Education And Sociology

Education and sociology is a combination that brings two powerful social science perspectives to bear on some of the most important questions about human society. Education is a central institution of social reproduction: it shapes opportunities, transmits culture, and both reinforces and sometimes challenges social inequalities. Sociology provides the theoretical and empirical tools to analyse education as a social institution, examining how schools, teachers, curriculum, and policy interact with class, race, gender, and other dimensions of social life.

Together, they produce graduates with a critical, evidence-based understanding of how societies work and how they might work better.

This three-year full-time programme at Edge Hill University includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, giving your studies a substantial practical and international dimension alongside their academic depth. You will study sociological theory and research methods, the sociology of education, educational policy in historical and comparative perspective, child development and learning, inequality and social justice, and the professional and ethical dimensions of working in educational and social contexts. The placement opportunities draw on Edge Hill's strong connections to schools and social organisations in the North West and beyond.

Graduates from this programme pursue careers in education, social research, social work, youth and community work, local government, the charitable sector, and policy organisations. Many go on to professional training as teachers through the PGCE route, for which the education studies component provides excellent preparation. Others pursue master's degrees in sociology, education policy, social research methods, or youth and community work.

The analytical and critical skills developed in the programme are valued across a wide range of professional contexts, and the work placement and year abroad add practical and intercultural dimensions that employers consistently recognise.