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Undergraduate Programmes

Undergraduate Programmes -
BA Learning Disability Studies

UCAS BA (Hons)
B760 Learning Disability Studies 3yr

Number of places: 30
Tel: 0161-275 3901
Fax: 0161-275 3548
WWW: www.education.man.ac.uk/esi.htm
email: joyce.self@man.ac.uk

This new degree is based upon a social model approach to the study of learning disability and has been designed to prepare students to take forward many of the proposals contained within the Government White Paper, Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century. It aims to: bring about real change in the lives of people who have learning difficulties by working in partnership with them; encourage people to think critically about disability and difference and to examine how and why services for people with learning difficulties have developed as they have; critically evaluate current developments in the field of learning disability in order to prepare people for a variety of work roles in the areas of social care and/or education.

The BA Learning Disability Studies is taught within the Faculty of Education whose teaching, research and professional interests cover a wide-range of areas relating to work with both children and adults. The Faculty provides a variety of opportunities at postgraduate level to extend your academic studies in Manchester, for example, the M Sc in Profound Learning Disability and Multi-sensory Impairment, the M Ed in Special and Inclusive Education and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph D).

In Year 1 you will study three main areas: Effective Communication; Promoting Social Inclusion and Services: Contexts and Debates. Between them, these programme units focus upon a wide-range of subject areas, such as Communication Skills, Facilitating Learning, Social Policy and Disability, Sociology and Ethics and Professional Practice.

In Year 2, the units studied are: Supporting Inclusion; Effective Communication and Learning Disability Services: Contexts and Debates. These cover subjects such as Counselling, Personal Relationships and Sexuality, Social Role Valorisation and Advocacies, Law and Disability Studies.

In Year 3, you will study: The Management of Learning Disability Services; Research in Partnership with People who have Learning Difficulties and the Ethics and Politics of Learning Disability Services. Subjects within these units include Policy and Practice: Education and Community Care, Ethical Issues and the Development of Services and Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Social Policies.

In both Year 1 and Year 2 you will undertake a 48-day practical placement. The placements are geared towards your personal interests and every effort will be made to accommodate you - they can be undertaken in a learning disability service of your choosing so long as it is within a reasonable travelling distance of the University.

Teaching and Learning
Approaches to teaching and learning are varied: lectures, seminars, group tutorials, individual tutorials, directed study, collaborative teamwork, group and individual presentations and group and individual research projects. You will receive individual support throughout from personal and academic tutors.

Assessment
A wide range of methods of assessment is adopted. These include essays, groupwork, seminar presentations, revealed and unseen examinations, research projects and a dissertation. Normally, there are two or three assessment events for each 30 credit unit.

Career Opportunities
This degree is designed to prepare people for work in a range of learning disability services, particularly in the social care and education sectors. This includes statutory services run by Local Authorities and the rapidly developing voluntary and private sectors. It is anticipated that some graduates will become managers of services, team leaders or lecturers in Further Education Colleges, teaching students who have learning difficulties. Others will find employment in more specialised settings, such as Supported Employment Projects, Advocacy Projects, Transition Support, Mentoring and Leisure and Outdoor Pursuits.

Entry Requirements
We normally require three A levels at grades BBC/BCC. We will normally accept two AS levels of equivalent grades in place of an A level. In relation to vocational A levels, we normally require either a single award Vocational A level (6 unit) plus two A levels at grades BB/BC or a double award Vocational A level (12 unit) plus one A level at grade B/C. We welcome applications from mature students who do not meet any of the above academic requirements.