Educational Studies

Mention that you're doing educational studies and everyone will think of the classroom, but the subject isn't simply about being a teacher. And if you're just leaving school you might be grateful for that - it seems a bit early to be planning to head right back there. And remember, you'll generally need a PGCE (postgraduate certificate of education) if you want to be a teacher.

As education has come to the forefront of the political spectrum, with tuition fees a particularly recurring area for debate, so there has been a correspondingly dramatic increase in the number of degree programmes in broader educational studies - that is, those that do not lead to qualified teacher status and instead award a BA degree.

These programmes do not view education narrowly. They are concerned not only with schools and children, but with a whole host of other areas, such as the nature of teaching and learning, personal development, law, gender, multiculturalism and justice and how these interrelate with education. They offer an academic exploration of what governments, organisations and individuals are doing when they invest - financially, politically, personally - in education. It is arguable whether educational studies is yet a discipline in its own right. Perhaps it will always remain an area of study that uses other disciplines to gain clearer understandings of key issues. This does not mean that students simply learn about the history, sociology, philosophy and psychology of education. The writings covered in programmes of educational studies include the portrayal of educational experiences in novels, policy documents and the findings of important research studies.

The teaching methods for educational studies do not normally feature the chalk and talk methods (lectures); instead workshops, seminars and tutorials are the most commonly used ways of organising teaching. Many programmes take the opportunity to explore matters in practical "real world" contexts. There is normally a requirement for students to produce a dissertation, often in the final year of study; which involves the collection and analysis of empirical data associated with, for example, bullying in schools, controversial issues in teaching a school subject, or equal opportunities.

At the end of a degree programme students have developed an understanding of key aspects of education, including the influences of social justice, political intervention, innovative individuals and the nature of learning. They will have a better understanding of the interaction between society and individuals and, importantly; a better understanding of themselves.

Educational studies graduates are knowledgeable, articulate, confident and thoughtful people who can understand issues and get things done. In many educational studies degree programmes there is an explicit focus on the development of transferable skills and encouragement to consider how what they are learni...

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