BA (Hons) Education, Special Needs and Disability

Childhood to Adulthood

This dynamic module explores the journey of human development from conception through to adulthood, equipping you with a deep understanding of how individuals grow, change, and adapt across the lifespan.

You will examine the cognitive, social, physical, and emotional transformations that shape identity and experience, and consider how these changes influence behaviour, learning, and wellbeing in an increasingly complex and evolving world. 

Bringing theory to life, the module introduces key psychological perspectives on development and encourages evaluation of their relevance across diverse cultural contexts. You will gain insight into how development is experienced differently around the world, fostering a global and inclusive perspective. 

Through the exploration of real-world contexts—including a range of educational settings—you will develop the skills to apply theoretical knowledge to practice.

By the end of the module, you will be able to critically analyse developmental processes and transitions and understand their implications for individuals across different life stages.

Learning Communities: Children Thinking, Children Learning 

Complementing the module ‘Childhood to Adulthood’, this module explores the sociological influences brought to bear on our success as learners.

The module draws on historical and contemporary theory and research into thinking, learning and development in order to consider how individuals can maximise learning opportunities for themselves and help others to learn.

In this module, you will explore influences on learning, development and identity. You will be encouraged to draw on your personal learning experiences and experiences of classroom life at all levels in education settings.   

Science and Society

This module aims to explore the key theoretical and pedagogic knowledge and attitudes related to the learning of science in schools and early years settings, so that it is possible to build a scientifically literate population.

The module seeks to develop your understanding of the importance of science in society and educational settings, and how science capital may be fostered and developed.

In this module, you will explore science-specific pedagogy to engage learners in science learning episodes. This will involve you learning how to use the ‘outside classroom’ to teach and foster engagement.

You will consider the importance of cognitive science in the learning process, and you will identify how theory and practice are linked and how research informs practice. 

Educational Perspectives

This thought-provoking module introduces you to the key ideas, movements, and debates that have shaped education over time. Drawing on historical, philosophical, sociological, psychological, and ideological perspectives, you will explore how different ways of thinking have influenced what education is, who it is for, and what it should achieve. 

You will critically engage with fundamental questions such as: What knowledge is most valuable? What should children learn—and why? How do political and social forces shape education?

Through examining competing perspectives, including child-centred, vocational, and critical approaches, you will begin to develop your own informed stance on the purpose and future of education. 

Diversity and Inclusion in Contemporary Education

This module aims to explore issues of equality and diversity within the context of contemporary education. Individual differences and attitudes towards these within contemporary education are explored in relation to other relevant contextual influences such as culture, policy and social systems.  

Inclusion, as a complex and contested concept, is examined in relation to individual differences, identity, and educational policy and practice.

The module will examine issues central to inclusion, human rights, equal opportunities and social justice. It will examine patterns of inequality and theoretical models will be used to inform analysis of contemporary policy and practice.  

Speech, Language and Communication

This module explores speech, language and communication as fundamental aspects of human interaction, participation and human rights, recognising diverse ways in which people communicate and make meaning.

Grounded in a rights-based and inclusive framework, it moves beyond deficit-oriented and diagnostic models to focus on removing barriers within environments rather than locating difficulty solely within the individual. 

You will develop an understanding of the wide range of speech, language and communication profiles across all learners, and how these are shaped by social, cultural and educational contexts.

Emphasis is placed on universal and targeted approaches to communication-supportive practice, including the design of inclusive classroom environments, the use of visual supports, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), digital technologies, and multimodal forms of expression.

Forest Schools Principles and Practices

A forest school is a journey of self-discovery and awareness in the outdoors in which participants are given the freedom to explore their surroundings, themselves and others through their curiosity and imagination.

The approach is heralded by some as inspirational but described by others as re-branding of old ideas giving questionable impact.

This module explores principles that underpin the forest school approach and reflects on evidence for its effectiveness.

Engaging All Learners

This module will introduce you to a range of developmental, cognitive, social and emotional influences that affect pupil learning and progress. You will learn how to plan, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that contribute to removing barriers to learning, including the use of Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) AAC and ICT.

Professional Placement

You will undertake a placement experience in an education setting of your choice to broaden your knowledge and understanding of a range of educational contexts and develop insights beyond the classroom. 

Such placements might include time spent supporting individuals or groups in a SEND or early childhood context, or in another organisation with an educational element, for example, a theatre or museum.

