CYP5242 - Children's Rights, Young People and the Law

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Synthesize children’s rights perspectives with the provisions of United Nations Convention Rights of the Child (1989);
Summarize key legal principles and Acts affecting educational provision and practice;
Relate legal constructions of childhood with wider social, cultural, economic and political dimensions. This will include understanding approaches in different countries;
Examine the construction of childhood in statute and case law as it relates to different theories of childhood and children’s rights.

Content:

The course will
• introduce students to key Acts and legal principles;
• introduce students to key perspectives on children’s rights and the UNCRC;
• explore some of the tensions and complexities involved in the legal construction of children in education, for example, between rights and obligations, autonomy and protection, capacity and development, welfare and autonomy;
• provide the opportunity for students to explore critically tensions and complexities reflected in statute and case law;
• provide the opportunity for students to reflect critically 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:

The module will be taught via lectures and in seminars, tutorials and workshops, utilising a range of pedagogies. This will include case studies, discussion groups, project work and presentations by guest speakers.

Lectures, seminars and workshops
Hours: 30
Intended Group size: Cohort

On-line support and small group tutorials
Hours: 1 (min)
Intended group size: 6-10

Guided independent learning
Hours: 169

Further details relating to assessment
Students will be expected to conduct a case study or an area of practice which explores the legal and rights based frameworks which apply to a particular form of practice, e.g. child protection, and critically explore the extent to which the practice does/does not ensure the rights of children. The portfolio should include an outline of the key legal frameworks governing the practice, international comparisons and key rights against which the practice should be judged and critical assessment of the extent to which the practice meets the rights of children and recommendations for future development.

Assessment: