Childhood Studies

Childhood studies is a multidisciplinary field that takes children and young people seriously as subjects of rigorous academic inquiry. Rather than examining childhood as merely a developmental phase to be managed, the discipline asks how childhood is understood, constructed and experienced across different cultural, social and historical contexts, drawing on sociology, psychology, education, health and public policy to build a rounded and critical picture. It is a field that has become more important as societies have begun to take children's rights, participation and wellbeing more seriously as policy priorities.

At Leeds Beckett University, studied part-time, you will explore how children grow, learn and are supported across the journey from birth through to young adulthood. You will examine theories of child development and learning, the role of families and communities, the frameworks that govern early years practice from birth to age five, and the institutions, both formal and informal, that shape children's lives. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the opportunity to engage with how childhood is understood and supported in a different national context, which is one of the most effective ways of developing a genuinely comparative perspective on what is too easily taken for granted at home.

Graduates of childhood studies pursue careers across education, early years, social care, health and the voluntary sector. Early years practitioner, teaching assistant, youth worker, social care worker, family support worker and children's services roles are among the most common destinations. The degree also provides a strong foundation for postgraduate study and professional training, including routes into qualified teaching, social work and child and adolescent mental health.

Research roles in children's policy, advocacy and children's rights organisations draw those who want to influence the systems that shape children's lives.