Applied Education Studies BA (Hons)

Program Overview

This 4-year degree in Education Studies focuses on providing employability skills for roles in educational settings through coursework in curriculum design, child development, English and math pedagogy. Students gain hands-on experience through industry placement options and develop advanced academic skills in research and analysis through an independent project and reflective journaling. The program boasts connections to over 500 schools, offering practical learning experiences and potential career opportunities.

Program Outline

It builds on your existing professional skills and competencies, giving you an in-depth understanding of educational provision for children aged 3-11 years within primary settings as well as children with special educational needs.

Outline:

Content:

• The program equips students with in-depth knowledge around educational provision, child development and professional practice.
• It covers areas critical to teaching English, including language teaching theories, current practice in settings, and key grammatical, punctuation and spelling conventions of English.
• Students will learn approaches to identifying children’s needs in reading, spoken language and writing and consider suitable interventions to support a child’s learning.
• The program also covers mathematics education, developing students' understanding of the subject with various topics including algebra and data handling.
• Students will investigate a range of approaches to mathematical thinking and problem solving and, by reviewing theory and research, will consider effective ways to structure content that will support pupils in developing reasoning skills to solve mathematical problems.
• Students will actively consider equality, diversity and inclusion within curriculum design.
• Students will look more closely at individual pupils to assess specific needs and use this to inform the inclusion and support of all children in an educational setting.
• The program provides students with the knowledge and skills to support the development of babies, children and young people through examining research, theory and pedagogy.
• The program develops students' key academic skills to source and use literature effectively to link theory and practice.
• Students will be supported in identifying their strengths and areas for improvement in their academic and professional work at the midway point in their studies.
• The program encourages students to consider ethics and policy within wider educational settings, including how professional and legal frameworks operate within settings and how roles and responsibilities are carried out by the education workforce.
• Students will write a reflective journal and create an academic poster using their critical analysis of a given topic.
• In their final year, students will complete a Research Project in Applied Education Studies where they will carry out an in-depth study into an area of interest relevant to their study and professional interest.
• Students will discuss and refine their research while developing key academic and investigative skills within an area of practice that is relevant to their future career.
• The program guides students in choosing their area of interest and the fundamentals of research including research approaches, methods, data collection tools, ethics and data analysis.

Structure:

• The program is a four-year degree, with the option to include a year placement in industry.
• The program includes a Foundation Year for students who require additional help and support to up-skill or who didn't quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course.
• The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare students for entry to an Undergraduate degree.

Course Schedule:

• The program includes six Saturday study days across the academic year offering a unique mix of group work, tutor-led sessions and cross-course collaboration.

Individual Modules:

• English: Knowledge and Understanding
• English: Theory and Practice
• Mathematics Education
• Exploring the Curriculum
• Learning Environment
• Personalised Learning
• Developing Learning
• Skills for Education Studies
• Reflecting on Practice
• Professional Practice
• Research Project in Applied Education Studies
• Research Methods

Module Descriptions:

• English: Knowledge and Understanding: Introduces students to areas critical to teaching English, including language teaching theories, current practice in settings, and key grammatical, punctuation and spelling conventions of English.
• English: Theory and Practice: Explores approaches to identifying children’s needs in reading, spoken language and writing and considers suitable interventions to support a child’s learning.
• Mathematics Education: Develops students' understanding of the subject with various topics including algebra and data handling.
Students will investigate a range of approaches to mathematical thinking and problem solving and, by reviewing theory and research, will consider effective ways to structure content that will support pupils in developing reasoning skills to solve mathematical problems.
• Exploring the Curriculum: Explores the principles of curriculum design, questioning the aims, effectiveness and structure of the school curriculum and how it aligns with the National Curriculum for England.
Students will actively consider equality, diversity and inclusion within curriculum design.
• Learning Environment: Aims to develop students' knowledge and skills to create safe and stimulating environments rooted in mutual respect to maximise opportunities for students.
• Personalised Learning: Looks more closely at individual pupils to assess specific needs and use this to inform the inclusion and support of all children in an educational setting.
• Developing Learning: Provides students with the knowledge and skills to support the development of babies, children and young people through examining research, theory and pedagogy.
• Skills for Education Studies: Develops students' key academic skills to source and use literature effectively to link theory and practice.
• Reflecting on Practice: Supports students in identifying their strengths and areas for improvement in their academic and professional work at the midway point in their studies.
• Professional Practice: Encourages students to consider ethics and policy within wider educational settings, including how professional and legal frameworks operate within settings and how roles and responsibilities are carried out by the education workforce.
• Research Project in Applied Education Studies: Students will carry out an in-depth study into an area of interest relevant to their study and professional interest.
• Research Methods: Guides students in choosing their area of interest and the fundamentals of research including research approaches, methods, data collection tools, ethics and data analysis.

