The MA course designed for those working in children's centres has now been running for 11 years and is continuing to evolve. Changes have recently been made to core modules which have been driven by the participants themselves.
We refer to 'participants' rather than 'students', as we want to promote the idea of a learning community, where facilitators and participants learn from each other. Feedback has been very positive in this area, with many participants finding the learning environment stimulating and respectful.
The focus of the course is on 'integrated services'. Participants are recruited from different disciplines so the field of early years is mirrored in the group interactions and in the learning community that develops over two to three years. The emphasis is very much on working with participants in the way we hope they will subsequently work with children, families and staff in their settings.
We spend time building an emotionally safe and containing learning environment that offers participants opportunities for reflection, dialogue and challenge.
We would define these as follows:
- Reflection - learning by doing and thinking about what you have done
- Dialogue - coming together as equals, each listening and respecting the views of others
- Challenge - being able to question and to be questioned about practice issues in order to stimulate discussion and deepen understanding.
The course is designed to encourage participants (including tutors) to form a learning community. Participants learn 'in companionship' with each other. In the 1990s when we set up the course, this meant literally 'camping out' locally, attending study blocks over weekends and during holidays. More recently it means attending study blocks that run Monday to Friday and booking accommodation locally, sharing meals, evening seminars and events.
The pattern of attendance is two lots of five-day study blocks in year one. In year two, participants carry out a piece of research in their work setting with the support of a tutor/facilitator by phone, e-mail or face-to-face meetings. Many students report that the pattern of study weeks and support for the assignments fits in very well with their busy lifestyles.
The written assignments require engagement with colleagues and the users of the services. Assignments focus on critical practice-based issues - for example, how to engage more effectively with fathers, and working with family complexities.
We believe participants have a responsibility to cascade their learning within their setting and across their local authorities if they are to secure full funding or substantial funding over time. Some participants do have to finance themselves. However, most can convince their local authority that their research and study will impact on work within their county and across other settings.
We encourage former MA participants to come back and present their past and current research to current ones. We also promote the publication of their research; in this way the course is having a direct impact on children's centres.
We often recruit participants trans-nationally, bringing ideas from other countries and continents. Some have used international links to carry out cross-cultural studies.
The outcome is that participants become practitioner researchers for life. No longer is research a lonely, isolated activity. It is about retaining the sense of a college and engaging with others and sharing new knowledge, thinking and awareness.
The Pen Green team is currently recruiting the next cohort of participants, who begin in October 2008. For details and an application form, contact Rebecca Elliot on 01536 443435.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS HAVE GAINED
There is no shortage of glowing testimonials from those who have pursued the course, which involves two years and nine months of part-time study.
As Pat Chappell, a project worker for play and learning in Devon, puts it, 'I have really valued being able to attend this particular MA. To me, Pen Green is the Mecca of places to study.'
She adds, 'My studying and learning on the course has resulted in a shift in my practice and also in the culture of the centre in which I work. We have developed in all sorts of ways.'
The course also worked well for Suzanne Taylor, a children's centre head, who carried out a cross-cultural study on Risk Taking in the Outdoor Environment. 'I grew in a number of ways,' she says. 'I gained confidence and self-belief partly through the assignments, but also through working with my peers and colleagues. I had a wide range of current research brought to my attention.
'This MA was flexible enough to allow (and encourage) me to follow and pursue my interests, particularly in outdoor learning.'
SOME COURSE MODULES
- Early development and learning An introduction to a historical and contemporary perspective on early childhood development and learning. Participants consider a range of observation methods and frameworks for analysing observations.
- Practitioner research This aims to develop an understanding of practice-based research methodologies
- Working with parents and their infants and young children Examining the key role parents play in their children's learning
- Working with families Exploring key concepts such as social and cultural capital
- Leadership within teams Considers leadership in relation to leading children's learning and organisational and team development
- Social policy and ethics Examining current social policy and ethical issues arising from research with children, families and workers.
