Early Childhood Studies, BA

Welcome to Early Childhood Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University.

We are excited to welcome you to our learning community and to support you as you begin your university journey. Your Welcome Week is an essential introduction to both your course and the wider University, helping you to feel confident, connected, and prepared for your studies from the very start.

Early Childhood Studies explores the lives of babies and young children from before birth to the age of eight. As a subject, it draws upon ideas and research from a range of disciplines, including education, health, psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and social policy. This makes it a diverse, thought-provoking, and rewarding area of study, helping you to understand children's development, learning, identities, relationships, rights, and experiences within the wider social world.

Throughout Welcome Week, you will be introduced to your course, meet members of the teaching team, learn how your degree is structured, and explore the opportunities available to you during your time at CCCU. You will also begin building relationships with your fellow students and become part of the supportive learning community that sits at the heart of Early Childhood Studies. As a course built around discussion, collaboration, and shared learning, Welcome Week is an important first step in becoming part of that community.

We strongly encourage you to attend all Welcome Week activities. These sessions will help you become familiar with university systems, understand what to expect from your studies, and learn about the support available throughout your degree. They are also a valuable opportunity to ask questions, meet your lecturers, and start building friendships with other students.

During Welcome Week, you will meet your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). Your PAT will support you throughout your degree, helping you navigate university life, reflect on your progress, and make the most of the opportunities available to you. They will be one of your key points of contact during your time with us.

Please check your Course Welcome Week timetable carefully for all activities you are required to attend as part of your induction. If any sessions are organised in groups, the course team will contact you before arrival with further details. Your individual teaching timetable will be available through MyTimetable before teaching begins.

We also encourage you to explore the Student Events Hub and Students’ Union Welcome Fair. These events are a great way to meet new people, discover opportunities across the university, and begin making CCCU your community.

​As you prepare to join us in September, there are a few things you can do to start thinking like an Early Childhood Studies student.

​Before you arrive, we encourage you to reflect on the following questions:

• ​What has led you to Early Childhood Studies, and what are you bringing to this next phase of your life, career, and learning journey in terms of your experiences, values, strengths, learning needs, hopes, and concerns?

• ​How would you describe a 21st-century child in the UK?

• ​What do children do, how do they act, where do they go, and who do they socialise with?

​There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. Instead, they are designed to encourage curiosity and help you begin thinking critically about children, childhoods, and the societies in which children grow up.

​Your First Semester

​In your first semester, you will study two core Early Childhood Studies modules:

​Children's Worlds: An Introduction to Early Childhood (Module Lead: Polly Bolshaw)

​This module introduces key ideas, perspectives, and debates within Early Childhood Studies. You will begin exploring children's lives, experiences, and worlds, while developing an understanding of childhood as a social, cultural, political, and developmental experience.

​Growing Up: Development and Learning in Early Childhood (Module Lead: Siobhan O'Connor)

​This module explores children's development and learning from before birth through age 8. You will examine how children grow, learn, communicate, play, and develop within a range of family, community, and social contexts.

​Alongside these modules, you will complete your online Success Modules, which are designed to support your transition into higher education and help you develop the academic skills needed for university study.

​Learning and Teaching

​Early Childhood Studies is an interactive and engaging degree. Across your modules, you can expect a mixture of seminars, workshops, practical activities, online learning, and on-campus teaching sessions. We place a strong emphasis on discussion, collaboration, critical thinking, and applying ideas to real-world contexts.

​During your first few weeks, you will focus on settling into university life, building relationships with your lecturers and fellow students, developing your academic skills, and beginning your exploration of children, childhoods, and Early Childhood practice.

​Digital Learning

​Throughout your degree, you will use a range of digital systems to support your learning, including Blackboard, Microsoft 365, Turnitin, and your Learning Journey portfolio via Pebblepad. Your lecturers will introduce you to these systems during Welcome Week and your first teaching sessions, so there is no expectation that you are already familiar with them.

​Preparing for September

​We recommend visiting the Learning Skills Hub before teaching begins. These resources provide helpful guidance on university study, academic expectations, and developing effective learning habits.