This module might place you away from the university in a location contrasting sharply with West Sussex and chosen for its unfamiliarity and challenge; this may even be outside of the UK. In this environment, students will have the opportunity to look, think and question.

Using diverse evidence, you will build your understanding of the nature of education in that place. You will be introduced to the importance of context in education and the complexities of education at large.

You will be responsible for organising and then completing a placement , researching a mutually agreed topic and question. 

Exploring the Curriculum

This exciting module brings the foundation subjects to life, exploring how they inspire children and young adults to develop cultural awareness, historical understanding, and ethical insight.

You will discover how subjects such as history, languages, and religious education ignite curiosity about the world and help children make sense of diverse cultures, beliefs, and lived experiences. 

Through engaging with distinctive concepts and creative pedagogical approaches, you will explore how powerful approaches can spark imagination and deepen understanding.

The module encourages you to think critically about how we learn, why these subjects matter, and how teaching them in creative and meaningful ways can have a lasting impact. 

You will build your knowledge through discussion, research, and critical engagement with current educational evidence, developing confidence in connecting theory with practice.

You will also explore how to design learning experiences that foster curiosity, respect, and appreciation of different worldviews. 

By the end of the module, you will be equipped not only with a strong understanding of the foundation subjects, but also with the ability to critically evaluate how they are taught and to champion creative, inspiring approaches that enrich children’s learning and broaden their horizons.

Professionalism and Collaborative Practice

Optional module – SEND specialism

This module will enable you to develop your knowledge and understanding of working in different contexts with children and young people who have a Special Educational Need and/or Disability (SEND), and their families.

You will examine the roles of key professionals in health, education and the social care, and how they need to coordinate their services to benefit families and individuals who have a SEND.

You will consider the importance of collaborative practice between professionals from different agencies.

Disability and Society

This module will introduce you to the historical and social context of disability in society. You will consider different models of disability that influence society’s attitudes to people with developmental differences and develop your knowledge of how the disability discourse has changed over time.

Independent Project

Compulsory module

The module will explore research approaches and design through a series of seminar sessions.

You will also receive tutorial support from a designated tutor, who, at key points, will provide formative assessment.

Most of the learning will be independent, making use of journals, research methodology textbooks and policy developments in your field of interest.

Professional Enrichment

This module aims to provide contexts in which you will develop your skills and confidence in your professional world. To do so, it aims to engage you in effective professional development within an area of interest relevant to education.

You will hone your skills and develop your knowledge, including transferable skills in preparation for the dynamic workplace, such as project management, organisation and communication skills. 

Creativity, Technology and Learning

Compulsory module

This module will enable you to investigate, both academically and practically, how innovative technologies can be used in learning and teaching in a wide variety of mainstream and specialist educational settings.

Global Citizenship

This module meets the aspiration in the University of Chichester’s Vision Statement that our students should become Global Citizens. You will have the opportunity to critically engage with some of the key global issues of our time and learn to think beyond your immediate locality about how you are connected with people and environments that you may never have seen. You will examine the link between values, equality, rights and education.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

This module investigates the importance of good social, emotional and mental health for children, young people and into adulthood. It will examine the current climate of children’s mental health in the UK and in comparison, to other countries. You will consider some of the features in school environments that might result in poor mental health. It will also consider cultural influences on a decline in mental health in the population of the UK.

Critical Perspectives on Families and Disability

This module explores how families experience, navigate and are shaped by disability, understood as a socially produced phenomenon emerging from disabling barriers, exclusionary practices and structural inequalities. It critically examines the family as a socially constructed system, shaped by normative assumptions about care, dependency, productivity and ‘normality’.

The module draws upon diverse theoretical perspectives that examine family systems, adaptation, and the dynamics of power and inequality, The module adopts an intersectional approach, considering multiple, overlapping forms of social difference and inequality, and how these intersections shape family experiences and access to support. It critically engages with dominant discourses relating to disability, questioning how these are constructed and whose interests they serve.

The module centres lived experience as a form of critical knowledge, engaging with first-person accounts, co-produced research and activist perspectives to challenge dominant professional and academic narratives. Lived experiences of families are considered in relation to broader societal influences, including structural inequality, policy, professional practice and cultural norms, integrating philosophical and theoretical perspectives with contemporary accounts of family life.