Early Childhood Studies

Do you want to help shape and change young lives through education? Do you have a passion for teaching? Do you want to change communities from the inside? If you're interested in learning more about children and childhood and you envisage a career working with and for children and their families, this course will give you an excellent foundation.

The foundation year course is perfect if you want a degree in Early Childhood Studies, Special Needs and Education Studies but you don't have the standard entry requirements for direct entry to one of these programmes. It is stimulating and designed with you in mind. We do believe that each student is unique and that you come to us with a wealth of experiences which can be transferrable during your studies.

Both of our course options will give you a fascinating insight into the way children experience their childhoods and how that experience influences them as they develop. You'll look at childhood from a range of different critical perspectives and explore the factors that influence the childhood experience. You'll examine issues such as health, early-years legislation and global inequalities in childhood.

You'll have the opportunity to work on projects in the local community, applying your developing knowledge by devising practical solutions to real-life problems.

Early childhood is a well-established and popular area of study at UEL. Our academic team come from a broad range of professional backgrounds and cultures and, together, they have more than 100 years of experience in the field. Early Childhood Studies is available online.

This makes it easy to fit around parenting or work. You'll study using our virtual learning environment, Moodle, which includes chatrooms, reading materials, lecture clips and assignments.

Year 1: Exploring Social Worlds (Core), Key Principles for Inclusion and Diversity (Core), Emerging Research Communities (Core), Mental Wealth: Academic and Professional Skills for Life 1 (Core), Practice module Part 1 (Core), Practice module Part 2 (Core)

Year 2: Mental Wealth: Academic and Professional Skills for Life 2 (Core), Identity and Social Justice (Core), Building Research Communities (Core), Contemporary Issues in Education (Core), Practice module 3 (Core), Practice module 4 (Core), Optional placement (Optional)

Year 3: Mental Wealth: Academic and Professional Skills for Life 3 (Core), Critical and Global Perspectives on Education (Core), Practice module 5 (Core), Practice module 6 (Core), Independent Research Project (Core)

For more information about individual modules, please visit our course pages via the link below.

Assessment tasks are mainly spread across the year to make the workload manageable. Assessment methods include group works and individual work including essays, presentations, case studies, professional development and practical activities depending on the nature of the course. All grades count towards your module mark. More details will be included in the student handbook and module guides.

Feedback is provided within 15 working days in line with UEL's assessment and feedback policy.