Postgraduate Course: Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child (EDUA11462)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This module should appeal to a diverse range of students (including international students) with an interest in exploring alternative narratives in education and in ECEC in particular. A wide range of themes about slow practices will be covered across the age range of early childhood. Each session can be linked to an online resource bank of related journal articles that can be updated as new relevant research is published.
A core reader for the module: Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: time for slow pedagogies in early childhood education (Clark, A.) is due to be published by Routledge in late 2022/early 2023 in the Contesting Early Childhood series. This book is built around interviews with 20 researchers and educators from 11 countries. These interviews and supporting articles add an extra international dimension to the module.
The module aims to model aspects of a slow pedagogical approach in teaching and learning by providing opportunities for the students to explore slow practices first hand, including for example multimodal forms of pedagogical documentation.
|
| Course description |
This course explores the relationship with time in education and in early childhood education in particular. It examines the factors that have contributed to accelerated childhoods and the pressures on time experienced by young children, educators and communities. Set against this background the course explores alternative slow pedagogies that enable a different pace and rhythm and offer a range of ways of relating to past, present and future in education. The course draws on historical and contemporary sources including the work of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) and the principles based on his writings.
Conceptual and theoretical reading will be matched by practical examples and discussion about what slow practices in early childhood education and care can look like. These topics include such themes as slow practices and the relationship with the outdoors, slow practices and materials, with everyday routines and with stories. Questions are raised about what slow research in early childhood might look like and how this links to research methods that centre of listening to young children and to adults. The course ends with critical reflection on slow pedagogies as alternatives to impatient models of education. Students consider how slowing down might in turn create opportunities to think about urgent issues for 21st century children
and the planet.
This course should appeal to a diverse range of students (including international students) with an interest in exploring alternative narratives in education and in Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) in particular. A core reader for the module: Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: time for slow pedagogies in early childhood education (Clark, A.) has been published in January 2023 by Routledge in the Contesting Early Childhood series and offers international perspectives on this topic. This reader will be supplemented by a range of supporting articles that offer alternative perspectives on the relationship with time in ELC. The aim is to model aspects of a slow pedagogical approach in the teaching and learning by providing opportunities for the students to explore slow practices first hand, including for example through keeping a slow journal.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2025 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 100,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
96 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Task 1 - Patchwork Text: (50% weighting)
Task 2 - Written Assignment: (50% weighting)
Summary: There will be two summative assessments. Task 1 is a Patchwork text assessment and Task 2 is a written assignment. Task 1 has a strong formative element as each of the four patchwork texts will receive feedback during the course based on discussion with peers and tutor/lecturer.
Details: Components of Assessment
There will be 2 summative assessments:
Task 1: Patchwork Text Assessment
Students will be encouraged to keep a 'slow journal'. 2,000-word patchwork text (4 x 500) will be assessed throughout the semester.
A patchwork assignment can provide a useful friendly way into academic writing (Winter, 2003). The Slow Pedagogy students will submit three pieces of work of 500 words (patches), which will then be stitched together with a final reflective synopsis of learning of 500 words to make in total a 2,000-word assignment. This will constitute 50% of the course final mark.
The patches will be discussed with peers as each piece is produced, building on their slow journal entries thus providing on-going opportunities for reflection and reflexivity. Tutors /lecturers will also review students patches regularly, providing formative feedback on the students work.
Task 2 (50%): Written assignment.
Students write a 2,000-word essay in which students will critically discuss: what would be your key points in developing different relationships with time in ELC in the future?
Students will need to receive a pass mark for both tasks in order to pass the course. |
| Feedback |
There will be two summative assessments. Task 1 is a Patchwork text assessment and Task 2 is a written assignment. Task 1 has a strong formative element as each of the four patchwork texts will receive feedback during the course based on discussion with peers and tutor /lecturer.
Additionally, formative feedback opportunities will be provided throughout the course, for example through workshop group discussions in class, online group discussions facilitated on Learn, formative tasks, feedback on essay plans. Summative feedback on Task 1 will help students improve their work for Task 2. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Write in a critically reflective manner on the external and internal pressures on young children and educators in ELC.
- Be able to recognise different relationships with the clock and with time in education and in ELC in particular through engaging with a wide range of literature and local, national and international examples.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of slow pedagogies and the practices that can develop.
- Be able to identify the links between Froebelian principles and slow pedagogies and practices that include valuing childhood in its own right, the importance of play and opportunities for immersion in nature.
- Critically demonstrate extensive, detailed awareness and understanding of opposing topical perspectives on early childhood pedagogies.
|
Reading List
Bruce, T., McNair, L. and Whinnett, J. (eds.) (2020) Putting Storytelling at the Heart of Early Childhood Practice: A Reflective Guide for Early Years Practitioners. Abingdon: Routledge.
Clark, A. (2023) Slow Knowledge and the Unhurried Child: time for slow pedagogies in early childhood education. Abingdon: Routledge.
Horsley, K. (2020) Slowing Down: Documentary Photography in Early Childhood, International Journal of Early Years Education, 29(4), pp. 438-454. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2020.1850430.
McNair, L.J., Blaisdell, C., Davis, J.M. and Addison, L.J., (2021) Acts of pedagogical resistance: Marking out an ethical boundary against human technologies. Policy Futures in Education, 19(4), pp.478-492.
Mitchelmore S., Degotardi S., Fleet A. (2017) The Richness of Everyday Moments: Bringing Visibility to the Qualities of Care Within Pedagogical Spaces. In: White E., Dalli C. (eds) Under-three-year-olds in Policy and Practice. Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three-year-olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2275-3_6
Pacini-Ketchabaw, V. (2012) Acting with the clock: clocking practices in early childhood, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 13(2), pp. 154-160.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Creative presentation and ICT skills, critical and analytical skills applied to reading and writing, discussion skills, critical academic writing, reflective and reflexive skills. |
| Keywords | early childhood,slow pedagogy and slow knowledge,alternative pedagogies,unhurried child |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lynn McNair
Tel:
Email: lynn.mcnair@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Mariana Duarte
Tel:
Email: mariana.duarte@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage