Team

 

 

 

Mark Cronin – Prior to entering Higher Education Mark worked as a Children and Families Social Worker in both the statutory sector in a Local Authority Care Management Team in Birmingham and in the voluntary sector for the Sir John Middlemore Charitable Trust in a community-based Family Centre in South Birmingham.

 

He has also worked for several other voluntary organisations involved in supporting families and direct work with children and young people including Barnardo’s
and St Basils.

Mark is a Senior Lecturer on the ECEC team and currently works on both the Foundation Degree and BA (Hons) ECEC degree, usually on modules around Safeguarding, Constructs of Childhood and the Early Childhood Context.

 

 

Jane Beniston – Jane has worked in primary education for over 10 years, first as a reception class teacher, then moving on to Foundation Stage co-ordinator, opening a new60 place nursery and finally acting headteacher in a variety of different schools. Her roles within these schools included RE coordinator and maths leader within KS1 and KS2.

 

 

Jane has worked at Newman for 13 years teaching across undergraduate, foundation degree and master’s provision within the Faculty of Education.

Jane is a Senior Lecturer on the ECEC team and currently works on the Foundation degree, the BA (hons) ECEC degree as well as some Master’s modules. Jane usually teaches modules such as The Independent Learner, Child Development and Play Matters

 

Kate Dudley – Kate has worked in a range of settings across the early years sector working with children, young people, and their families. Exploring her early career within residential care for young people, and children within the care system, Kate began to hone her interests around children and families experiencing social exclusion.

 

 

Kate joined Newman in 2018 as a lecturer in Early Childhood Studies and is currently studying for her doctorate degree with a research focus on exploring gender expression in preschool children.

Kate works closely with students on the foundation degree programme as course co-ordinator, but lectures across a range of modules on both the Foundation Degree Early Years and the BA(Hons) degree in Early Childhood Education and Care such as Inclusion, Professional Practice, and Transition.

 

 

Brief Summary

 

In your first semester, you will cover 2 compulsory modules – Dissertation and Leadership and Management and alongside these, you also are able to select one of two optional modules with a focus on Discourses of Education or Social Policy.

We use a range of teaching strategies that encourage independence and co-construction of learning such as discussions, seminars, workshops, case studies and presentations.

 

Dissertation – Semesters 1 and 2
40 Credits (Compulsory)

This double module aims to enable students to identify a specific issue or area of interest to investigate for their research study. It will enable students to examine the aspect in depth through e an empirical study. It requires students to identify and apply an appropriate research design, address ethical principles, and employ systematic research procedures.

Students will present and analyse their findings with critical reflection on their research question, methodology, management and organisation and analyse the limitations of their study. They will identify the implications for policy and practice in the field of early childhood education and care.

 

Leadership and Management in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings
20 Credits (Compulsory)

This module provides students with the opportunity to gain a practical and critical understanding of the current issues facing leaders and managers within ECEC settings in England, with a particular focus on the management of change and multi-agency and multi-professional (integrated) partnership-working.

This will involve analysis of the range of skills, knowledge and understanding concerned with team membership, management and leadership as well as pertinent theories to support becoming an effective leader.

Seminal and contemporary theoretical perspectives and research on leadership and management will be presented and analysed in order to increase students’ understanding and appreciation of the roles and values of practitioners from different professional cultures.

Students will also participate in activities that will enable them to learn from their own and others’ experience of leadership and management in practice in order to develop their own leadership and management strengths.

 

Discourses of Education
20 Credits (Optional)

This optional module is aimed at students who wish to progress to an educational or teaching role after completing their degree. It will begin by exploring personal ideologies around the nature and purpose of education.

Students will be encouraged to debate issues such as curriculum, assessment, learning and teaching which are discourses in the educational field in the UK and explore international comparisons.

It will encourage students to critically analyse these and reflect upon their own impact on educational settings and the education and care of the child. It will encourage students to be reflective practitioners and be politically aware of discourses around education.

 

Social Policy: Rhetoric and Reality
20 Credits (Optional)

This optional module will develop the social policy themes introduced at levels four and five with particular reference to the foundation provided in module ECU416 ‘The Early Childhood context’.

This module considers all aspects of social policy which impact ECEC practice and as such makes significant reference to social care policy and the issues of meeting the care needs of children who experience poverty/social exclusion.

It is designed to engage students in the critical analysis of current social policy at both, local, national and international levels and critically examine its impact on Early Childhood services.

 

 

Pre-Course Reading

 

We would like to offer you a very warm welcome as you begin your Top-Up degree programme in Early Childhood Education and Care with us.

One of the modules that you will be undertaking over the year will be your dissertation. We would like you to begin to think about an area of interest that you may be able to take forward for your study.

This could be based on a module that you have particularly enjoyed, or an area of practice that you want to find out more about. So, over the Summer see if you can do some reading around this topic.

You will be asked to submit an initial proposal usually by mid-October outlining the aim of your study, and your research questions. We look forward to hearing your ideas when we meet with you.

 

Planned Online Meetings

 

August 18th and WC August 21st ‘Meet the ECEC Team’ Videos from Mark Cronin, Jane Beniston and Kate Dudley to be submitted later.

WC August 28th Video on Dissertation – video to be submitted later.

WC September 4th Video on Leadership and Management – video to be submitted later.

Monday 4th September Getting ready to start your top up programme -4-5pm on Teams, link to be sent later.

Timetable information

Semester 1

Thursdays 09.00 – 12.00, 13.00 – 16.00 and 17.00 -19.00

Full details of your individual academic timetable will be available via your university email calendar after you have completed online enrolment and set up your student login.

Even if your course team are not expecting you to be in during Welcome Week on Tuesday 19th September, we strongly encourage you to come in and participate in our Student Union Fresher’s Fair.

Running between 10am and 3pm, it will give you a great insight into the Student Union, its societies and its engagement with community groups and employers. You can find out more at Newman Students’ Union – Your Voice.