
Education Studies - BA (Hons) *
Currently viewing course to start in 2024/25 Entry. Switch to 2023/24 Entry
Are you interested in teaching, education systems, care or research? Our BA (Hons) in Education Studies will allow you to explore all aspects of education, focusing on subject areas of most interest to you, so that you graduate with a range of career options in what you love to do.
- Level Undergraduate
- Study mode Full Time
- Location City South
- Award BA (Hons)
- Start date September 2024
- Fees View course fees
- School School of Education and Social Work
- Faculty Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences
This course is:
Overview
Are you interested in teaching, education systems, care or research? Our BA (Hons) in Education Studies will allow you to explore all aspects of education, focusing on subject areas of most interest to you, so that you graduate with a range of career options in what you love to do.
What's covered in this course?
Studying at our £71 million City South Campus in Edgbaston, you will explore concepts such as education and society, equality, diversity, values and policies of the UK education system, as well as educational systems around the world. You will also have lots of opportunities to go deeper into subjects that are of interest and are important to you.
Our degree uses a wide variety of learning methods, including interactive and engaging lectures, seminars and workshops, plus guest speakers who share their knowledge. This is combined with our experienced course staff who will support and guide you every step of the way.
Throughout the course we arrange visits to and welcome guest speakers from organisations from across Birmingham including, the Thinktank, Historic England, the CBSO and Newman Brother’s (a museum in the Jewellery Quarter). You will also have the opportunity to go on a work placement during year two to enhance your skills and experience.
The placement module is a crucial aspect and allows you to merge theory with practice. You will be encouraged to experience and consider different educational settings though enhancement activities such as volunteering, Careers Week, Graduate+ and presentations from external speakers.
This course is designed to promote independence so that you become more a confident, autonomous, creative lifelong learner and will challenge you to push boundaries and discover your full potential while at university.
Why Choose Us?
- Our teaching is based around a commitment to social justice and examining the role of education in tackling social injustice.
- ‘Cradle to grave’ teaching focus – you will learn about the role of education throughout life, from the first stages of infancy right through to lifelong learning.
- Expert staff team - our experienced, passionate and dedicated staff team will guide you through the course to maximise your learning opportunities and future employability.
- Opens the doors for a wide range of careers in the field of education.
- Flexible placement opportunity to help you build the skills you need for your future career.
Similar Courses
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Next Open Day: 30 September 2023
Entry Requirements
These entry requirements apply for entry in 2024/25.
All required qualifications/grades must have been achieved and evidenced at the earliest opportunity after accepting an offer to help confirm admission and allow for on-time enrolment. This can also include other requirements, like a fee status form and relevant documents. Applicants can track their application and outstanding information requests through their BCU mySRS account.
We accept a range of qualifications, the most popular of which are detailed below.
Essential Requirements
112 UCAS tariff points from A/AS Level |
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Level 2 qualifications | ||
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GCSE | GCSE English Language or English Literature and GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above. If you do not have these or are not undertaking them, we accept other Level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests. | |
Irish Leaving Certificate (Ordinary Level) | See level 3 entry requirements under Irish Leaving Certificate for full details. | |
Scottish National 5 | English Language or English Literature and Maths at grade C or above. If you do not have these or are not undertaking them, we accept other Level 2 equivalents, or we may ask you to pass BCU's GCSE equivalency tests. | |
Plus one of the following Level 3 (and above) qualifications | ||
A level and Advanced VCE |
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AS and AS VCE |
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Access to HE Diploma |
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British bachelor's degree |
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NCFE CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma for Children’s Care, Learning and Development (Wales and Northern Ireland) |
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NCFE CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce |
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International Baccalaureate Diploma |
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Irish Leaving Certificate (Highers) |
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OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma |
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OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma |
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Scottish Higher/Advanced Higher |
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T-Levels |
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Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate - Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015) |
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Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma – Core (awarded until 2016) ESW/KS Combined component |
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Other qualifications | ||
If you have a qualification that is not listed in the table please refer to our full entry requirements on UCAS. Further guidance on tariff points can be found on the UCAS website. |
Extra Information for EU/International students
IELTS | 6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands |
International Baccalaureate Diploma (or equivalent, including internationally accredited Foundation courses). | 24 points overall Country-specific entry requirements and qualifications. |
International students who cannot meet the direct entry requirements can begin their degree studies at Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC).
