Awarded by Birmingham City University
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Early Childhood Studies (BA ECS) degree is designed to enable and equip students to become confident, competent and reflective practitioners in the early year’s field. It is important that, through a carefully constructed programme, students gain a depth of understanding about early childhood and the factors that impact on, and influence the lives of young children and their families. It is through building an understanding of how children develop and learn; the development of skills to work with families; an insight into the importance of multi-agency working along with a knowledge of the theories that underpin work with young children, and how these translate into practise that students will be prepared for professional work with young children.
Additionally, the programme provides an opportunity to develop key employability skills valued by employers; skills of teamwork, independent work, presentation, role play and an ability to articulate effectively in a variety of contexts.
However, the programme goes beyond preparing students for the early years workforce; it is our belief that students should explore wider issues regarding the holistic nature of early childhood studies, including the health and well-being of young children. The programme ensures that the students acquire and strengthen transferable academic skills that will establish them as reflective, critical and analytical graduates who are prepared to access and contribute to scholarly discourses in the early years' field.
About Birmingham City University, UK
Birmingham City University was established according to the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 as the University of Central England in Birmingham approved by the Privy Council on 16 June 1992. The university was renamed on 01 October 2007 as Birmingham City University.
In The Guardian University Guide, a prominent national league table, Birmingham City University is ranked 29th of 77 institutions in the ‘Education’ subject area.
The university has a large number of Collaborative Partnerships overseas mainly in the following countries – China, Malaysia, India, Middle East, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong.
Other Rankings, Accreditations and Membership:
Ranked Top 90 in the Guardian University League Table (2016)
Member of AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business)
Member of The Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS)
Member of European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)
Member of Universities United Kingdom (UUK)
Member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
Accredited by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) for the Marketing Related Programme
Listed Center by CIPD to provide Human Resource Management related degree programme
Approved institute by Joint Academic Stage Board offering Qualifying Law Degree
Recognised by Bar Council of India
Authorised Legal Practice Course Provider by Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
Requirement for Award
The award of Bachelor’s Degree with Honours will be made if you satisfy the requirements for the award. The award is governed by Standard Undergraduate Regulations (SUAR) and in order to achieve the honours degree, you must gain 360 credits. Each module carries a specified number of credits and the course is designed to give you 120 credits at each level of study.
The final award is classified as follows:
First Class an average mark of 70% or above
Second Class Division 1 an average mark of 60% or above but below 70%
Second Class Division 2 an average mark of 50% or above but below 60%
Third Class an average mark of 40% or above but below 50%
The award of BA in Early Childhood Studies will be awarded if you gain a minimum of 300 credits with at least 60 at level 6.
This course is not accredited by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). Graduates who wish to work in the local early childhood sector will need to submit an application to ECDA for Teacher Registration via a preschool. Approval by ECDA will be subjected to the applicant meeting the requirements for Teacher Registration.
Delivery Mode and Assessment
The course is delivered through a variety of engaging, interactive and hands-on modes, which include face-to-face sessions, small group discussions, directed tasks/individual study.
The close links between teaching, learning and assessment will be emphasised throughout the course. The development of a variety of assessment tasks integrated with the learning and teaching programme will ensure that you are given relevant and meaningful activities with specific outcomes. Many of your assessments will expect you to draw on your experience and work in placements.
Examples of assessment include:
e-portfolios
Reflective accounts
Group Poster presentations
Observational notes
Case Study reports
Seminar presentation
Essays
Digital presentations
Students will be given university’s access to Moodle virtual learning environment. Students will be able to access a wide range of e-books and journals.
Note: All learning materials and resources will only be available online in the Student Portal's Learning Resource.