​You will need regular access to a laptop and should bring this, along with writing materials, to your teaching sessions whenever possible. Technology is actively used within the course and can support note-taking, collaboration, research, and learning activities. No specialist equipment is required at the start of the course, and we will always provide advance notice if anything additional is needed.​

​As you prepare to begin your studies, we expect you to spend some time exploring key ideas, issues, and debates relating to children, childhoods, development, learning, and Early Childhood practice. You are not expected to read everything listed below, but you should engage with a range of the resources before teaching begins in September.

​We recommend prioritising the online resources listed below, as they provide accessible introductions to many of the themes you will encounter during your first year. As you explore them, think about how children and childhoods are understood, represented, and experienced across different social, cultural, developmental, and global contexts.

​All of these resources will be valuable throughout your studies and will help you begin developing the critical curiosity that is central to Early Childhood Studies.

• ​Early Years Reviews (https://www.early-years-reviews.com/blog) provides accessible commentary, discussion, and reflection on current issues across the Early Childhood sector. Exploring the blog can help you begin engaging with contemporary UK debates about children, families, education, policy, and practice, while developing an awareness of the wider issues that shape children's lives and experiences.

• ​Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development (https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/) brings together research summaries from international experts and is an excellent starting point for exploring child development, learning, and well-being.

• ​Harvard Center on the Developing Child (https://developingchild.harvard.edu/) provides evidence-informed resources on children's development, early experiences, relationships, and learning.

• ​National Children's Bureau (NCB) (https://www.ncb.org.uk/) explores current issues affecting children, young people, and families across the UK, helping you develop an understanding of contemporary policy and practice.

• ​Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) (https://www.jrf.org.uk/) provides research and commentary on poverty, inequality, and social justice, encouraging you to consider how wider social factors shape children's lives and experiences.

• ​UNICEF Early Childhood Development (https://www.unicef.org/early-childhood-development) offers a global perspective on children's rights, development, health, and well-being.

​Recommended Reading

​The books listed below provide useful introductions to a range of topics that you will encounter throughout your degree. We encourage you to dip into chapters and sections that interest you, following themes that capture your attention as you begin exploring the field of Early Childhood Studies.

​You do not need to read these books cover to cover. Instead, use them to deepen your understanding of topics that emerge from your exploration of the online resources and your own interests. Together, these texts introduce key ideas relating to children, childhoods, development, learning, play, well-being, research, and university study.

• ​Bolshaw, P. and Josephidou, J. (2019) Introducing Research in Early Childhood. Research plays an important role in understanding children, childhoods, and professional practice. This book introduces key research concepts and helps you begin thinking about how knowledge about children is created, interpreted, and used.

• ​Bradbury, A. (ed.) (2025) Play Matters: Why Play Matters in Early Childhood. Play is a fundamental part of children's lives and learning. This book explores the importance of play in supporting development, creativity, relationships, well-being, and children's experiences of childhood. Available online: https://www.early-years-reviews.com/_files/ugd/c871c5_37c8d65a5d6c4f6a981edbb3a0e6310b.pdf

• ​Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2022) Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University, 5th ed. This practical guide provides advice on making a successful transition to university study. It covers academic reading, writing, critical thinking, time management, independent learning, and many of the skills that will support your success throughout your degree.

• ​Hopkins, B., Geangu, E. and Linkenauger, S. (eds.) (2020) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development. This comprehensive reference text explores children's development across a wide range of areas, including cognition, language, social & emotional development, learning, and health. It is particularly useful for exploring specific topics that spark your interest.

• ​Pound, L. (2014) How Children Learn: Educational Theories and Approaches. Understanding how children learn is central to Early Childhood Studies. This book introduces key theories and perspectives that have shaped thinking about children's development, learning, and education. This is a single book in a series by Practical Pre-School – ALL the books in this series are useful!

• ​Powell, S. and Smith, K. (eds.) (2018) An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies. This book provides an excellent overview of Early Childhood Studies as a subject area, introducing many of the key concepts, debates, and interdisciplinary perspectives that you will encounter throughout your degree.

• ​Wright, H. (2015) The Child in Society. Children do not develop in isolation. This text explores how children's lives are shaped by families, communities, cultures, institutions, and wider social influences, helping you to think critically about childhood within its broader social context.