Masters Degrees (Technology Education)

The Marine Technology Education Consortium courses offer innovative and flexible training for graduates working in the marine industry. You will develop advanced technical skills and business applications. The courses are part time and offer minimal disruption to your work responsibilities.

Delivered through a combination of distance learning materials and intensive schools, our course allows a flexible approach to study in a supportive environment. Our course material is highly relevant and practical for working in the marine industry. You will be encouraged to reflect on the industrial relevance of the modules in relation to your work.

The courses are operated by the Marine Technology Education Consortium (MTEC), a consortium of four UK universities.

The availability of one general and three specialised pathways ensures that the course is tailored to suit your professional needs. The general MSc and Postgraduate Diploma is available for those seeking a broader-based study package.

Each pathway has compulsory modules, but the number will vary depending on the relevant stream and qualification. Each contain the following format:

• Pre-school material - this requires 50 hours of study and enables you to revise and review essential material so that the intensive school can be run effectively. This material is made available six to eight weeks prior to the intensive school. You take a pre-school assignment (30% of the module mark) which is submitted on the first day of the intensive school.
• A week-long intensive school - this will have a contact time of 35 hours and will include lectures, case studies, tutorials, presentations, discussions and visits. Academic and industrial tutors will be involved. You sit an examination (40% of the module mark) during this teaching week.
• Post-school material - this requires 15 hours of study and involves completion of a post school assignment (30% of the module mark) submitted eight weeks after the intensive school. This consolidates your learning on the module.

Pathway

Pathway

The Marine Technology Education Consortium delivers one general and three specialist pathways leading to different awards:

• Marine Technology (MSc, PGDip, PGCert)
• Marine Technology: Marine Engineering (MSc, PGDip)
• Marine Technology: Naval Architecture (MSc, PGDip)
• Marine Technology: Offshore Marine Renewable Energy (MSc, PGDip).

Accreditation

Modules on the MSc and PGDip are accredited jointly by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) on behalf of the Engineering Council. 

This gives you an additional benchmark of quality to your degree, making you more attractive to graduate employers. It can also open the door to higher-level jobs, most of which require Chartered Engineer status.

Facilities

You have access to University facilities throughout the course including:

• library services
• computing facilities
• Careers Service.

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If you’d like to teach design, technology or engineering, but need to brush up on your skills before you start your teacher-training, we can help. This one-year (36-week), accredited, full-time Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course helps prepare you to train to teach design and technology. Its stimulating combination of creative, practical and technical skills are so useful that some of our most outstanding PGCE graduates are the ones who did this course.

You might be eligible to receive a bursary while on the course.

Work towards teacher-training at Sheffield Hallam

Successfully completing this SKE course qualifies you to do our one year PGCE Design and Technology or PGCE Engineering courses.

An outstanding national reputation

Sheffield Hallam is the UK’s largest provider of design and technology education, which makes it a great place to come for teacher-training: as a result, we enjoy a national reputation for excellence in design and technology.

We are the Design and Technology Association’s regional provider of training to qualified teachers in schools — we deliver that training on electronics and systems control or CAD/CAM. One of our lecturers is also the curriculum advisor to the Design and Technology Association on electronics and systems control.

A remarkable place to learn

One of the exciting things about this course is that it’s not based in our education department but in our Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences. That means you are based right at the heart of our workshops and studios, surrounded by other students and staff from a range of creative backgrounds and disciplines.

Learn in a variety of ways and settings

This course involves studying full-time for one year at our City Campus, right in the heart of Sheffield. We help you to develop your subject knowledge and your confidence using a range of teaching and learning strategies enhanced by practical work and field study.

Further information

For more information regarding our routes into teaching, including funding, placements, QTS skills tests and career prospects visit our teach site.

Course structure

Modules

• health and safety
• visual communication for design
• timber design and manufacture
• mechatronics
• CAD/CAM design and manufacture
• textile design and manufacture
• design technology engineering

Employability

Trying to decide about teaching?

We would always recommend that spending some time in a school design and technology department is a valuable experience to help you see the work of a teacher. Many schools are helpful in offering some time where you can shadow a teacher and observe lessons.

Our excellent graduate employment record

We have a superb record for graduate employment: over 90% of our PGCE graduates are teaching or in further study within six months of graduating.

Many students gain employment in the region, thanks to our excellent links with over 600 placement partners. About a third of our students accept a job where they did a placement — you complete two placements, increasing your chances of being offered a job at a place that you already know.

What you’ll be teaching and to whom

Successfully completing this SKE course qualifies you to take our PGCE Design and Technology.

Once you complete your PGCE, you can begin teaching design and technology at Key Stages 3 and 4 (11-16) and 5 (16-18) as well as in the learning and skills sector (also called post-16 or post-compulsory education)

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The Education and Technology MA teaches students the practical and research skills to design, use and evaluate 'edtech' interventions. They will develop methodological skills to ensure that processes and products respond to the needs of educators and add value to learning and teaching. Students learn how to embed technology within educational practice, explore key issues and debates in this field, and critically appraise educational theory.

About this degree

This programme develops students' theoretical insights and practical skills in technology in education. Students learn how to apply the latest educational theory to their everyday professional practice. The research skills developed allow progression on to doctoral research and/or a strong background for a career in design and evaluation work in the edtech sector.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), and either two elective modules (60 credits) and a dissertation (60 dissertation), or a report (30 credits) and three elective modules (90 credits).

Core modules

• Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates (online/mixed)
• Researching Digital Learning (online/mixed)

Elective modules

Students choose two optional modules from across the UCL Institute of Education's Master's-level offering.

The following are examples from the recommended UCL Knowledge Lab MA optional modules:

• Design and Use of Technologies for Education
• Technology and Education Beyond the Classroom
• Digital Design Thinking and Making

Previous students have chosen optional modules from Psychology, Mathematics or Science Education, Higher and Professional Education and other programmes.

MA Mathematics Education Programme

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent project culminating either in a dissertation of 20,000 words or a report of 10,000 words, supervised either on campus or online.

Teaching and learning

Teaching is delivered through individual and group working; lectures and podcasts, student presentations and group discussion of reading and writing undertaken in preparation for sessions, both online and face-to-face; collaborative activities in face-to-face and online contexts. All modules are assessed by written assignments.

Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Education and Technology MA

Careers

Graduates of this programme are currently working as educators, university learning technologists, government education researchers, designers or developers of educational technology, consultants, PR and marketing managers. Some graduates continue their studies as PhD students.

Recent career destinations for this degree

• International School Teacher (Head of ICT), Rainbow International School Uganda
• Research Officer, Institute of Education
• Education Consultant, CfBT
• ICT Trainer, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education and studying MOODLE DESIGN, Unspecified Institution
• Lecturer / Instructional Designer, National University of Kaohsiung and studying MA Education and Technology, Institute of Education, University of London (IOE)

Employability

The Education and Technology MA is highly regarded within education and industry. Graduates from our programme have gone on to develop their careers in the education sector as senior teachers, learning technologists, education researchers, and to undertake PhD research.

Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.

Why study this degree at UCL?

This programme is run by UCL's Knowledge Lab (UCLKL) where researchers explore the future of learning with digital technologies in a wide range of educational settings. This brings together scientists from a range of fields including education, sociology, and semiotics who explore design, development and evaluation across a broad range of digital media. The research is interdisciplinary in nature, with collaborations involving, for example, computer scientists, designers, and subject specialist educators. 

This programme offers a number of opportunities for networking across different sectors in educational contexts:

• The UCL Knowledge Lab runs regular seminars and talks from external academic visitors, which students are encouraged to attend, and are broadcast on Moodle for distance learners, providing networking opportunities with academics.
• Several projects within the UCL Knowlege Lab are in collaboration with tech companies, providing potential opportunities to link with industry.
• The programme attracts students from across the world providing international networking links across different educational sectors.

The MA attracts students from a wide variety of backgrounds and nationalities, providing scope for broad intellectual discussion and debate, and opportunities for multidisciplinary working, and global networking.

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.

The following REF score was awarded to the department: Culture, Communication & Media

78% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)

Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.

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About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

-to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
-to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
-to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III

This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:
Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

The aim of Physical Education is to develop physical competence so that all children are able to move efficiently, effectively and safely and understand what they are doing. The outcome, physical literacy, is as essential as literacy and numeracy to ensure the holistic educational development of young people in our society.

The PGCE Secondary Physical Education course at Brunel University London has a long standing national reputation for high quality teacher education in our subject area. The course is very popular, drawing on outstanding expertise and experience in this field from both academic and school staff. Many of our alumni have gone on to become school leaders, not only within Physical Education, but also as members of senior management teams in school at an early stage in their career because of the high standards and expectations we have for our student teachers. We retain very close links with our community of Physical Education alumni and many of them go on to be mentors for our student teachers, are involved in selection and recruitment of the next generation of PE teachers from Brunel or contribute to aspects of teaching on the programme where they have specific expertise.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list.

The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006. We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.
We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

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Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading centres in Food Science and Technology in Europe and the world. The history of the Food Technology programme at the university goes back more than 50 years; it is considered to be one of the best and most innovative programmes in its field in Europe.

Study programme

Wageningen (the Netherlands, 40.000 inhabitants, 10.000 students) is one of the leading areas for Food Technology and Nutrition in the world. Besides the many groups within Wageningen University & Research working on Food Science and Nutrition, there are also numerous companies and research institutes in Wageningen.

On the Programme of Food Technology page you can find the general outline of the programme and more detailed information about courses, theses and internships.

Specialisations

Within the master's programme you can choose one of the following Specialisations to meet your personal interests.

• Food Biotechnology and Biorefining
• Food Innovation and Management
• Product Design
• Ingredient Functionality
• Dairy Science and Technology
• European Master's in Food Studies
• Sensory Science
• Sustainable Food Process Engineering
• Gastronomy
• Food Digestion and Health
• Food Technology (online master's specialisation)

Your future career

Graduates of the Food Technology programme generally find a job in either one of the food industries, the government, universities or institutes. Around 10% of the graduates will pursue a PhD degree. Below you can find several stories of graduates Food Technology about their job. Read more about career perspectives and opportunities after finishing the programme.

Related programmes:

MSc Food Quality Management 

MSc Food Safety

MSc Biotechnology 

MSc Nutrition and Health

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The Postgraduate Certificate in Education Secondary Education offers initial teacher education for those who have a feel for working in three dimensions, in a variety of materials, and have a creative flair. Design and Technology is an exciting, diverse subject and part of the National Curriculum. It is a subject where intellectual planning meets practical applications, where you must identify a need and then design and manufacture products to meet that need. Design and Technology at the University of Wolverhampton focuses on two of the areas of Design & Technology: Materials Technology - designing and making in wood, metal and plastics - and Electronics and Communications Technology - working with electronics, mechanisms and pneumatics.

This course is designed to meet the NCTL Teaching Standards which assesses all trainees working towards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

This Design and Technology route sits within an exciting range of Secondary Education subjects we offer within the Institute of Education.

This postgraduate qualification offers 60 Masters-level credits that can be used towards our Masters degrees in the field of education.

SECONDARY EDUCATION Frequently Asked Questions

This is NOT an appropriate training course for applicants who wish to teach in Primary schools or Post Compulsory Education establishments.

What happens on the course?

Over the one year course, you undertake two periods of University-based learning at Walsall Campus, and you spend at least 120 days divided between two different schools across the 11-16 age range within the Secondary age phase.

Your University tutor is available to assist you throughout your training, and every effort is made to ensure you have a high-quality school placement, where you can learn from experienced teachers.

All course modules provide examples of good practice in teaching which you will reflect upon as you develop your own teaching style. You will be expected to participate actively in your own learning and development.

Teaching on the course reflects a variety of methods that will prepare you for life in the classroom including teacher-led debates, pupil-led exploration, peer-group discovery and the provision of individual targets. You will be assessed in a variety of ways including written assignments; classroom based investigation and other school-based activities and appraisal of practical teaching skills. The majority teaching sessions will be alongside trainees from the other the science routes.

Typical modules may include:

• Observation of teaching, before undertaking ‘sheltered’ teaching activities, for example teaching parts of lessons or groups of pupils within a class
• Progression to teaching single or short sequences of lessons
• Further development through planned classroom activities
• Development of teaching skills as you move to sustained sequences of lessons
• Research in the University and school on the use of ICT in the teaching of your subject

PGCE: programme structure

Starting in September and ending in June the full-time PGCE is the fastest and most condensed way for non-experienced trainees to qualify.

The course comprises of two school placements and two periods of University-based teaching September to October; January to February.

