CYP5072 - Children and the Law

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the legal construction of children in health, education, the family and criminal law;
2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key legal cases and explain their importance and implications for children;
3 Demonstrate the ability to place legal constructions of childhood in wider social, cultural, economic and political dimensions;
4 Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate the construction of children in statute and case law as it relates to different constructions of childhood and theories of children’s rights.

Content:

The course will:
• explore the legal construction of children and perspectives on children’s rights;
• explore the tensions and complexities involved in legal constructions of childhood, eg. between rights and obligations, autonomy and protection, capacity and development, welfare and autonomy;
• provide the opportunity for students to critically explore tensions and complexities reflected in statute and case law;
• provide the opportunity for students to critically reflect on the different constructions of children present in law and the way in which law both reflects and influences wider social, cultural and political constructs of the child.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module will be taught using a mixture of lectures, seminars workshops and tutorials, some of which will be student-led. Students could be expected to prepare for the sessions by reading set texts and completion of tasks set in class or via the VLE and will be expected to take part in a wide range of learning activities.

Students may be required to prepare and present brief presentations as the basis for discussion in seminars or workshops.

Lectures, seminars and tutorials
Contact hours: 40

Additional Assessment Information
Students must pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment: