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Equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice

In this module you'll be introduced to contemporary issues in equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice. You'll use different theoretical tools to explore a range of issues and debates around inclusive practice in education, including disability, gender, poverty and race. In each case you'll consider what may inhibit or facilitate equality in classrooms, societies and communities. At the heart of this module is a reflective discussion around what constitutes inclusive practice in education, which will allow you to challenge, acknowledge and analyse your own and others’ experiences and assumptions related to inclusion, equity, social justice and learning.

Qualifications

EE844 is an optional module in our:

Excluded combinations

Sometimes you will not be able to count a module towards a qualification if you have already taken another module with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this module, visit our excluded combination finder or check with an adviser before registering.

Module

Module code
EE844
Credits

Credits

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
60
Study level
Across the UK, there are two parallel frameworks for higher education qualifications, the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Northern Ireland and Wales (FHEQ) and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). These define a hierarchy of levels and describe the achievement expected at each level. The information provided shows how OU postgraduate modules correspond to these frameworks.
OU Postgraduate
SCQF 11
FHEQ 7
Study method
Distance learning
Module cost
See Module registration
Entry requirements

Find out more about entry requirements.

Module details Entry requirements Module registration Study materials

What you will study

The module consists of the following four sections. 

Section 1: Inclusion, Equity, Equality and Social Justice
You'll be introduced to some of the key concepts in inclusive practice: equity, equality, social justice, and inclusion. You'll reflect on your own understandings of these concepts and those of your fellow students, and will begin to examine how they are interpreted differently in classrooms, countries and contexts around the world.

Section 2: Key theories in Inclusion
This section introduces you to some of the key theories used to interrogate, examine and analyse questions of equity, equality, social justice and inclusion in education. Theories covered in this section include social constructionism, which you will apply to consider how ‘differences’ between people such as race, disability or gender are socially constructed and to explore the role education has to play in this.

Section 3: Problematising inclusion
You’ll apply some of the theories you learned about in Section 2 to begin to problematise or ‘unpick’ some of the more complex questions around inequalities in educational experiences and outcomes. You'll consider the construction of a range of ‘social problems’ and reflect on how these relate to the concepts of inclusion, equity, and social justice that you explored in Section 1.

Section 4: Transforming – making a difference
This final section explores some of the ways in which inclusive practices can be transformative for learners, teachers and wider society. Here you'll explore a diverse range of topics including the decolonisation of the curriculum and participation in the classroom. You'll also focus in depth on two research case studies featuring inclusive practices for marginalised learners and teachers in two very different contexts. Through these case studies, you'll apply some of the theories you explored in Section 2 to expand your understandings of these contexts.

At the end of each section, there will be an activity week during which you will work collaboratively with other learners on a specified activity to consolidate your learning.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. You and your tutor will primarily communicate with each other through email and tutorials. Tutorials are offered via online meeting rooms and support is also facilitated asynchronously in online tutor group forums.

Assessment

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

Course work includes

3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)
End-of-module assessment

Future availability

Equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice starts once a year – in October. This page describes the module that will start in October 2024. We expect it to start for the last time in October 2031.

Regulations

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.

Entry requirements

You should be prepared for study at postgraduate level and have the minimum of a bachelors degree (in any subject) from a UK university or an equivalent professional qualification. We warmly welcome applications from students who have an undergraduate degree level qualification from universities outside the UK and which is deemed equivalent to a UK higher education degree.

You do not need to be employed in an educational setting to study this module. However, it is important that you have some experience of and interest in engaging or working with learners, children or young people as our pathway disciplines (Childhood and Youth Studies, Learning and Teaching, Inclusive Practice, Applied Linguistics, and Leadership and Management) are all explored through the lens of education. You will need to be able to apply your learning to an educational setting with which you are familiar: this could be as a parent/carer, a volunteer or as a learner yourself.

You will need to be able to spend approximately 15-18 hours per week on studying for this module.

Your spoken and written English must be of an adequate standard for postgraduate study. If English is not your first language, we recommend that you will need a minimum overall score of 7 under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please see the IELTS website for details.

Preparatory work

The module website will be available to registered students two weeks in advance of module start. On registration, you will also have access to the Masters in Education subject website which has a range of resources and introduces you to some postgraduate induction materials.

Register

Start End England fee Register
05 Oct 2024 Jun 2025 £2720.00

Registration closes 12/09/24 (places subject to availability)

Register
This module is expected to start for the last time in October 2031.

Future availability

Equity, inclusion and social justice in educational practice starts once a year – in October. This page describes the module that will start in October 2024. We expect it to start for the last time in October 2031.

Additional costs

Study costs

There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.

Ways to pay for this module

We know there’s a lot to think about when choosing to study, not least how much it’s going to cost and how you can pay.

That’s why we keep our fees as low as possible and offer a range of flexible payment and funding options, including a postgraduate loan, if you study this module as part of an eligible qualification. To find out more, see Fees and funding.

Study materials

What's included

All study materials are provided on the module website which includes:

  • the module study guide and activities
  • audio/video materials
  • tools to support your study
  • real-time conferencing
  • online forums.

Computing requirements

You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.

Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.

To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).

Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.

Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.

It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.

If you have a disability

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 (and where applicable: musical notation and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way). Other alternative formats of the module materials may be available in the future.

To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our disability support pages.

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