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University of Cambridge: Master of Education (Critical Approaches to Children's Literature)

Institution University of Cambridge
Department Education
Web https://www.cam.ac.uk
Study type Research

Summary

This PGCE-MEd course is aimed at applicants who already have knowledge of and interest in children's literature, and who want to develop expertise in the subject at master's level. In this route, students will meet old favourites in fiction, film, poetry and picturebooks and make exciting new acquaintances. They will be introduced to topical debates on the nature and social function of this controversial and multifaceted body of literature. They will also be provided with the tools for a critical assessment of texts written and marketed for a young audience.

This thematic course concentrates on a wide range of writing for children, including the "classics", texts for very young readers, international literature and literature for young adults. Close textual study and the history of children's literature are embedded within the course, on which students will also be expected to engage with some of the key debates in the field and to consider a range of theoretical perspectives – from Romanticism to reader-response theory; gender issues to posthumanism; historical studies to new historicism; sociocultural viewpoints to semiotics – as well as examining critically views of young readers and their reading choices.

The PGCE-MEd route will include two modules from the following possible list: Texts, Contexts and Childhood; Perspectives on Children's Literature; Visual Texts; and Texts and Readers. It is assessed through a dissertation on a topic of the student's own choosing, which may be either a purely literary study or a small empirical research project.

The PGCE-MEd introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge. Its main aims are:

  • to examine the theoretical frameworks used in the study of education and its constituent disciplines;

  • provide training in research methods appropriate to education;

  • advance students’ capacity for professional reflection and judgement;

  • cater to a range of specialists interested within the field of education or one of its constituent disciplines.

  • Learning Outcomes

By the end of the programme, students will have:

  • a comprehensive understanding of research techniques, and a thorough knowledge of the literature applicable to their specific educational domain;

  • demonstrated originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in their field;

  • shown abilities in the critical evaluation of current research and research techniques and methodologies;

  • demonstrated self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and acted autonomously in the planning and implementation of research.

Postgraduate Certificate in Education - PGCE

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