Early Years

Overview

At a Glance

The programme has a strong focus on Early Years Education through transformative professionalism – an enhanced and extended professionalism which has at its core the need for practitioners to take evidence-based action to generate professional knowledge and move practice forward.

This form of professionalism, in contrast with older formulations, is characterised not by self interest and external regulation, but rather by the motivation to contribute to the collaborative development of practice and make informed contributions to professional debate.

The aims of the Early Years programme of the University of Aberdeen are to enhance and extend the skills, knowledge and understanding of the participants in the following ways:

• developing advanced knowledge and understanding of educational issues and theories in Early Years Education (0 – 8)

• developing the capacity to analyse critically evidence and arguments to support professional judgements in complex and ambiguous situations relating to Early Years Education

• making an informed contribution to current educational debates and discussions concerning Early Years Education

• applying advanced knowledge and understanding of a range of theoretical perspectives and approaches to enhance personal professional practice in a variety of Early Years settings

• developing the capacity to shape and lead change in a variety of policy and practice settings

• exploiting opportunities to use research to generate professional knowledge and enhance policy and practice.