We encourage you to link theoretical and practical understanding of issues in education, while developing knowledge, skills and understanding of the questions involved in conceptualising and designing educational research.
You will engage with and critically analyse the role of education, considering the aims and values which inform education systems and how these influence and shape both societies and individuals. You will receive a grounding in research methods and a core module which explores current debates and issues in education, both domestically and internationally. This course will help you to better understand the theories, practicalities and significance of educational issues, whilst also enabling you to develop an appreciation for the role that research plays in illuminating these.
By the end of the course, you will be excellently positioned to take the knowledge you have learned and the academically critical skills you will have developed into many aspects of your working life.
Core modules
Education and Society (available online for part time study)
This module aims to offer a critical framework for understanding education in its wider social and historical contexts. The module focuses principally on the UK but also considers global developments and offers students opportunities to consider their own national contexts. You will explore the social purposes of education, considering issues such as: education and social justice; education, the state and social provision; education and the economy; educational inequalities and widening participation. The module will look at how shifts in these areas have informed developments in schools, post-compulsory and higher education.
Foundation Research Methods in Education (available online for part time study)
This module encourages students in understanding, designing and implementing research in the field of education. It will introduce you to a range of established research strategies and techniques, including data collection and analysis. These skills will enable you to design and carry out a dissertation research project, as well as to disseminate its findings. As part of this module, you will present your research design and have the opportunity to receive feedback ahead of completing your dissertation.
Dissertation
Optional modules
This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from to allow you to achieve the required credits to successfully complete the programme. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.