Assessment:

• The purpose of assessment is to provide formative feedback to students, to monitor their performance and to measure their attainment.
• It aims to enable students to demonstrate that they have fulfilled the objectives of each unit as well as those needed for working within education as a profession.
• The assessment strategies are designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate the range of knowledge, understanding and skills required by intending teachers and those who wish to work within education.
• Students' learning will be assessed throughout the course in both a formative and summative way.
• A range of approaches to assessments are utilised throughout the course, to include written reports and essays, presentations, in class tests, preparation of lesson sequences and teaching materials, literature reviews and a final independent research project.
• These tools have been chosen to ensure there is a balance of assessment and are re-visited throughout the course to ensure that students have the opportunity to build and develop the attributes that are assessed in a systematic way.
• The aim is that by the end of the final year students are empowered to demonstrate the qualities that define a Level 6 qualification.
• Oral presentations are included as a key element of assessment and development, and a number of units include the formal assessment of these.
• The key importance of the development of oral presentational skills to intending teachers and those working within education is recognised by the course team and every opportunity is taken to encourage students to enhance their skills in this area.
• The feedback given to students is intended to be formative in order to aid development.
• In addition to this, many units involve small-scale group and individual presentation opportunities within teaching sessions to enable students to develop their skills further.
• Students are required to demonstrate that the work they submit for assessment is their own and they will be supported in this process by using a range of tools to include:
• Guidance in referencing and citing work correctly using the University Referencing Guidelines.
• The University Virtual Learning Environment, BREO, which includes access to a range of teaching and learning materials and interactive discussion boards where students can post questions and gain feedback on ideas related to their specific assignment.
• During independent study, the support of a research project supervisor to guide students in the research process and provide formative feedback on draft work.

Teaching:

• The program is taught at the Bedford campus, which is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know students well.
• Students benefit from the support of their own personal tutor, a unit and course coordinator, and the additional support of experienced library staff, all of whom will help students throughout their student journey and with balancing study with work and personal commitments.
• Work-based learners have a unique opportunity to join the purposeful and active Work-based Learning Student Society, run through the Students’ Union.
• For those choosing the blended-learning option, students attend weekly sessions online that are enhanced and supported by the independent tasks unit tutors allocate to them.
• There are six Saturday study days across the academic year offering a unique mix of group work, tutor-led sessions and cross-course collaboration.

Careers:

• The program provides a clear route into a professional graduate role, through early years teacher status; primary initial teacher training; or leadership and management.
• Many past students have gone on to have successful careers within education, working in a variety of roles including head teacher; SENCO; classroom teacher; and education welfare officer.

Other:

• As one of the largest providers of teacher education in the eastern region, the University has well-established partnerships with more than 500 schools and other associated organisations, a network that puts it at the forefront of educational developments.
• The program offers designated online classroom and learning spaces, a Forest School where students can deepen their understanding of the long-term educational benefits of outdoor learning opportunities, a specialist sensory centre to support their understanding of how teachers teach and children learn, within early years and SEND contexts, a multi-media space for webinars and podcasting, and designated study space and activity agenda for all Saturday study days for those studying through blended learning.

UK 2024/25:

The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. See www.gov.uk/student-finance

Merit Scholarship:

The Bursary will give you £1,000 over three academic years, or £1,300 if you are taking your course over four academic years (including those with a Foundation Year).

International:

The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £15,500 per year.