What is Education?

About

This module examines key questions about the nature, purpose and practice of education. Across three weeks, it introduces philosophical, sociological, psychological and historical perspectives on how education is shaped and experienced.

You will explore the moral and political dimensions of education, changing values, curriculum, pedagogy and the social purposes of schooling. Topics also include the sociology of knowledge, learner identities and the history of compulsory education, drawing on IOE Archives to show how ideas about education have evolved.

During this module, you will attend sessions led by IOE staff, where experts from different disciplines present their responses to the central question: What is education?

Later sessions consider higher education through UCL as a case study and how people learn from psychological and educational research. The module concludes with a study of childhood, a visit to the Young V&A Museum and activities to consolidate learning and prepare for assessment.

Week one
Philosophical perspectives on the moral and political aspects of education
Changing values in education
Curriculum and pedagogy
What are schools for? A sociological perspective on “powerful knowledge”

Week two
The sociology of knowledge and learner identities
Compulsory education: a historical perspective
The history of education: using IOE Archives
UCL: a case study in higher education
Psychology in education: how people learn

Week three
Childhood
Visit to Young V&A Museum
Consolidation of learning from the module
Preparation for assessment
Assessment

Course leader

Nicholas Wollaston

Course aim

This module aims to:

- Introduce you to what it means to study education at a higher level, with contributions from leading experts.
- Provide opportunities to explore key ideas underpinning education in sessions at the UCL Institute of Education where experts present responses to the question “What is education?”.
- Consider critical questions including: what is education for, now and for the future; what should be its fundamental values and ethics; what do we mean by knowledge and learning (including formal and informal learning); what is our concept of education; what is our image of learners, educators, contexts and community or society, and who is responsible for education and what does responsibility mean.
- Encourage you to consider and share your own responses to these questions in relation to your context

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