MSc Education, Children and Youth

University College Dublin

The MSc Education, Children and Youth is an interdisciplinary programme specialising in research, policy and practice relating to children and young people.

The MSc Education, Children & Youth is an interdisciplinary programme specializing in research, policy and practice in relation to children and young people. Set in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the programme explores key aspects of the welfare and well-being of children and young people from a multi-disciplinary perspective. It does so recognising the complexity and inter-dependence of issues facing contemporary childhoods and youth. The programme encourages students to develop along a trajectory of critical thinking and independent learning through a series of tailored reading programmes matched to programme aims. Content is covered through a combination of lectures, laboratory work, seminars and tutorials with a strong emphasis on collaborative group work and active learning, including the use of on-line resources and discussion. A range of assessment strategies are incorporated including essay, presentation, mind mapping and group project work.

Programme Outcomes

• Have the ability to integrate knowledge and to reflect on wider disciplinary, scientific, professional, social and ethical responsibilities in conducting a research dissertation on a defined aspect of the lives of children and young people.
• Demonstrate and develop skills in self-directed and autonomous/self-directed learning through the completion of academic assignments and reports.
• Develop appropriate academic writing and communicative skills, engage in group work and presentation of core ideas, concepts and research findings.
• Show critical awareness of current policy and practice in relation to children’s rights, (especially as articulated in the UNCRC) and well-being and its application to a range of contexts across education, health and other sectors.
• Show critical awareness of the cognitive, social and personal development of children and young people and how concepts related to time, space, generation, agency, structure and identities shape understanding of children’s everyday lives.
• Deepen insights and critically consider issues of equality and social justice in the experiences of different groups of children and young people across a range of settings and contexts.
• Show familiarity with the concepts of agency and competency of children and young people and critically consider implications for their active participation and voice across a range of settings.
• Show critical awareness of debates policy and practice working with diverse groups of children including those with additional support needs, migrant children, and children across different cultural, economic and societal contexts.
• Show familiarity with the main research traditions in researching the lives of children and young people, including quantitative qualitative and mixed methodological approaches, as well as child participatory approaches that prioritize children.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the Growing Up In Ireland data sets (quantitative and qualitative) and capacity to analyse and apply findings in the context of international studies.
• Be thoroughly familiar with ethical issues in relation to research with children and young people.
• On completion, students should: Demonstrate detailed conceptual knowledge and understanding of the field of childhood and youth related research and childhood as a social phenomenon and draw on a range of disciplinary perspectives.