120 days (24 weeks) of the 36 week PGCE course will be spent in schools. You will have one school attachment during the autumn term and another (in a different school) in the spring/summer terms. During the second attachment a proportion of your teaching at key stage 4 will be focussed on your chosen specialist area.

We try to take your geographical location into account when placing you in schools but our first concern is to ensure that you have a high quality school placement that can provide a range of experiences. Additional training will therefore take place in partner schools other than your 'attachment' schools. Support is available from your University Tutor throughout your training, plus from experienced teachers accredited by the University as school based tutors.

Why Wolverhampton?

Why become a student in the Institute of Education?

We are proud of our long-standing tradition of training teachers of Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Post Compulsory Education.

You will be taught in our state-of-the-art teaching buildings at Walsall Campus, just a short walk from the heart of the town. Our Education and Teaching buildings are fitted with interactive whiteboards, lecture theatres, science classrooms, as well as social learning areas and a Starbucks coffee shop.

Who will teach you on this course?

All of the staff that teaches you on this course have experience within the field having worked in Secondary Education and now work in teacher education. You will benefit from the team’s expertise, as they all actively engage in research.

The Institute of Education at the University of Wolverhampton has a strong focus on research and the part it plays in your study experience. All our lecturers are research active (see our profiles on the University web pages) and working on latest developments.

• We work with around 200 secondary schools from across the entire West Midlands region and beyond.
• Access to regular Professional Skills Test Support.

We are committed to student support, from enrolment to graduation. You will have a personal tutor to support your progression through your award.

Who accredits this course?

This course leads to recommendation towards the professional qualification of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The University will recommend students who have demonstrated competence in the Professional Standards to the Teaching Agency – who will award QTS.

The award of QTS is essential to teach in a school in the United Kingdom and on gaining this award the student becomes a qualified teacher.

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The MA Higher and Professional Education will give students critical insights into the changing field of higher education; reflecting on contemporary developments and debates. It will introduce conceptual and analytical frameworks for understanding the role of higher education in society. It will develop student’s knowledge, skills and confidence to operate effectively and creatively in a diverse higher education sector.

About this degree

This programme provides students with the opportunity to study for an interdisciplinary, interprofessional qualification, examining higher and professional education policies and practices in relation to their own personal and professional experience.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of two core modules (60 credits), two optional modules (60 credits), and either a) a dissertation (60 credits), or b) a report (30 credits) plus a further optional module (30 credits).

Core modules

The two core modules must both be completed in order to gain the named award.

• Innovation and Change in Higher and Professional Education
• Higher Education: Comparative and International Perspectives

In 2017/18 both core modules were timtabled 5-8pm to enable students working in higher education to attend with ICHE running in the Autumn Term and HE: CiP running in the Spring Term.

Optional modules

Recommended optional modules appear below, but optional modules can be selected from the wide range offered by various taught Masters programmes at the Institute of Education.

• Comparative Education: Theories and Methods
• Understanding Education Policy
• Debates in the History of Education
• Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates
• Learning and Teaching for Adults
• Philosophy of Education: Values, Aims and Society
• Sociology of Education
• Understanding Education Research
• Understanding Research

The module Learning and Teaching for Adults has the additional requirement of experience of teaching.

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a 20,000-word dissertation or 10,000-word report.

Teaching and learning

Teaching is delivered through interactive lectures, seminars, group discussions, case study analysis and online learning. In many modules there are opportunities for all students to participate on a variety of ways, including giving short presentations or seminar papers or leading group discussions. 

Assessment is through coursework assignments of up to 5,000 words and a 20,000-word dissertation or 10,000-word report.

Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Higher and Professional Education MA

Careers

Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas, for example one is a university governance and quality assurance manager, while another is a government policy adviser for education. Others have jobs as academic standards and quality officer, careers and professional development consultant, learning, teaching and quality manager, and qualifications manager and students’ union officer. Some go on to doctoral studies in the field of higher education.

Recent career destinations for this degree

• Administrative Assistant, Vienna University for Economics and Business
• Medical Consultant, St George's Hospital (NHS)
• Programme Administrator, Institute of Education
• International Partnerships Manager, City University London
• PHD Education, Institute of Education, University of London (IOE)

Employability

The employability of students will be significantly enhanced by the development of complementary skills which will help them to efficiently connect theory, policy and practice in their day to day to jobs.

• to enable participants to understand and analyse policies and practices in higher and professional education
• to develop critical awareness of concepts, debates and issues in higher and professional education
• to be able to conduct a small-scale inquiry, and include this in a sustained exposition (dissertation or report)
• to develop frameworks and principles for action in professional settings

Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The Department of Education, Practice and Society is a multidisciplinary department at UCL Institute of Education. The department has extensive expertise and experience in research, knowledge transfer and consultancy in the UK, Europe and Asia, working closely with transnational bodies, government departments, regional organisations, national institutes, and international organisations.

The Centre for Higher Education Studies brings together students, researchers, consultants and practitioners from around the world focusing on higher education with a distinctive programme of seminars and events

Programmes offered by the Centre for Higher Education Studies provide high level academic and professional education for those working in higher education.

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.

The following REF score was awarded to the department: Education, Practice & Society

78% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)

Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.

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Do you want to develop your professional expertise and advance your career in education? The Master of Education addresses the professional learning needs of educators, educational administrators, managers, policy makers and others interested or involved in learning and education in the wider community. The course positions you to be a thought leader. Step beyond where you are now. Think deeply as you connect with research excellence and transform how you practice.

The course addresses learning in schools, workplaces and community. It connects research and practice to make you a stronger thinker, an engaged practitioner and an advanced specialist. You will broaden your knowledge of key learning constructs, deepen your professional learning in specialist areas and advance your capacity as a professional inquirer.

You will build your research knowledge and extend your expertise in one of the following specialisations:

- Adult learning
- Digital learning
- Early childhood education
- Educational leadership and policy
- Expert teaching practice
- General education studies
- Inclusive and special education.

In the Master of Education you can graduate with a generic, broadly applicable qualification, by choosing general leadership studies and selecting units to suit your requirements. Alternatively, you may prefer to choose one of the other specialisations and graduate with a qualification that highlights your particular leadership expertise. The flexible structure means you do not have to finalise your decision before being admitted to the course.

A flexible course delivery also allows you to continue working whilst completing the course. You can choose to engage via a fully online offering or to combine this with attendance at face-to-face workshops if you are able and interested.

Graduates pursue leadership roles in educational environments, business, and community settings.

Visit the website http://www.study.monash/courses/find-a-course/2016/education-d6002?domestic=true

Overview

Please select a specialisation for more details:

Adult learning

Your qualification will be a Master of Education in Adult Learning

Do you want to develop your knowledge and expertise in adult education? If so, this specialisation is for you. It focuses on ways to lead and develop communities of learners and their learning - in workplaces, communities and in local, global and virtual spaces. It offers ideas and approaches to enable participation and learning, through formal and non-formal means, and expand and extend practice and skill development in communities.

Through engagement with contemporary theories, approaches and concepts around lifelong learning and participation, you will identify local and global trends and practices around adult education. You will develop a repertoire of strategies to design engaging learning activities for adults.

You will explore how socially inclusive communities are developed and through practical case studies gain an appreciation of the transformative power of education in promoting community inclusion in global settings. You will learn how experiential learning and transformative approaches to teaching and learning can be used in community contexts to address core social issues such as poverty, racism and crime.

Graduates of this specialisation will be well positioned to manage, deliver and administer learning in workplaces, communities, tertiary and vocational sectors.

Digital learning

Your qualification will be a Master of Education in Digital Learning

Do you want to learn how to adapt digital technologies effectively in teaching and learning across school, tertiary, workplace and community settings? This specialisation engages with the key issues and debates relating to digital technology in education and the application of effective educational technology practices for learning.

It is suited to professionals across school, tertiary, workplace and community settings, who are grappling with how best to design, facilitate and assess the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning.

You will explore current and emerging trends in digital technologies being used in education and develop your understanding of the social, political, economic, cultural and historical issues surrounding their adoption. Your expert practice will develop through engagement with contemporary theories, models and practical strategies for understanding digital technology in education and society. Key issues such as identity, cyber safety, globalisation, equity and emerging forms of social practice will be examined.

You will be immersed in a collaborative and student-centred environment as you experience, practise and critique the design of digital technologies, materials, activities and assessments. There is a special focus on online teaching and learning but instructional issues relating to emerging technologies and practices, such as social media, digital games, mobile devices, virtual worlds and augmented reality will also be explored.

The specialisation is designed for all students regardless of their familiarity with computers.

Graduates will be well positioned to adapt digital technologies effectively in teaching and learning across school, tertiary, workplace and community settings.

Early childhood education

Your qualification will be a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education

If you want to develop your expertise and advance your career in early childhood education, then this specialisation is for you. It develops the expert practice of early childhood educators, leaders, policy makers and others interested in advancing their understanding of young children's learning, addressing the emerging need in global economies to build capacity of professionals in the early childhood sector.

It will equip you to respond to complex issues around children, their families and communities and initiate inclusive teaching and learning practices among young children.

You will develop your awareness of the features of leadership that engages critically and ethically in working with children, families and communities, and apply this to your professional practice.

You will gain an in-depth understanding of the nature of early literacy and numeracy development in the context of everyday life across families and cultures. Contemporary theories and approaches in cross-cultural mathematical and literacy development will form the foundation of a rich repertoire of strategies to promote children's early literacy and numeracy learning.

As a graduate you will be in a position to pursue senior roles in early childhood education, policy, leadership and management. The program will enhance your ability to lead educational work, innovative curriculum, teaching and policy, and professional learning in early childhood contexts.

Educational leadership and policy

Your qualification will be a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy

This specialisation focuses on leadership practices and policy development within educational contexts. It is suited to those who are interested in leading educational initiatives and institutions and extending their knowledge of how to lead, manage and administer capable educational organisations.

You will explore the concept and characteristics of a capable organisation, and evaluate factors that contribute to maintaining and sustaining capable organisations including human intellect, knowledge, values, emotion, learning and organisational culture and climate.

As a result you will acquire a suite of effective leadership strategies for capability building and develop your understanding of how organisations build organisational resilience when confronted with change.

Importantly, you will add to this the capacity to assess organisational capability and develop capacity in particular contexts. Using empirical research you will evaluate the decision making process that occurs within organisations and the aspects that influence it. You will design strategies to improve problem solving and decision making processes and outcomes and enhance organisational capabilities.

Expert teaching practice

Your qualification will be a Master of Education in Expert Teaching Practice

How and what we teach and the way students learn lies at the heart of education. As such, expert teachers and expert teaching are critical ingredients in both formal and informal education. Whether your setting is schools, tertiary education, workplaces or community organisations and groups, this specialisation is designed to extend your interest and deepen your knowledge and practice of teaching and learning in various learning areas and contexts of your choice.

You will address the complexity and the artistry of teaching – advancing your understanding of how learning can be both stimulated and supported – in various learning areas and contexts of your choice.

General education studies

Your qualification will be a Master of Education

Monash understands that professionals are themselves often in the best position to decide the particular knowledge they need to acquire. This specialisation offers the opportunity to select your two specialist units from across the other specialisations.

You can tailor your unit choices to suit your own interests or needs while maintaining a strong focus on leadership. A museum director, for example, may choose a blend of organisational learning and science curriculum and pedagogy in anticipation of leading the museum's science outreach. A current or aspiring principal, planning work in a rural community, may find a Community learning unit an excellent substitute to one suggested for principals.

Inclusive and special education

Your qualification will be a Master of Education in Inclusive and Special Education

Do you want to develop effective strategies to promote inclusion of learners with diverse needs in a range of learning contexts? If so, this specialisation is for you.

It focuses on building inclusive learning environments. You will study theories of, and approaches to, inclusion of diverse learners with particular cultural, social, cognitive and emotional needs across learning contexts. In doing so, you will discover ways in which education can be transformed to include all learners regardless of their age, sexuality, gender, class, ethnicity and disability.

For more information visit the faculty website - http://www.study.monash/media/links/faculty-websites/education

Find out how to apply here - http://www.study.monash/courses/find-a-course/2016/education-d6002?domestic=true#making-the-application

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning.
It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Primary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 5-11. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Primary course is structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based.

The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I
This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.

2. Education Studies II
This module aims to develop understanding of the learning, teaching and assessment of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 & 2, in the Core (English, Mathematics and Science) and Foundation subjects (Computing, Physical Education, History, Geography, Religious Education, Art and Music).
The primary focus will be on developing approaches to maximise the impact you can make on pupil progress (TS2). This module focuses on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and ways to meet the differentiated needs of a range of pupils in relation to theoretical perspectives and real-life classroom applications and strategies are addressed.

