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Recent scholars have begun to explore the experience and meaning of learning and the role of learners in a range of settings. Learning and learners are at the heart of education, yet they are often absent from educational studies. This module expands our understanding of education, in its broadest sense, and moves beyond accounts which concentrate mainly upon schools, institutions and policy to include other sites of formal and informal learning. We will consider how ideas, theories and policies played out in the actual experience of learning as well as the ways in which learning has been transformed over time in relation to broader political, social, economic and cultural developments. Who was able to learn, and what they learnt and how are frequently related to inequality.Ìý

The module will be organised both chronologically and thematically to help students to critically assess decisive issues in the history of learning. Themes include histories of learning in civil society, the significance of empire, technology and the domestic sphere. The module is mainly focused on Britain but you may have the opportunity to pursue international themes and case studies. It is historical but it will engage with a range of disciplinary approaches from the humanities and social sciences.ÌýÌý

Teaching delivery:

This module is taught with 10 weekly lectures and 10 weekly seminars. A wide range of pedagogical methods will be employed to encourage participation and learning. These include lectures, small group work, presentations, seminar discussions of readings, analysis of texts, debates and small group work. Students will be encouraged to work collaboratively and co-operatively, as a learning community, in developing their skills as learners and producers of knowledge. Materials will be loaded onto Moodle and there will be opportunities for students to analyse a wide range of historical sources. A two hour session will incorporate an interactive lecture and small group work focusing on archives and primary historical sources. The one hour seminar will provided the opportunity to discuss readings and reflect upon learning approaches. The chance to engage directly with historical sources will be a major feature of the module and students will be supported in their analysis through seminars and lectures.Ìý

Indicative Topics:Ìýthese indicative lecture topics are based upon previous content and are subject to possible change.

• An introductory lecture will look at theories and concepts of learningÌý

Followed by a series of chronological lectures:

• Eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: Enlightenment and beyondÌý
• Victorian England-early twentieth centuryÌý
• °Â°Â1-1970²õÌý
• 1970s-present - recent historyÌý

Thematic lectures will reflect on learning in relation to:

• Domestic spacesÌý
• Civil societyÌý
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Module Aims:

The module supports students in developing a wide range of employment related skills including the ability to develop skills of critical analysis and thinking; being able to work individually and as part of a team; writing and presentation skills; and being able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a wide range of historical and educational documents, visual material and other sources. Engaging with these sources will also support students who wish to go on to further study and research. This module also aims to:

• Support students to critically engage with the concept of learning and learners within changing historical contexts.Ìý
• Provide an overview of the history of learning as well as changes and continuities in the key historical sites of learning.Ìý
• To examine the ways in which an analysis of learning and the history of learners helps us to understand wider economic, political, social and cultural change.Ìý
• Critically engage with the meanings and values of a range of primary sources in constructing historical knowledge.Ìý
• Rethink contemporary conceptions of learning and learners in the light of historical knowledge.Ìý
• Support students in developing their own intellectual/educational practice and reflect upon change and continuity in the history of learning.

Recommended readings:

• Tom Woodin (2020) ‘Learners and Learning’, in Heather Ellis, ed., A Cultural History of Education in the Age of Empire, London: Bloomsbury, 95-115.Ìý
• Tom Woodin and Susannah Wright (2023) ‘The History of Education in Britain and Ireland – changing perspectives and continuing themes’, History of Education, 52, 2-3, 421-441.