Successful candidates will be required to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance via the Faculty.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: BA (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2024
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 3 years
- £9,250 in 2024/25
- Apply via UCAS
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: BA (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2024
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 3 years
- £16,085 in 2024/25
Guidance for UK students
UK students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.
Applying through UCAS
Register with UCAS
Login to UCAS
Complete your details
Select your course
Write a personal statement
Get a reference
Pay your application fee
Send UCAS your application
Our advice for applying to a health care course
Applying for a course and preparing for an interview can be a daunting process, so we have created a series of films to help you through the process, including what to put in your personal statement.
Guidance for International students
There are three ways to apply:
1) Direct to the University
You will need to complete our International Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form, and submit them together with scan copies of your original academic transcripts and certificates.
2) Through a country representative
Our in-country representatives can help you make your application and apply for a visa. They can also offer advice on travel, living in the UK and studying abroad.
3) Through UCAS
If you are applying for an undergraduate degree or a Higher National Diploma (HND), you can apply through the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
You can request a printed form from your school or nearest British Council office. You will be charged for applying through UCAS. Birmingham City University’s UCAS code is B25 BCITY.
Personal statement
Your personal statement is a highly important part of your application. It gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you.
Here are the key areas you’ll need to address:
Course choice
Why does this course appeal? What areas are of particular interest?
Career plans
If you have a specific career in mind, say how your chosen course will help you pursue this goal.
Work experience
Mention any work that is relevant to your subject, highlighting the skills and experience gained.
School or college experience
Highlight skills gained at school/college, eg summer schools or mentoring activities.
Non-accredited skills or achievement
eg Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Enterprise scheme.
You should also mention your future plans – if you’re planning to take a year out, don't forget to give your reasons. Talk about any subjects you’re studying that don’t have a formal assessment and any sponsorships or placements you’ve applied for. And don't be scared to add in details about your social, sports or leisure interests.
Get more information on writing personal statements.
Course in Depth
Year One
In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
This core module introduces you to Education Studies. It will encouraged you to see yourself as a researcher, asking questions and testing assumptions about your own experiences of education. We all think we know about schools and education but how much do we really know and how far is our knowledge affected for better or worse by our personal experiences?
For example, what does it mean to be an educated person? The module will introduce you to a range of theories and practices that relate to education, learning development and teaching across a range of educational setting. You will be expected to reflect upon these educational experiences of learning through a number of interactive practical activities involving peer learning and peer support, sharing educational experiences and exploring how and why learning happens in different educational spaces. There will be an emphasis throughout the module on developing appropriate study skills and academic writing practices for study in higher education.
This module will introduce you to a range of different key thinkers in the philosophy of education. The module is only loosely designed and the content will be decided as part of collaborative process in the first session: there is a long list of thinkers we will talk through and a short list will be decided upon. Additionally, the module will build the connection between theory and experience as we use the various theoretical understandings of education to explore personal experiences.
In this module you will learn to think deeply and critically about creativity and its relationship to educational issues. You will enquire into a range of educational concepts, such as, ‘deep learning’, ‘critical thinking’ and ‘creative learning’ and gain knowledge and understanding of creative learning programmes found in schools and other educational settings in the UK and around the world. You will apply ideas you have discovered in this module about creativity to your own learning and explore how they help shape a creative community of learning through your work with others in the module.
This module explores a range of issues in society which impact on education in different ways. We will cover issues such as gender, race, poverty, and disability, and look at the wide range of responses to such issues. This will include an examination of the educational work of places other than schools as they work to respond to social issues impacting educational inequality. Guest speakers are invited in to share their expertise.
This module introduces you to the study of education worldwide. We start by considering some of the theoretical and global contexts for the study of education, including what we mean by the term ‘globalisation’ and some of the global institutions running educational projects. From here we turn our attention to specific case studies of different countries around the world in relation to some of the key issues in international education, such as global goals, international testing, bilingualism, ethnic minorities, and national identity, drawing on our theoretical grounding to help us better understand the issues.
In this module you will explore theories about human development and learning across a range of biological and psychological perspectives drawn from a variety of disciplines such as anthropology, neuroscience and biology. Key theories about learning and development such as Behaviourism, Constructivism, Social Constructivism will also be discussed, with the focus on how they have been studied and observed in practice.