3. Education Studies III (Curriculum Enhancement)
The following range of Curriculum Enhancements are usually offered: Bilingualism, Culture & Identities (BCI), Mathematics, Mathematical Thinking, Physical Education, Talk, Science, Computing
This unique module aims to develop curriculum expertise in the chosen area, whereby student teachers can:
research and develop innovative skills and projects within the context of their curriculum enhancement study and school setting;
apply the skills and principles of highly effective planning, teaching and assessment principles of National Curriculum focus areas, using a broad range of learning, teaching and assessment resources and approaches;
explore and develop skills in ‘specialised’ cross-curricula approaches.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs). This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006. We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

The application will cost £51.86 (this amount may be subject to change) and the University will send further instructions as part of the admissions process. For further guidance please email [email protected].

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Primary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Primary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:
Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities (Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

School and Local Authorities are increasingly seeking to employ teachers with not only high levels of competence and skill in classroom practice, but practitioners who have advanced subject knowledge for teaching and enhanced knowledge of systems and theories relevant to education. Therefore, the aims of this program are:

to enable student teachers to develop a critical understanding of issues and theories that impact upon classroom practice in teaching, learning and assessment in secondary schools;
to support student teachers in their exploration and critical reflection on their own and others practice in relation to national and regional priorities and policies and current research relevant to the Key Stages for this programme;
to promote student teachers' practical teaching skills and subject knowledge for teaching across the relevant Key Stages for this programme, making links with relevant theory to inform practice.

The programme aims to further develop students' existing transferable skills in communication, literacy, numeracy and critical reasoning. It is suitable for those who wish to gain employment as teachers and who aspire to progress to leadership and management roles in schools or in the wider world of education. It will provide an excellent foundation for progression to either higher academic or advanced professional qualifications.

Course Content

Generic Course Structure and Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.
You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II

This module covers the following GPE themes:
Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.
You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III

This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:
Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

Mathematics is one of the three core subjects in the National Curriculum along with English and Science. As such, it is accorded a high status and there are ample opportunities for the promotion of good teachers.

Attitudes among pupils to the subject are extremely varied. The challenge for you is to bring Mathematics to life and inspire pupils of all abilities to explore the subject's potential at an appropriate level.

You have to be able to encourage and support pupils who struggle with Mathematics or lack enthusiasm for the subject, and learn how to make it accessible to them. You also have to be able to extend those who enjoy and are successful in the subject.

The PGCE Secondary Mathematics Education course is very popular, drawing on outstanding expertise and experience in Education to
build upon your commitment to the teaching profession and the subject area.

The intensive programme combines courses in principles and methods of teaching with practical school-based teaching placements and students are assessed on both elements.

Throughout the course, theory and practice are integrated in both the University and school contexts. The course is planned and delivered in partnership with Mathematics colleagues in local schools.

The Teachers’ Standards are mapped to every aspect of course provision to facilitate the best possible opportunities to support the process of your professional learning.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Learning and Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of Qualified Teacher Status. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

Read less

About the course

Our Primary and Secondary PGCEs are "Outstanding" (Ofsted, 2015).

All our Education courses have been developed in collaboration with Partnership schools and the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL). This ensures not only the highest possible quality of provision, but also relevance in reflecting national and school-level priorities in Education.

Aims

The Brunel Science Postgraduate Certificate (PGCE) is a M-level course with 60 credits that can contribute to further Master's level study in Education, subject to approval.

The course will equip you with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to teach science and the ability to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the vital role of the teacher and the school in ensuring excellence in the educational experiences of young people

Undertake professional practice which enables you to evidence the Teachers’ Standards which facilitate the award of Qualified Teacher Status

Understand the relationships between Education and science within current national and government frameworks, and critically reflect on the impact of these in the work of schools and the educational experiences of young people

Recognise the contribution that science as part of the whole school curriculum makes to the development of the individual learner and groups of learners

Think critically about what it means to be scientifically educated and how this informs curriculum planning and design within the subject area

Apply a thorough knowledge and understanding of science (Physics) National Curriculum to the planning of curriculum experiences for pupils in school

Demonstrate competence and confidence in your ability to teach across the contexts for pupil learning in the mathematics National Curriculum range and content, applying principles of continuity and progression

Use subject knowledge and relevant course specifications to plan and deliver the 14-16 curriculum including examination and vocational courses

Demonstrate an understanding of the subject knowledge and specification requirements for the 16-19 curriculum

Utilise a range of teaching strategies to meet the identified learning needs of a wide range of pupils

Utilise a range of resources, including information and communication technology, to enhance pupil learning in physics

Understand the importance of safe practice and safeguarding and apply these in working with young people both within and beyond lessons

Use a wide range of class management strategies to maximise pupil learning

Understand the principles of inclusion and apply these to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils in the subject area

Understand national frameworks for assessment within the subject area and use these to support the recording and analysis of data, and the subsequent use of this to plan the next phase of learning

Raise the status of the subject area by demonstrating high standards of professionalism at all times

Understand the crucial role of professional learning for the teacher, the pupils and schools.

Course Content

The PGCE is an intensive programme, which combines an exploration of principles and methods of teaching and learning with practical school-based teaching placements. It lasts for 36 weeks from early September to late June.

The Secondary programme prepares you to work with pupils aged 11-16. At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our Partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

The PGCE Secondary courses are structured around three modules, which share a generic General Professional Education (GPE) component. The GPE programme involves an enquiry based learning approach, which combines taught sessions with independent professional learning activities (PLAs). These PLAs require independent research, which is either school-related or school-based. The three PGCE modules are:

1. Education Studies I
This module covers the following GPE themes:

Professionalism, values and reflective practice;
Safeguarding, child protection and e-safety;
Understanding curriculum and the National Curriculum;
Supporting learners, learning and effective behaviour management;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with SEND and SEBD;
Effective planning and teaching to promote pupil progress;
Assessment and its role in promoting effective learning.

You will also focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

2. Education Studies II
This module covers the following GPE themes:

Applying for your first post;
Understanding data analysis to support effective teaching and learning;
Behaviour for learning and the wider professional responsibilities of the subject teacher;
Inclusive education, with a specific focus on supporting pupils with English as an Additional Language, pupils receiving the Pupil Premium and able pupils;
Safeguarding with a focus on the Prevent and Channel national strategy and bullying and homophobic bullying.

