Education Studies

Education studies is a discipline that examines education as a social, political, and cultural phenomenon, asking what education is for, how it works in practice, who benefits and who is excluded, and how educational systems reflect and reproduce the societies they serve. It draws on sociology, philosophy, psychology, and history to build a critical and evidence-based understanding of formal and informal learning across the life course, from early childhood to higher and continuing education. Education studies develops graduates who can think analytically about educational institutions and policies, not just operate within them.

At Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, this programme provides a rigorous grounding in educational thought and practice. The degree examines learning, teaching, curriculum, assessment, inclusion, and the policy landscape of education in Scotland and internationally, developing both your theoretical understanding and your capacity to engage critically with educational research. The programme is available for direct entry into Year Three for students progressing from earlier study, offering a route to completing the degree efficiently for those with relevant prior qualifications.

Graduates from education studies programmes work in schools as learning support and teaching assistant roles, in educational charities and community organisations, in youth work, in policy and advocacy, and in a wide range of other settings where education and training matter. Many graduates use the degree as a foundation for further professional training, including postgraduate initial teacher training leading to Qualified Teacher Status or Teaching Qualification (Scotland), social work, or educational psychology. The analytical and communicative skills the degree develops are also valued in journalism, public policy, and the voluntary sector.