Year Two
In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
This module is an introduction to carrying out research projects. As well as developing your understanding of key aspects of research in education, this module will also prepare you for your final research project at Level 6. The module will take you through the key stages in designing a piece of research, including conducting a literature review, deciding on appropriate research methods, and considering ethical considerations in research. To this end the module will feature input from a range of different staff members, drawing from the breadth and depth of research experience in the School of Education and Social Work.
This module will require you to organise a work-based experience (for at least 8 weeks) in one educational setting of your choice. You will be prepared for placement by your tutor and supported by them during your time on placement.
The work-based placement experience will be a context in which to examine educational practices and roles. It will provide the context for an introduction to practice-based research. You will gain direct experience of educational practices through your placement and use your e-portfolio to reflect critically on the experiences and issues raised during your placement.
This module will start with an exploration of comparative education and the skills of making comparisons. We then consider different models of globalisation, including world-systems theory and post-colonial theory. We consider issues of international law and agreements, institutional and non-institutional responses to inequality in education, aid and development and cultural variations.
This module is designed to develop your understanding of the education system and its structures in England. It has as its central theme the changing relationship between the state, compulsory education and its users through the relationship between the UK political system and the UK education system. The module analyses UK education policy in the recent past with a particular focus on changes under successive governments and with specific reference to England.
This module offers a critical and challenging introduction to special educational needs in the context of contemporary understandings of inclusion and diversity in education. It will cover topics such as: historical perspectives on inclusive education; social models of disability, and developing inclusive practices in education.
This module explores how curriculum development is not carried out in isolation from other educational activities but is part of an iterative, developmental implementation and review cycle in all educational settings. The module will encourage you to explore aspects of curriculum development, including content, objectives, processes and assessment. You will also review a number of case studies such as the large-scale curricular reform required to implement the National Curriculum for state education in England and Wales, and the history around alternative educational curriculum approaches such as Steiner or Montessori in Early Years.
Year Three
In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits).
In line with the philosophy and aims of the course, this Level 6 module enables and supports you, as a member of the research community, to conduct a piece of small-scale individual research that attends and adheres to key ethical principles. This module encourages you to engage in independent as well as collaborative critical analysis of contemporary issues and debates in relevant research, policy and practice. You will be provided with an opportunity to clarify your understanding of key research terms, as well as to consider the link between epistemology, methodology and methods and the impact that your own personal philosophies have upon the design of your study.
This module will help you to critically evaluate how and why different education practices and policies develop in the ways they do. Education is highly political and through this module we will examine the politics of decision-making around educational policies and government initiatives. The module will help you to understand the thinking behind these policies and initiatives in addition to discussing who is making the decisions about education, both formally and informally, across all sectors in the UK educational landscape.
From a broad interdisciplinary perspective, this module will explore the ways in which intersecting power relations and changing identity formations around demographic categories impact on and inform educational settings. Demographic categories include gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, class, profession and nationality. These categories will inevitably impact all those affected by the education sector, whether directly or indirectly, such as pupils, students, teachers, lecturers, managers and policy-makers. The importance of education to identify work, institutionally, professionally and personally, will be explored and debated throughout the module.
This module extends your understanding of the function and effects of education through the study of a range of perspectives such as critical theory, structuralism, post-structuralism, Critical Race Theory and feminism. You will examine the relationship between teaching and learning by applying the theoretical perspectives studied. In particular, you will be encouraged to consider how these different perspectives can be integrated in a critical analysis of education in a case study, based in an educational setting of your choice.
This module seeks to stimulate debate about the changing nature of society as it is currently and as might be predicted in the future, and particularly as it affects education. You will explore the different sectors in education and examine how they are responding to contemporary social changes. These changes might include: the changing demands of employment; joblessness and training; working in emergent communities; teaching with digital communication and social media; the political economy; urban questions, and demographic changes, all of which have major implications for education. In particular it will focus on how education itself is changing and likely to change in the future.
Download course specification
Download nowCourse Structure
Year One
At the beginning of your first year you will have an in-depth induction process to introduce you to key members of staff, resources and procedures. We will support you to understand what it means to study at undergraduate level and time will also be dedicated to team building activities. During the rest of your first year, you will be introduced to key education philosophy and theorists, as well as considering a range of perspectives on local and international education.