You will also continue to focus on teaching and learning issues of particular concern to your phase or subject specialism.

3. Education Studies III
This module focuses specifically on supporting student teachers to make an effective transition into their first post and examines the following themes in GPE:

Preparing for induction and the professional learning action plan for your first post;
Pathways into leadership in education;
Learning outside the classroom;
Contributing to the wider aspects of the formal and informal curriculum and your wider professional role as a teacher.

Subject Specific Course Content

As a qualified science teacher you may be required to teach National Curriculum general science to Key Stage 4, as well as your particular specialism to ‘A’ level and beyond. To this end, the course aims to facilitate your transformation into a well-educated, well-trained, confident and motivated science educator.

Along with English and mathematics, science is one of the three core subjects of the National Curriculum and since all pupils have to study a broad, balanced curriculum in science there is a demand for well-qualified and skilled science teachers. Most pupils entering secondary school are excited at the prospect of work, for the first time in a fully equipped laboratory, and secondary school science teachers have to build upon and sustain this interest for the subject.

To meet this challenge we need capable, skilled and enthusiastic teachers who are able to motivate young people and lead them to discover the wonders of science.

School Experience

School-based professional learning is a compulsory element of all programmes leading to a recommendation for QTS. The course involves the statutory requirement of at least 120 days of school experience in the form of block school placements undertaken in at least two different contexts.

Our current partnership schools are mainly located in the West London area and adjoining Home Counties. We have developed close links with a number of very good schools over a number of years, and offer placements within carefully chosen schools that provide an appropriate professional learning experience. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the schools we work with is a distinctive aspect of our provision and we are equally proud of the diversity of our student teacher cohort, who reflect the communities in which many of them go on to work as teachers.

We also offer student teachers the opportunity to experience placements in alternative settings, which include special schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), young offenders institutions. This further demonstrates our commitment to preparing teachers to work with young people in a diverse range of educational contexts.

You will be allocated a school-based mentor, selected for their experience and expertise, who is there to help you develop and learn while you are on placement. The importance of this person should not be underestimated. Teaching is a very challenging profession and with the help of your school-based mentor and your University tutor we aim to make sure that you have support every step of the way, encouraging reflection and development.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Childcare Disqualification and Prohibition Orders

As an accredited provider of Initial Teacher Education we have to have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We ensure that all student teachers have been subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks, including a check of the children’s barred list. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance on the application to schools of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and related obligations under the Childcare Act 2006.

We undertake our responsibility to ensure that the student teachers are not, therefore, disqualified from childcare or that the student teacher has obtained a childcare disqualification waiver from Ofsted. We also check that candidates are not subject to a prohibition order for teaching issued by the Secretary of State.

Teaching

We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach in our PGCE Secondary courses where students are encouraged to research and investigate a range of broad and subject specific educational themes and issues and bring their findings back for discussion in interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. These themes and issues address national, regional and partnership priorities as well as specific areas for investigation with the subject area.

Assessment

Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
The PGCE Secondary programme carries 60 Master’s Level credits and requires you to successfully complete three formally assessed pieces of academic work during the year.
All of these assessments also require an accompanying portfolio of evidence.
The Master’s Level credits provide an excellent foundation for future academic and professional study.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alongside the PGCE academic award for your programme, you will also be assessed for the recommendation of QTS. In order to be recommended for QTS you are required to demonstrate that you have met the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013) in both the University and in school and alternative education settings. All aspects of the programme are designed around you being able to demonstrate that you are meeting the Teachers’ Standards.

Part 1 of the Teachers’ Standards require you to:

Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
Plan and teach well structured lessons
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
Make accurate and productive use of assessment
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
(Teachers’ Standards, DfE, 2013)

Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards require students to demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.

As the PGCE is a professional course, 100% attendance is an expectation.

Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status will be made by the Secondary PGCE Examination Board for all those who successfully demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards as shown in the requirements for University and school-based work.

Special Features

As a leading centre of education and with roots in teacher education dating back to 1798, we are able to provide first class teacher education that is internationally recognised.

A Brunel PGCE is a recognised symbol of quality teacher education which accounts for our high employment rates.

At the heart of our programmes is a vision that our student teachers’ teaching will impact positively on pupil progress over time in schools and that our partnership activities with schools will contribute to school improvement. We aspire for all our students to be outstanding teachers.

You will benefit from an established partnership between Brunel and a variety of educational institutions and local schools. Brunel education degrees offer multicultural placement learning opportunities. For example, our location in West London and our diverse and well-established schools network means you will gain highly-valued placement learning experiences in vibrant multicultural schools.

Beyond ITE, for early career teachers we offer the Masters in Teaching (MAT), where students can utilise their 60 PGCE Masters level credits to continue their postgraduate studies part-time, whilst also meeting the requirements outlined for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) and early career development. Where schools have qualified for Enhanced Partnership status with Brunel University London, NQTs in those schools have access to the first year MAT module for free, illustrating our commitment to supporting NQTs into and through their first year of teaching. We also offer a Masters in Education (MAEd), a Doctorate in Education (EdDoc) and PhD postgraduate routes through the Department of Education. This continuum of provision ensures a commitment to teacher education and professional learning at all stages and the growing community of professional practice strengthens our Partnership.

Staff are nationally and internationally recognised for their research, and liaise with government and other agencies on education policy issues. The Department of Education is host to a number of research centres, including the Brunel Able Children’s Centre. The process of learning is informed by cutting-edge research by staff in the strands of: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Pedagogy and Professional Practice (PPP).

You can take advantage of free access to our excellent University Academic Skills service, ASK.

We have an award winning Professional Development Centre.

Our library has been nominated for national awards for its outstanding provision.

We have on-site volunteering opportunities through our Brunel Volunteers provision.

Our Disability and Dyslexia Service team have an excellent track record of support for students.

Our Union of Brunel Students provides you with a range of additional support and a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities and social events.

There is excellent University-wide access to PCs and the Internet, as well as free loan of media equipment and music/recording studios, and web space on the University server.

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The new African Studies degrees at UCL draw on world-leading research and expertise from across the university, and offer a unique opportunity to choose one of four distinct pathways. In the African Studies with Education MA students will come to understand some of the challenges surrounding education in contemporary Africa - including poverty, inequality, gender, education and employment, education and technology; vernacular education and the diaspora.

