Education Studies

Education studies is not a training route for classroom teachers but rather an academic discipline that examines education as a social, political, cultural, and philosophical phenomenon. It asks fundamental questions: what is education for, who benefits from it, how is it organised, and how does it reproduce or challenge inequality? If you are passionate about driving social change and want to explore what it truly means to become an educator, this part-time programme at Leeds Beckett University provides the freedom to explore aspects of learning that give voice to you and others as you confront real-world challenges together.

You will engage with a wide range of theoretical and empirical perspectives on education, including the sociology of schooling, philosophy of education, policy analysis, comparative and international education, psychology of learning, and the history of educational thought. The part-time mode of study gives you the flexibility to engage with your studies alongside work or other commitments, and the year abroad option gives you the opportunity to study education in a different national context, which is a powerful way of understanding just how shaped by culture and history educational systems really are.

Graduates from education studies programmes go on to a wide range of careers. Teaching remains a common route, through a postgraduate teacher training qualification, but many graduates move into youth work, community education, educational policy, publishing and educational resource development, international development, social work, and human resources. The analytical and research skills you develop also provide a strong foundation for postgraduate study in education, sociology, policy, or related fields, and for those who want to pursue research in educational theory or practice.