Throughout the year, you will take part in seminars, lectures and workshops with the course team and guest speakers. You will be offered theory- and practice-led perspectives to analyse and evaluate, and asked to reflect on your own educational experiences and values.
Year Two
The key event in the second year of study will be your placement. You will be supported in identifying a placement with one of our partners that is developmental, stimulating and that offers you preparation for future career paths.
You will also consider inclusivity, diversity and cultures of schooling and, by this point, will have a confident and in depth understanding of a range of educational issues. You will now begin to plan your final year research project and we will support you to understand research methodologies and the importance of ethical considerations.
Throughout the year, you will take part in seminars, lectures and workshops with the course team and guest speakers. You will be offered theory- and practice-led perspectives to analyse and evaluate, and asked to reflect on your own educational experiences and values.
Year Three
The key aspect of year three is the individual and independent research project. Using your planning and preparation from year two, you will research an area of your choice. Tutorials and on-going support with be provided to support you to produce successful and ethically secure research.
We will also explore how identities are shaped and re-shaped through educational experiences and structures. Additionally we will consider how education is changing and key innovations that impact on educational organisations.
Throughout the year, you will take part in seminars, lectures and workshops with the course team and guest speakers. You will be offered theory- and practice-led perspectives to analyse and evaluate, and asked to reflect on your own educational experiences and values.
Examples of classroom activities
Each module uses a variety of teaching and learning approaches including:
- workshops
- conferences
- lectures
- seminars
- guest speakers
- visits to schools and other educational settings
- digital technologies
Employability
Enhancing employment skills
This course enables you to become a reflective and innovative education practitioner and scholar, including the ability to be flexible, to respond to and initiate change, and manage your work/life balance creatively.
Education Studies as a subject provides excellent preparation for you to work with learners of all ages within the education sector. Commercial and industrial workplaces are also very interested in people with knowledge about education and training.
You'll have the knowledge and skills to work in educational and training advisory roles in a range of organisations included businesses, local authorities, non-government organisations, charities, museums, art galleries and libraries.
Placements
In the second year of study all students have a placement of at least eight weeks. This could be in a wide range of educational settings including museums, volunteer schemes, schools, pupil referral units, adult learning centres, hospitals or with educational advisors.
International
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
- Explore some of the good reasons why you should study here.
- Find out how to improve your language skills before starting your studies.
- Find all the information relevant to applicants from your country.
- Learn where to find financial support for your studies.
Facilities & Staff
Our facilities
Our School of Education and Social Work is based at our City South campus in leafy Edgbaston.
We’ve spent £41million expanding the education facilities at City South. These facilities offer hands-on practical experience, replicating the spaces you will come across in professional practice. Alongside classrooms and lecture theatres, we also have a range of specialist teaching and learning spaces for specific subjects including science, design and technology, drama and physical education.
As well as subject-specific rooms, our facilities include the Primary Innovation Lab, which houses £24,000 worth of LEGO. This room is a special resource for our education students, offering an innovative and creative way to approach subjects across the curriculum – from computing to English, mathematics to art. The lab responds to research that children and young people learn best from practical experience.
Our Social Work students have access to a home environment room and mock hospital wards which offer an opportunity to gain experience of working with service users in different situations.
Computer facilities
The Seacole building has two open-access IT Suites which offer PCs, printers, photocopiers and scanners. There is also an IT Helpdesk for quick and easy help with your computing or internet issues.
Our PCs utilise the latest Intel i5 core technology, all with:
- Fast (unrestricted) internet connectivity
- Ability to save files to USB, DVD & CD
- Microsoft Office software
- Research and statistical software
- Storage space which can be accessed from any PC across the University and from home
Our PCs are also designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.
In addition to desktop PCs, we also offer a laptop loan facility, allowing students to borrow a laptop for up to six hours while on campus.
Our staff
Liz Titley
Course Leader – BA Education Studies
Liz Titley graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Education Studies from Aberystwyth University and went on to continue with PhD study.
More about LizDr Rebecca Snape
PhD student and Assistant Lecturer in Education
Dr Rebecca Snape started working at BCU in 2015, firstly as a Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant, and then as a Visiting Lecturer. She is now working as a Lecturer in Education Studies.
More about Rebecca