About this degree

The degree pathways share a common core, comprising modules on the continent’s political and economic past and present. In addition, the Education pathway explores aspects of education and learning, through a bespoke 'African Studies and Education' core module and a range of advanced optional modules drawn from the UCL Institute of Education and other UCL departments. 

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (45 credits), three optional modules (45 credits), and a dissertation (90 credits).

Core modules

• Africa: Dialogues of Past and Present
• Debating Africa's Future
• African Studies and Education

Optional modules

Students choose three from a range of optional modules including but not limited to the following:

• Education and International Development: Concepts, Theories and Issues
• Planning for Education and Development
• Education, Conflict and Fragility
• Learners, Learning and Teaching in the Context of Education for All
• Education in Muslim Communities
• Gender, Education and Development
• Promoting Health and Wellbeing: Planning, Practice and Participation
• Cultural Heritage, Globalisation and Development
• Cultural Memory and Identity
• Research Methods in African Studies
• Performance, Visual Media and Popular Culture in Africa
• Archaeology and Education

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words. This dissertation must focus on a research question related to educational issues in or about Africa.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars and guided independent research. Assessment is through essays, portfolio, research proposal and examination.

Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: African Studies with Education MA

Careers

Graduates will be well placed to take up diverse positions within education-related organisations, national and international policy-making bodies, non-governmental development organisations, or within national ministries and the public sector. 

Employability

Students will develop skills in a wide range of areas related to education in Africa, including theoretical and practical concepts concerning the challenges of researching and delivering education in Africa. Graduates will be well placed to go on to jobs in the enducation, NGO or policy sphere. Students will also have the option to choose a research methods module which will introduce them to transferable skills, including research ethics, participatory research skills, data analysis and GIS, archival work, ethnographic field techniques and presentation skills.

Why study this degree at UCL?

UCL offers a unique teaching and learning environment in which to study education as it relates to the continent of Africa. More than 35 permanent members of UCL academic staff focus their research primarily on Africa and their field activities span the continent. This expertise is combined with that of the world-leading UCL Institute of Education to provide unparalleled insight into education policy and practice.

African Studies marks the first time existing expertise on Africa at UCL has been combined to offer an interdisciplinary degree. The new African Studies and Education pathway has been co-developed with the UCL Institute of Education and draws on the university's core strengths in teaching and reseach on education in Africa.

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.

Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.

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This one year Physical Education PGDipEd (QTS) course is considered to be a high quality course as identified by the Ofsted subject inspection. The course tries to develop a deep understanding of issues and complexities which surround the teaching and learning of Physical Education. We wish to develop you as a thinking teacher who can be aware of choices in how to teach Physical Education and make informed decisions about how you work with pupils.

At the University of Birmingham we believe we should provide student teachers with the highest level of teacher training possible, and this is why we offer a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDipEd) rather than a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Both qualifications lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) but the PGDipEd also offers the equivalent of 120 credits at Master’s level (out of 180), which makes it a highly rewarding course by combining both theory and practice.

Following satisfactory completion of this course, plus a successful induction year in school and references, you can return to complete an MA in Teaching Studies (data collection and a 15,000 word dissertation). Additionally, the School also offers a number of specialised Professional Development programmes which will enable you to further develop your career.

Download our brochure for information on all our teacher education programmes. 

Course details

The School of Education at the University of Birmingham has a long tradition of delivering teaching training courses. Its teaching has been graded as 'outstanding' for the third consecutive time by Ofsted inspectors which reaffirms the University’s status as one of the UK’s leading institutions for excellence in teacher training. 

The Initial Teacher Education course

The PGDipEd course lasts 36 weeks, of which 24 are spent in our partnership schools.

Teaching practice will take several forms: school placements and also team teaching while at the University. You will also get involved in small scale research projects for your assignments so that you can evaluate the theory in practice and integrate this learning into your own teaching.

The course will aim to develop your teaching ability to ensure that you can facilitate learning in the pupils in your care. Our sessions will explore different aspects of teaching and will involve a balance of theoretical and practical activities. We will help you become aware of issues related to teaching including planning units of work and lessons, assessment strategies and teaching and learning styles. We will cover the six activity areas of the National Curriculum as well as the examination and vocational opportunities in Physical Education. We will support your development as a teacher and guide you to recognise and correct pupils' common misconceptions. We will introduce you to a range of equipment, resources and technology which you can utilise to maximise learning opportunities.

The Physical Education PGDipEd (QTS) operates a ‘Course Enhancement’ programme which includes residential activity and some certificated courses, it is expected that student teachers will make a financial contribution.

Equal Opportunities

The School of Education is committed to equal opportunities in the access to and provision of education. For more information please see the following documents:

• School Strategic Plan
• Disability 
• Equality and Diversity 

Information on our other PGDipEd (QTS) subjects may be found on the Postgraduate Diploma Secondary Education (QTS)course page.

Learning and teaching

Course Structure

A variety of teaching styles and approaches to learning are used in the presentation of the themes. These include University-based lectures, small group seminars and workshops, school-based work with pupils and teachers, and work undertaken individually or with other groups of students.

The course includes the following areas of study: 

• Subject-based teaching methods 
• School-based work 
• Whole-school issues

Subject-based teaching methods

You follow your specialist programme, working with your tutor and with peers in your subject, during University days which make up 12 weeks in total across the year. Assessment is based on coursework undertaken during the year.

School-based work  

School-based work is an important part of the programme, with students normally spending a total of 24 weeks in schools. During the programme you benefit from both carefully supported introductory work in different schools and the experience of spending a significant length of time in two schools.

The final assessment of teaching is based on the spring/summer term school placement. Assessment is shared between University tutors, staff responsible for students in schools, and external examiners. All aspects of your contribution to the life of the school are taken into account, in particular the teaching of your main subject.

During the course supervised experience and practice are arranged in schools of various kinds across the 11–18 age range. We are fortunate in being able to work with a wide range of partnership schools, including mixed comprehensives, single-sex schools, sixth-form colleges and our own University Training School (http://www.uobschool.org.uk). Many of the schools offer opportunities to work with pupils from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.   

