Childhood Studies

Childhood studies is a discipline that takes children and childhood seriously as subjects of academic inquiry, rather than treating young people simply as adults in preparation. It draws on sociology, psychology, social policy, education, and law to examine how childhood is shaped by culture, class, gender, and the institutional structures of family, school, and state. The field asks what children's experience of the world is actually like, what rights and protections they have, and how professional practice can best support their development and wellbeing.

At the University of the West of Scotland this three-year full-time programme is available with entry at second year, which means it is designed for students who have already completed relevant study at college or elsewhere and are ready to pick up the degree at a more advanced level. You will engage with child development theory, safeguarding frameworks, children's rights, the sociology of childhood, research methods appropriate to working with and about children, and the range of professional contexts in which childhood studies graduates practise. A year abroad is available within the programme, offering the opportunity to encounter different cultural and policy approaches to childhood in another country.

Graduates of childhood studies programmes move into a range of careers working with and for children. Teaching, early years education, social work (often with further study), youth work, play work, family support services, and child protection roles are all destinations. The research and analytical skills developed on the degree also prepare graduates for roles in policy, advocacy, and the charitable sector focused on children's welfare.

Postgraduate study in childhood studies, social work, education, or a related discipline is a natural next step for those who want to qualify in a specific profession or pursue academic research in the field.