Education Studies – BA (Honours)

At a glance

Study all aspects of education on a course designed to prepare you for a career in the sector. Your studies are complemented by yearly placements in schools, colleges and other educational establishments which prepare you for working life and enhance your employment prospects once you graduate. There is also the opportunity to gain placements overseas.

Key points
• Study all forms of education including pre-school, secondary and further education.• Learn how philosophy, sociology and psychology relate to education.
• Explore how theory and practice are interrelated.
• Enhance your career prospects with yearly placements.

What is education studies?
This course involves the academic study and theoretical analysis of education. It enables you to develop your knowledge and experience of professional educational practice in a range of settings and contexts including pre-school, compulsory schooling, further and higher education, and lifelong learning.

This course

This is a theoretical, analytical course where you learn about educational practices, in preparation for a career in education.

The course builds your expertise in a range of areas, including• education policy
• education, power and social inequality
• education, processes of learning and the sociology of knowledge
• educational institutions, contexts and spaces

You benefit from a student-centred approach to teaching and learning which involves seminars and lectures as well as group work and debates to inform your studies. Students are encouraged to debate areas such as social policy and to develop their research and communication skills in conjunction with this.

The subject of education is multidisciplinary and as a student you study how it relates to a range of other relevant subjects such as sociology, history, philosophy and psychology. This gives you a broad subject knowledge and the ability to analyse issues from a range of perspectives, an attribute that make you attractive to a range of graduate employers.

Other transferable skills you gain include
• communication, presentation and interpersonal skills
• research and project management skills
• self-reflection and development skills

Each year you gain valuable experience and professional skills on placement in a school, college or other education-related organisation. This is preparation for working life and can be helpful in informing your career choices once you graduate. Placement experience is also attractive to prospective employers.

During year two, you complete a research portfolio on the subject of international education systems. As part of this study you have the option to take your second year placement in an international educational setting such as Santander in Spain, Freiberg in Germany, Georgia in USA and Lodz in Poland.

Key areas of study
Include • language and cultural diversity in education • inequalities in education • educational identities • international perspectives on educational inequalities • discourse and education.