Whole-school issues

This area of study is concerned with aspects of education that are of importance to all intending teachers, irrespective of their particular teaching subjects. It is designed to provide you with a breadth of awareness, depth of insight and development of skills through a range of themes studied by all students. Themes currently include Managing Inclusion, Monitoring and Assessment, and Pastoral Care and Citizenship.  

Tutoring and support

You will personally be allocated a university tutor who will guide and support you throughout your PGDipEd (QTS), along with a dedicated school mentor when on placements.

Progression

Once you have completed your PGDipEd (QTS) and successfully passed your induction year you may return to study with us on a part-time basis to complete a 60 credit dissertation and obtain an MA in Teaching Studies. 

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This programme offers theoretical and practical support for those embarking on a career in Higher Education (HE). It considers different approaches to teaching and learning, grounded in educational research, and related aspects such as curriculum design and delivery and the principles and purposes of assessment. It enables you to bring these considerations to bear on your own work and experience as a teacher, researcher or practitioner.

The emphasis throughout is on developing an understanding of the HE context, recognising the diversity of provision – universities, Further Education institutions, specialist institutions, professional providers – and practices, for example, in different disciplinary fields.

Visit the website https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/239/higher-education

About the Centre for the Study of Higher Education

The Centre for the Study of Higher Education provides a base for postgraduate provision with a distinctive focus on the field of Higher Education. CSHE is also a focal point for research in this area, supported by seminars and events to which all postgraduate students and staff are warmly welcomed.

We offer three taught postgraduate programmes (PCert, PDip and MA in Higher Education) and a PhD in Higher Education. Taught programmes are tailored to different levels of experience and designed for you to select subject matter according to your own professional interests and role. The emphasis throughout is on developing an understanding of the Higher Education context, the diversity of provision and the implications for all aspects of academic work in the 21st century.

The PhD programme, offered on a full-time or part-time basis, is aimed at those with a professional or scholarly interest in any aspect of Higher Education who wish to develop as independent researchers in the field.

Students on our programmes come from a wide range of subject backgrounds and bring a rich variety of experiences to their work, resulting in a lively interdisciplinary dimension to taught modules and opportunities for debate.

Please note that we are unable to offer tuition or supervision in relation to other phases of education (e.g. schools), or to schoolteacher education.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take modules from other programmes so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.

Assessment

Assessment is by an essay of 3,000 words or negotiated equivalent for each module.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

- assist you to become an effective professional HE teacher informed by scholarship, research and innovation

- assist you to become an effective research worker, supervisor of research students and staff, and manager of projects (where appropriate)

- provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the principal institutions, constituents and procedures of a higher education institution

- introduce you to a range of different theoretical approaches to the study of education and develop a critical awareness of education in its historical, socio-economic and political contexts

- enable you to study some selected aspects of higher education in greater depth.

Study support

- Research expertise and resources

The Centre for the Study of Higher Education has members of staff based in all faculties in the University, as well as a core team of Education specialists. Higher Education is a broad interdisciplinary field, and members of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education research and publish on a wide range of subjects. Full details can be found on individual staff webpages. The Centre draws on expertise from a range of disciplines; we offer joint supervision with other academic schools, and can accommodate a wide range of research topics.

The University library houses a growing collection of books and journals on higher education, many of which can be accessed online. You also have access to the extensive training and other resources provided through the Graduate School.

- Research seminars/events

The Centre holds regular research seminars where academic staff and postgraduate students discuss their research and work in progress. Every term we also invite a number of external speakers to give lectures and seminars. Our students have access to lively national and international research networks and conferences through the Centre’s active involvement in the Society for Research into Higher Education, the British Educational Research Association and other scholarly bodies.

- Dynamic publishing culture

Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Recent contributions include: Journal of Workplace Learning; Discourse; Journal of Further and Higher Education; Teaching in Higher Education; International Journal of Lifelong Education.

- Global Skills Award

All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme (http://www.kent.ac.uk/graduateschool/skills/programmes/gsa.html). The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.

Research areas

Research on HE at Kent includes work on education policy, the philosophy, economics, management and politics of HE, disciplinary teaching and learning, learning technology, academic practice and sociological perspectives on academic work.

Careers

Our students are higher education professionals at various stages of their careers, ranging from early career teachers to lecturers to experienced senior leaders. Throughout, we aim to enhance students’ understanding and capacity for critical analysis of the contexts and practices of higher education.

The MA in Higher Education further encourages students to reflect upon their own professional experiences through critical engagement with topics of academic interest. After completing the MA, recent graduates have gained promotion within their existing roles, taken up new employment or commenced PhD study.

Find out how to apply here - https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

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The Education: International Perspectives (Technology in Education) MA allows you to study how the nature of teaching and learning is changing in a highly connected environment.

Learners are increasingly relying on each other and the Internet for their learning and metacognition resources. As an educator you need to understand your role in such an environment and how to use Information, Communication and Educational Technology effectively for achieving your objectives.

On the course you will cover:

-Self-organised learning environments

-Why pedagogy matters

-The impact of technology on education

-The latest innovations in educational technology

This course will be useful for educators. Through developing knowledge of this subject your teaching skills will be strengthened and employability will improve. The course will also be of interest to people with an IT background who are keen on developing or supporting technology enhanced learning.

The course builds on a strong research base in two research centres in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences:

-The Centre for Learning and Teaching

-SOLE Central.

The course also draws on the expertise of a number of highly regarded academics. These include:

-Professor Sugata Mitra

-Professor David Leat

The Education: International Perspectives (Technology in Education) MA is one of a suite of courses. You may also be interested in:

-Education: International Perspectives (Leadership and Management), MA

-Education: International Perspectives (Teaching and Learning), MA

These MAs are flexible in nature and you will have the option to study modules across the three different courses.

Delivery

The majority of taught modules are offered in the first semester, including some sessions which are run in the early evening and on Saturdays. During the year there is a development to a greater element of self-study and semi-independent research and project work.

You complete the course with a research project focusing on a topic of interest to you.

There is an extended induction programme that provides you with support for advanced study, including assignment writing and information and communications and technology (ICT) training.

Placements

You will have the opportunity to carry out a placement as part of your taught modules. Your placement will be in an educational setting such as a local primary or secondary school. This is enjoyable and useful in contextualising your understanding of learning theory.

Facilities

As a student in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences you'll have access to facilities and a growing collection of online resources, including:

-A well-stocked Education Resource Centre

-Language Analysis Lab

-A phonetics lab

-An audio-video lab

-A recording studio.

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