| CODE | SWB5006 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Poverty, Social Exclusion and Risks to Children's Wellbeing | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty for Social Wellbeing | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit is based on a transdisciplinary approach to the conceptualisation, identification and measurement of poverty and social exclusion as related to children. Students will have the opportunity to discuss causes and consequences of child poverty and to evaluate and deliberate effective policies to reduce this phenomenon in line with EU and UN policies. Specific issues related to education, political and natural causes, family and socio-economic factors will be addressed. Study-Unit Aims: - Students will be introduced to the different manifestations of poverty and social exclusion, as well as their causes and consequences as related to children's wellbeing; - Students will be given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the various ways in which poverty and social exclusion have been tackled, and how successful this has been seen to be in various countries and at EU and UN level; - Students will be introduced to the link between literacy and poverty and its effect on children's Wellbeing. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Define poverty and social exclusion; - Critique and explain the relationship between illiteracy, education, poverty and social capital; - Critically discuss causes of poverty and social exclusion and their ramification on Children's wellbeing; - Describe the efficacy of different policies used to tackle poverty and social exclusion, with a special focus on education and children's wellbeing with reference to poverty in Malta and in other selected countries. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Use, plan and conduct research to identify and assess poverty and social exclusion; - Develop and critique appropriate policies for the reduction of child poverty and social exclusion; - Promote inclusion through the identification and support of conducive discourse and communication as well as social and political action; - Critique education policies in relation to inclusion and children's wellbeing. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Cronin, Mark (2017). Poverty and inclusion in early years education. Routledge. - Daly, M., & Kelly, G. (2015). Families and poverty: Everyday life on a low income. Policy Press. - Treanor, Morag (2020). Child poverty: aspiring to survive. Policy Press. Supplementary Readings: - Alcock, Pete (2006). Understanding poverty (3rd ed.). Springer. - Byrne, D. (2005). Social Exclusion. Open University Press. - Chant, S. (2007), Gender, Generation and Poverty: exploring the 鈥楩eminisation of Poverty鈥� in Africa, Asia and Latin America.-Cheltenham: Edgar Elgar. - Eurostat ARP (2024). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NeRK5fnmNJGFDNokXdRqDIDPoVdKEA_W/view?ts=68a1fd37-- - Government of Malta (2024) Malta Strategy for Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion Reduction https://drive.google.com/file/d/14iVWrSMhuFQgVDvBMcn61_bnF4OIpwQi/view?ts=68a1d74a. - Hemphill, L., & Tivnan, T. (2008). The importance of early vocabulary for literacy achievement in high-poverty schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 13(4), 426-451. - Hills, John; Le Grand, Julian & Piachaud, David (eds.), Understanding Social Exclusion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). - Kellett, M., & Dar, A. (2007). Children researching links between poverty and literacy. http://oro.open.ac.uk/15368/. - Lansley, S., & Mack, J. (2015). Breadline Britain: The rise of mass poverty. Simon and Schuster. - Minujin, A. & Delamonica, E. (2025). Handbook on Child Poverty and Inequality. Edward Elgar. -Neuman, S. B., & Celano, D. C. (2015). Giving our children a fighting chance: Poverty, literacy, and the development of information capital. Teachers College Press. - Platt, L. Discovering Child Poverty: The Creation of a Policy Agenda from 1800 to the Present (Bristol: Policy Press, 2005). - Ridge, Tess (2002). Childhood poverty and social exclusion: From a child's perspective. Policy Press. - Tomlinson, M., Hillyard, P., & Kelly, G. (2014). 鈥楥hild Poverty in Northern Ireland: Results from the Poverty and Social Exclusion Study.鈥� In Beneath the Surface: Child Poverty in Northern Ireland. (pp. 11-34). [Chapter 2] Belfast: Child Poverty Alliance. Child Poverty in Northern Ireland: Results from the Poverty and Social Exclusion Study. Full text: http://www.ci-ni.org.uk/DatabaseDoc s/nav_4786494 __beneaththesurface_web.pdf. - United Nations' and EU documents on literacy and Poverty (In literacy pack). - Welshman, John, From Transmitted Deprivation to Social Exclusion: Policy, Poverty, and Parenting (Bristol: Policy Press, 2007). - Walker鈥怐alhouse, D., & Risko, V. J. (2008). Homelessness, poverty, and children's literacy development. The Reading Teacher, 62(1), 84-86. - Wickens, C. M., & Sandlin, J. A. (2007). Literacy for what? Literacy for whom? The politics of literacy education and neocolonialism in UNESCO-and World Bank鈥搒ponsored literacy programs. Adult Education Quarterly, 57(4), 275-292. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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