International Development and Education (Professional Placement Year)

Modules

Year one
We'll introduce you to the main development theories and approaches, and their history, and how these relate to the education sector. We'll explore the current donor and sector agendas, and how these reflect the different approaches.

This will provide a good foundation and overview, enabling you to confidently move into your second year. Year one will also include a core module with an overseas placement. We may, for example, travel to Catalonia to look at development issues around minority groups in a European context, relating your field experience to module theory.

Year two
You'll continue to draw on your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the field, applying them to some contemporary dilemmas, including the very topical and timely issue of peace and conflict.

Understandings of different types of education, including youth programmes, adult learning, community capacity building, and activism and advocacy, will help you consider the multiple learning pathways that can meet the nuanced and diverse needs of different contexts.

An overseas visit is also included in this year. We'll be going further afield, for example to Zambia, where we might explore the outcome of private agendas around school management in the copper belt, an area of increasing foreign investment and industrial activity.

Year 3
If you're serious about getting more involved in the development sector, a placement year will be invaluable. Learning through hands-on experience, alongside colleagues with years of expertise in the field, will help you understand and consolidate what you've been learning on the course, while introducing you to a network of inspirational people and programmes.

Year Four
In your final year, you'll have the opportunity to dive deep into a subject that interests you, by conducting a piece of independent research. Your dissertation will give you the chance to apply the knowledge and skills learned on the course as you seek to consolidate your thoughts and experiences, ready to confidently move into the phase of your learning/ career.

The annual trip in year three will focus on research methodologies. You'll be able to explore educational responses to development issues through participation and observation. For example, you may visit an NGO (non-governmental organisation) in rural Nepal, to gain specific knowledge and experience of community education.

Assessment methods

You’ll be assessed through coursework. There are no exams. Assessments will include essays, placement reports/ journals, and, of course, your third year dissertation. However, assessments may also involve short research-based reports, participation in activities with reflective journal, and presentations. These may be individual or group work. Topics such as governance, representation and indigenous knowledge will be engaged with through a range of methodologies, including social theory, critical discourse analysis and ethnographic/ case-study approaches. Through fieldwork (negotiating access, dealing with gatekeepers, participant observation, interviewing etc.) you'll develop collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills.

Tuition fees

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