Childhood and Youth Studies 

Overview

You’ll investigate policies, practices and issues affecting the lives of children and young people across a range of settings – developing your knowledge, your analytical skills and improving your practice.

Key features of the Childhood and Youth Studies certificate at The Open University UK

• Spans the entire childhood age range from early years to youth

• Topics include child development and child psychology, international childhoods, learning and development

• Explores children and young people’s lives from different perspectives alongside students studying and working in different settings

• Relevant to a wide range of careers in childcare, education, health and social care

Career relevance

A certificate in childhood and youth studies gives you skills and knowledge relevant to many careers in childcare, health, education, working with families, playwork, or working with young people. It will develop your understanding of research, practices and policies that affect children, and introduce you to many new aspects of the subject – helping you make informed choices about future career paths. 

This certificate is not a professional qualification, so many of our graduates choose to undertake further/additional training before progressing to employment in specialist fields.