Description

This thought-provoking and stimulating degree challenges assumptions and prepares you for work in a variety of careers that focus on the needs of others.

This degree requires you to carefully consider what childhood, youth and the family mean in contemporary society. Studying this subject means engaging with challenging issues, but if you are serious about making a real difference in the lives of children, young people and families you will find it extremely rewarding.

Explore the impact of ever-changing social, cultural and political conditions on the future choices and opportunities of young people. Guided by principles of equality, inclusion and social justice, consider the varied locations, situations and landscapes in which children grow and develop. You’ll be encouraged to be self-reflective, interrogating your own beliefs, perceptions and values whilst recognising the political and cultural biases that can influence them.

We keep our course relevant and meaningful by engaging with a wide range of issues and barriers affecting children and young people today. This might include discussions about mental health, abuse, crime, human rights, social mobility, injustice, loss and issues of diversity and difference. You will consider the barriers affecting individual development along with the wider societal issues that surround them.

In your second year, you will have the opportunity to work on a placement in a relevant setting, for example in a school, youth centre or in a shelter. We can also help you to find further work experience around your course if you would like to.

The course gives you a solid academic foundation from which you can go on to a range of careers that support children, young people and families. The theoretical knowledge you gain will be applicable to contemporary concerns on local, national and international levels. You might choose to work in local authorities, education, charities, housing and welfare associations, support services or health.