Undergraduate

Inclusive education: learning from each other

On this page

• Summary
• Course content
• Entry
• Qualifications
• If you have a disability or additional requirement
• Course materials
• Teaching and assessment
• Students also studied
• Future availability
• How to register

Register for the course

This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.

Summary

This course is about the need for education to be responsive to all learners. It is for anyone interested in children and young people who encounter difficulties in education, whether related to disability, disaffection, learning difficulty, or other aspects of diversity. The course supports you in engaging with diverse perspectives on inclusive education, and in developing your own perspectives. You will also consider what constitutes good inclusive practice, using video case examples to explore key themes and issues. You can take this course as part of the Foundation Degree in Early Years, or count it towards a degree at bachelors level.

Course content

The course enables you to pursue a broad interest in learners from birth to adulthood, or to take an early/primary years focus. There is an emphasis on learning from one another – both for pupils as a key element of inclusive education and as practitioners and students interested in the issues.

The underlying premise is that we are all experts in different ways, and that our different experiences and understandings are of value. Inclusive education is presented and discussed as under construction, both in educational settings and as a concept. You are encouraged to engage with new perspectives on inclusive education and to develop your own perspectives. The materials are largely rooted in the social model of disability and human/disability rights frameworks.

The course begins with a course guide and an introduction to the language and positions adopted throughout.

The first block of units explains the social model of disability and presents the concepts you will need to critically engage with the material. You are introduced to the history of special and inclusive education and to the human/disability rights framework.

The second block of units outlines a range of perspectives on inclusive education. How inclusive education has been envisaged and called for by academics and activists, how it is viewed by parents, and how it is experienced and understood by pupils and educational professionals, are all explained. A case study of one school illustrates some of the decisions and practices involved.

The third block is about diverse contexts. You will examine schools in transition and inclusive schools as communities. A range of proactive work to enhance the inclusiveness of educational environments and responses to children and young people who are pushed to the margins of educational life, or excluded, is also considered.

The final block addresses making good inclusive practice happen at societal, school and classroom levels. In a culmination of learning from one another, the final project requires you to interview someone with a different position from your own and to discuss their perspective.

The course readers and video footage on DVD provide you with illustrative examples of the themes and issues raised in the course. The assignments enable you to explore your own position and that of others.

Vocational relevance

E243 is relevant for students with or without a vocational interest. If you are a teaching assistant, learning supporter, teacher, early years or other practitioner working within education, this course will have particular vocational relevance. It will also have relevance for practitioners working in related care or disability fields.

Entry

E243 is a Level 2 course and you need some knowledge of the subject area, obtained from Level 1 study with the OU, or from equivalent work at another university, or from personal or practitioner experience. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Qualifications

E243 is a compulsory course in our

• Advanced Diploma in Equality and Diversity (D06)

E243 is an optional course in our

• Foundation Degree in Early Years (G01)
• Diploma of Higher Education in Early Years (E37)
• BA/BSc (Honours) Health and Social Care (B18)
• BA/BSc (Honours) Nursing Studies (B47)
• BA Early Years (B51)
• BSc (Honours) Nursing Practice (B53)
• Diploma in Health and Social Care (D10)

It also can count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, and can be used as part of the free choice element in the BA (Honours) Childhood and Youth Studies (B23) degree. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.

Excluded combinations

Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content.  To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.

If you have a disability or additional requirement

Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.

If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.

Course materials

What's included

Course books, other printed materials, DVD, course website.

Computing requirements

This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.

You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.

You must submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper.

Assessment is an essential part of the teaching, so you are expected to complete it all. But if you unavoidably miss or do badly in an assignment, some courses allow you a ‘substitution score’. In E243 this rule can apply to only one of the four TMAs. You will be given more detailed information when you begin the course.

Students also studied

Students who studied this course also studied at some time:

• Ways of knowing: language, mathematics and science in the early years (E230)
• Personal professional development: early years settings (E115)
• Supporting children's learning in the early years (E124)
• Extending personal professional development (E215)
• Working with children in the early years (E123)

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010 when it will be available for the last time.

How to register

To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.

About this page

An undergraduate course in Childhood and Youth, Education and Health and Social Care.

Study explained

Course

- a module of study that can count towards a qualification.

Credit points

- show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit point represents roughly 10 hours of study.

Level

- indicates how difficult a course is. Undergraduate study starts at Level 1.

Financial support

- find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.

Study explained

- all you need to know about studying with the OU.

Student Reviews

This was my first OU course and I found the work load relatively easy to manage whilst working full time. ...
Read more

E243 is interesting and very vocational (NVQ style and feel). My tutor was very helpful, quick to respond to questions ...
Read more

Course satisfaction survey

See the satisfaction survey results for this course.

Got a question?

Contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service
Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90

Browse the prospectus

• Undergraduate prospectus
• Postgraduate prospectus
• The Open Programme
• A-Z of qualifications
• A-Z of courses
• A-Z of subjects
• A-Z of where to start

Request a print prospectus

Order or download a printed prospectus