Whether working in a school, family learning setting or in the community, you can play a vital role in helping people to succeed. And our Education Studies degree will help you get started.
Your future could involve coaching and mentoring others, helping children or adults who have special educational needs, championing reading or maths projects, supporting vulnerable teenagers, or running outdoor activities. The possibilities are endless.
You’ll have the opportunity to work across age ranges – right from early years to post-16 learning. And the broad nature of the course means you can keep your options open for future careers.
The programme is split into two core elements. You will study education as an academic subject, where you will explore learning theories, how the education system works and themes such as social mobility and inequality.
Then there’s the practical side, where you’ll develop your skills through projects and by building a portfolio of work experience. In your final year, you will produce a piece of research looking at an education issue or practice.
We will support you every step of the way and help you nurture your passion for helping others to learn. You will also be an integral part of the community, with lots of opportunities to gain real-world experience through our strong links with local schools and organisations.
Resources include our fantastic £4.4 million Woodlands Day Nursery and Forest School on the Stoke-on-Trent campus.
Specialist pathways
Our flexible approach means you can also tailor your degree to your individual interests. Either continue with a more general route, or choose one of the following pathways:
- Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Education for our sustainable world
If you opt for the sustainability route, you could be delving into outdoor learning, how to engage young people using the natural world, home education and other philosophies of education practice.
The SEND pathway could involve working with either children or adults. You might be working with children and young people to promote wellbeing, supporting and designing strategies in different learning environments.
On successful completion of study, depending on your choice of specialism pathway, we will issue you with one of the following awards:
- BA (Hons) Education Studies
- BA (Hons) Education Studies (Special Educational Needs)
- BA (Hons) Education Studies (Mental Health and Wellbeing)
- BA (Hons) Education Studies (Education for our Sustainable World)
Work placements
This will give you first-hand experience for future careers. You can immerse yourself in a team, work alongside children or adults, and put your skills into practice.
You will build up a portfolio which may include gaining experiences in schools, colleges and universities. We also have links with children and family support, local and national charities and community groups.
You might choose to run a project in a library or in the community, read with children, or organise family sports activities. We encourage our students to pursue what interests them.