England

Please tell us where you live so that we can provide you with the most relevant information as you use this website.
If you are at a BFPO address please choose the country or region in which you would ordinarily be resident.
Accessibility statement
A image to illustrate Learning and teaching: educating the next generation module
This module is for anyone interested in educating school-age students. We live in a rapidly changing and complex social and digital world – how should this change the way we think about the kind of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment needed to educate future generations? As you interact with other students on this module and engage critically with a range of media and published research, you will consider current views of education across the globe. From there, you will start to form your own vision of how educators can effectively prepare students for their place in the future.
Section 1
In this section, you'll reflect on the possible purposes for education and begin to create a personal vision for education that would be fit for the future, taking into account three global drivers for change – the environment, demographics (particularly migration) and technology. This section includes an ‘open element’ – a badged open course – which means you’ll study part of the section with a much bigger cohort of people beyond the students on your module. You’ll then have the opportunity, with students who are on your module and supported by your tutor, to develop the ideas introduced in more depth. Completion of the free six-week badged open course, Looking globally: the future of education, forms part of the first assessment.
Section 2
In this section, you will explore different ways of thinking about knowledge and how these might affect educational changes in response to global drivers, such as those in Section 1. You will consider how different ways of conceptualising knowledge form the basis for thinking about curriculum development and implementation. You will also look at the important role of teachers and teacher agency in terms of what teachers feel they can and cannot do. The module introduces these ideas through a number of in-depth case studies based on the education systems in Singapore, Finland, Scotland and Canada.
Section 3
This section asks you to think about how learning theories implicitly or explicitly shape pedagogical practices. You will unpack alternative views of classrooms as learning environments. You will be asked to reflect on the roles of both teachers and those engaged in learning in realising successful educational provision.
Section 4
The final section concludes the journey through the interrelated dimensions of education – curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment – with an examination of how the learning of compulsory school-age children is evaluated. This will involve revisiting your thinking about views of knowledge and teacher agency; learning and how that may be accomplished, and reflecting, in particular, on the wider settings in which teaching and learning are located, and how educators are held accountable.
Throughout the module, you will engage critically, with the support of tutors, in a range of media and published research. You will discuss alternative approaches to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment with others who are interested in educating school-age students, leaving you with a renewed vision for education.
The aims of the module are to:
We've designed this module to draw on your interest in formal or informal education of children and young people aged between 3 and 19, as well as contribute to your current role or future roles in education. We will support you in professional development planning as part of the module’s activities. We will also encourage you to explicitly reflect on and develop your digital information literacy skills, as you consider their value in your professional context.
You'll have a named tutor who will support your studies and mark and comment on your assignment work. You can also seek academic advice and guidance from them. Your tutor will offer support through email, telephone and online forum discussions. Additionally, there will be online tutorials and live webinars. We’ll advertise the tutorials and webinars before the module starts; the module tutors and academic staff will lead the tutorials, which will not necessarily be your own named tutor. The webinars will be led by academic staff associated with the module. We recommend you book online to attend these tutorials and note the dates for the live webinars.
Working with other students
There is no compulsory requirement for you to interact or collaborate with others in your tutor group, but there is an assessed task which is recommended to be completed as a collaborative group. How you collaborate will be a matter for you to decide. Many students do this asynchronously through forums and social media; others choose to meet online. We know that the sharing of ideas and experiences with your peers increases understanding of the issues that are studied on this module. If you choose not to collaborate, this will not necessarily mean that you attain lower marks in this module. We see collaboration as an important way in which people broaden their knowledge and understanding, and therefore, it is an important part of understanding the purpose of education for children and young people in and across different contexts. However, alternative ways of working can and will be facilitated for those who cannot collaborate.
Course work includes:
Access to the module study materials via the module website. This includes:
EE830 is an option module in our:
Learning and teaching: educating the next generation (EE830) starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2027.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
You must have the minimum of a:
We recommend you have an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 7.0 if English is not your first language.
You’ll find it beneficial to have professional experience or interest in some sort of education or training related to school-age children, whether formal or informal. Your experience or interest can include all phases of school education (ages 3–19), and all settings where school-age children are offered opportunities for learning (e.g. schools; informal settings such as additional provision, forest schools or youth work; or as part of educational authorities or governance). You do not need to be employed in or have direct access to an educational setting to study this module. However, it is important that you have an interest in education and some experience of engaging or working with learners, children or young people, as all our learning experiences are explored through the lens of education. In order to get the most out of your studies on this module you do need to have an educational context in mind to which you can apply what you learn.
If you’ve any doubt about the suitability of the module, talk to an adviser.
The module website will be open to registered students three weeks before the module starts. You might find it helpful to explore the guidance entitled ‘supporting your study’ that includes activities designed to develop familiarity and confidence with the module’s online environment.
Our badged open course, Looking globally: the future of education, is a required part of the first assessment. You may complete this free six-week course up to two years before you register on this module. We recommend you start the badged open course at least three weeks before the module starts.
Our badged open course, Succeeding in postgraduate study, will introduce you to the nature of Master’s level study. It offers essential preparation for pursuing your learning at this level – and is free to study.
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components might not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader.
Where possible, we can make reasonable adjustments to facilitate your participation where a learning difficulty or disability may impact studying.
StartEndRegister byEngland fee
03 Oct 202630 Jun 202717 Sep 2026Not yet available*
*This start date is open for pre-booking, which means you can reserve your place ahead of the fees being confirmed. We’ll publish updated 2026/27 fees and funding information on the 25th of March.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to support your study costs. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in England.
Studying with The Open University can boost your employability. OU courses are recognised and respected by employers for their excellence and the commitment they take to complete. They also value the skills that students learn and can apply in the workplace.
Over 30,000 employers have used the OU to develop staff so far. If the module you’ve chosen is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could approach your employer to see if they will sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees.
You can pay part or all of your tuition fees upfront with a debit or credit card when you register for each module.
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
Level info