All About the Education Studies Joint Honours Course at Strathclyde
In this post, course leader Jonathan Firth explains the perspective taken on this education programme at the Strathclyde Institute of Education.
Many people, when they think about education courses at university, assume that their purpose is for preparing teachers. That is to say, there is a conflation between education and initial teacher education, perhaps because the latter kind of course is so prevalent (and the numbers of students often very large).
There are, however, other courses. We have courses at the Strathclyde Institute of Education more focused on later career teachers (our Into Headship programme, for example), or on other education professions (our BA Childhood Practice, for example). And then there are the programmes that focus on Education Studies as a discipline. As Dr Karsten Kenklies explained in this previous post, Education can and should be seen as a subject in its own right, one that applies across many walks of life, not just schools or formal education settings.
I lead the BA Education Studies degree, and it very much takes this broader perspective – that Education is an academic discipline, that it applies to a great range of situations where there is a coherent effort to educate others, and that understanding the processes involved is worthwhile and useful.
Our undergraduate students are not trainee teachers, and they do not have teaching placements. They do the course as a Joint Honours degree, pairing the subject with any other offered in our faculty (Humanities and Social Sciences) – Psychology, English, Social Policy, and many more. Students vary widely in terms of career aspiration; some eventually go into teaching roles (which they can study for as a postgraduate qualification); others progress onto a range of other workplaces or further study opportunities, including, occasionally, proceeding to complete PhDs with us at Strathclyde.
The course itself aims to develop a deep, critical understanding of education that can be applied to many different practical situations. Progression across the years includes:
- 1st year: a focus on the essential skills of a student, including academic reading and writing
- 2nd year: a focus on academic skills such as thinking critically
- 3rd year: a focus on the breadth of education from early childhood to adulthood, and on research skills
In the final year, a range of options are provided, and students can decide whether to do a dissertation in Education or in their joint subject. At times, it may be possible to combine the two; for example, a History & Education student might choose to do a dissertation on the history of education, on how History is taught, or on the educational value of historical monuments and museums. In any event, the final year is the chance to extend independent research and academic writing, and, with the support of our careers service, to look for graduate opportunities.
As course leader, I greatly enjoy working with the Education Studies students and getting to know them. Some of the highlights of my teaching year come from working as a tutor on the course; for example, I lead a 2nd year module that focuses on critical thinking (for which students design an evidence-based short course), and I contribute lectures and seminars to other modules across all the year groups (especially those relating to the psychology of education). I’ve had tremendously positive feedback from colleagues about the students, too. Perhaps it is the case that viewing education more philosophically, and combining it with another academic discipline, helps to broaden an undergraduate’s perspective.
Why do a degree in Education Studies? Understanding how learning is retained, how we transfer it creatively to new situations, and reflecting on the social context in which this happens – these are valuable things to understand, because they affect us in our everyday life and as citizens. They are also relevant to a range of professional roles, including as a lecturer, a policy maker, a researcher, a workplace trainer, or indeed any practitioner involved in the education of children or adults.
Find the list of courses with which Education can be studied as a Joint Hons degree or if you're looking for Masters-level study in Education Studies. Come along to one of our Open Days to find out more.
Published 13/05/2025