Description
This qualification is only available until 31 December 2017.
To claim this qualification, you must complete the required 360 credits by this date.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for this qualification, please contact the Centre for Qualifications and Ceremonies on +44 (0)1908 653003 or by email
What makes young people tick? What shapes and influences children’s development? How can the adults who work with children support them more effectively? Childhood and youth studies is one of the UK’s fastest growing academic disciplines. The OU was a pioneer in this field and over the last 15 years has developed an engaging, wide-ranging, interdisciplinary programme for anyone working with children and young people or with a general interest in the field. You’ll learn about child development and psychology, international childhoods, research with children, and children’s literature – spanning the entire age range from early years to youth. There are four flexible study routes and a wide choice of module options, enabling you to follow your interests and draw on your own expertise. Whichever route you select, the BA (Honours) Childhood and Youth Studies will develop your knowledge and analytical skills in relation to policies, practices and issues affecting the lives of children and young people across a range of settings.
You will develop a broad understanding of childhood and youth in its social and cultural context. This will build on knowledge, insights and methods from the social sciences and humanities, as well as from studies in health, education and social welfare, social policy and children’s rights. You can take a range of pathways through the degree course, according to your interest and plans for the future. The degree can extend your knowledge and skills in a specialised area of study such as child development, or it can have a more vocational leaning towards professional work with children or young people. By the end of it you’ll know how and why our experiences and understandings of childhood and youth vary so much. You’ll have the knowledge and analytical skills to understand and improve policies and practices that affect children and young people in a range of settings, and you’ll also be able to draw on the skills appropriate to carrying out and reporting on small-scale research projects.
Planning your studies
Whether or not you are new to study or to the OU, we recommend that you start with a module at Level 1.
For this degree you could start with An introduction to health and social care (K101) or The arts past and present (AA100).
Alternatively, you could start with our vocational modules. If you are working with young children, in either a paid or voluntary capacity, you could start with the Certificate in Early Years (C37) (the 60-credit module The early years: developing practice (E100). If you are working in a primary school in a support role, you could start with the 60-credit module Supporting learning in primary schools (E111) (now discontinued) and gain a Certificate in Supporting Learning in Primary Schools (C60). If you work with young people (aged 13 to 19) or have some recent experience or involvement in this type of work, you the two 30-credit modules Introduction to working with young people (E131) and Leading work with young people (E132) (both now discontinued) would be the ideal starting point.
Having successfully completed 60 credits of study at Level 1, we strongly advise you to take the compulsory 60-credit module, Childhood (E212), as your first Level 2 study. This module provides a broad-based introduction to the study of children and young people covering the full age range of 0-18 years. Next, choose one module from the list of optional modules at Level 2.
At Level 3 you choose 60 credits from the list of options. As your final module you will study the compulsory module Issues in research with children and young people (EK313) (or the discontinued module EK310).
You can choose 60 credits of free choice study to complete this qualification. We recommend Level 1 study – but you can choose from any level – and you should complete this free choice study before your final 60 credits from EK313 or the discontinued module EK310.
The selection of modules in this degree offers a wide range of pathways. Some are more suited to specific areas of policy and practice with children and young people. Others offer a broad academic study of the issues related to children’s development and well being.
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 120 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you (with the exception of an undergraduate-level qualification of less than 120 credits). If you have graduated with an OU BA degree without honours and are continuing your studies on to honours, this minimum requirement is reduced to 60 credits. Before being awarded any intermediate qualifications on the way to your OU honours degree, we advise you to check that you’ll have sufficient new credits to qualify for your degree.
You can also progress to the BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies or to the more professionally focused BA and BA (Hons) Early Years (B51) or BA (Hons) Youth Work (B55), after successful completion of the:
If you are ‘topping up’ to the BA (Hons) Childhood and Youth Studies degree from an approved foundation degree, you will be required to study a further 120 credits at Level 3, comprising 60 credits from the specified Level 3 options listed below and the 60-credit compulsory module Issues in research with children and young people (EK313) (or the discontinued module EK310). If you did not include the Level 2 module Childhood (E212) or the discontinued module U212 within your foundation degree you will be required to take it as an additional 60-credit module as it is compulsory within this honours degree.
Career relevance and employability
A degree in childhood and youth studies gives you skills and knowledge relevant to many careers in childcare, health, education, working with families, playwork, or working with young people. It will develop your understanding of practices and policies that affect children, and introduce you to many new aspects of the subject – helping you make informed choices about future career paths. This degree is not a professional qualification, so many of our graduates choose to undertake postgraduate training before progressing to employment in specialist fields.
This degree course emphasises independent thinking, develops analytical and communication skills and will help you become a clear and confident writer – all attributes that are highly valued by employers. It also develops your awareness of the diversity of modern childhoods. The many module options allow you to expand your expertise and interests, and managing the range of subjects will demonstrate your versatility. This degree will develop your research skills if you want to go on to further study.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
For this 360-credit honours degree you require:
At least 60 credits from the following optional modules:
Level 1 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- An introduction to health and social care (K101)
|
60 |
|
- The arts past and present (AA100)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules A102, A103, AZX103, D103, DD100, DD101, DD121, DD122, DD131, DD132, DSE141, E100, E111, E123, E124, E131, E132, E660, EYC660, K100, KZX100
And 60 credits from the following compulsory module:
Level 2 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Childhood (E212)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module U212
And at least 60 credits from the following optional modules:
Level 2 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Equality, participation and inclusion: learning from each other (E214)
|
60 |
|
- Psychology of childhood and youth (E219)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules ED209, K201, K204, K218
And at least 60 credits from the following optional modules:
Level 3 optional modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Children's literature (EA300)
|
60 |
|
- Personal lives and social policy (DD305)
|
60 |
|
- Working together for children (KE312)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules D311, D317, K301, KE308
And 60 credits from the following compulsory module:
Level 3 compulsory module |
Credits |
Next start |
- Issues in research with children and young people (EK313)
|
60 |
|
Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued module EK310
And a maximum of 60 credits of free choice from any OU modules to bring your total number of credits to 360. Within the total, you must ensure that you have at least the required minimum number of credits at each level and no more than 30 from Openings modules or the discontinued Short module Science starts here (S154).
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of modules so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.
Classification of your degree
On successful completion of the required number and type of modules you will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Childhood and Youth Studies degree. Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours. The class of degree is determined by the best grades you achieve in 240 credits from those modules above Level 1 listed above. At least 120 of those credits must come from modules at Level 3. You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification