclusion and diversity.

After completing this module students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the key ideas about social justice, human rights and social and educational inclusion. These ideas include Exclusion and Inclusion, Identity, Diversity and Equity. 
• Engage with philosophical and educational debates concerning these key notions. 
• Examine the issues and tensions of social and educational inclusion politically, socially and educationally. 
• Demonstrate an understanding of the psychology of social exclusion and inclusion.
• Understand the development of identity and belonging. 
• Develop strategies to overcome prejudice and social and educational exclusion. 
• Learn from educational professionals who work successfully with excluded and marginalised groups such as ethnic minority groups, excluded children and travellers children. 
• Develop interdisciplinary understanding of Inclusive Education
• Enhance own understanding of Inclusive Education with a view to developing a professional and practical outlook 
• Develop skills of intercultural communication and the ability to work with diversity individually and with peers in a team

Programme

This is an optional module for Masters and Doctoral students which will be held in January, 2020. It is a complementary module for ERASMUS+ students enrolled in the EDIC+ (Education for Democratic Intercultural Citizenship) Programme. Students can study one 7.5 ECT module in their own university, plus another 7.5 ECT module in one of the other participating universities. Students might like to take another optional module in Bath Spa University as well, which may be on offer at the time.

This module will be taught through lectures, seminars and tutorials. Students will be expected to work in groups and to present their work together in small groups after each segment of the module has been taught. The presentations will be based on students’ reflections on what they have learnt from reading and lectures. The module will have three segments. These are: philosophical enquiry, school/ organization -centred approach and students’ own investigation of a topic which interests them. Students will be expected to write a learning journal throughout the module in which they can record ideas obtained from their reading as well as those gained from lectures and seminars. Formative feedback will be provided for the individual presentations in class. This will help students to do a poster presentation which can obtain further formative feedback and discussion before they submit their final essays or research based text for assessment. The final summative assignment is an essay of 3500 words. Students can choose to write a conceptual paper or use examples from research and their own experiences to explore an aspect of social and educational inclusion in a particular setting/ context within their own country. 

Formative Assessment will be producing a poster based on reading and experience of education in the own country OR a comparative account of two countries and how organizations work to include young people both socially and educationally. Feedback will be provided.

Summative Assignment will be an essay or a short empirical research based study of what is happening in an organization which is trying to work in an inclusive and innovative way with groups like refugee families, people with disabilities or other groups who find themselves on the margins of society.

Contact

For more information, please contact:

Dr Ghazala Bhatti, Institute for Education, Bath Spa University.

Dr Chloe Yeh Institute for Education, Bath Spa University