BA (Hons) Education Studies and English

How do people learn? What gets in the way of learning? Where might people learn best – and how? Do we need schools? Is it possible to ‘school’ the world? Can education make a difference to human rights? Women's rights? Nationally? Globally? These are just some of the big questions that you will examine through studying Education Studies at BGU. We are proud of our highly contemporary, reactive and issues-based course that has been carefully designed to give you that ‘bigger’ picture of education in a global society. An Education Studies degree from BGU will equip you well for the future, no matter what your career destination, but if you are planning to go on to teach you will find that our modules will open your eyes to some different ways of thinking about education and its purpose and place in society.

Studying Education Studies with us will provide you with an excellent understanding of education in its widest sense, nationally and globally, and is a great choice if you are interested in a career in teaching or are thinking about working in other education-related areas. It will provide you with a deep and reflective knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues in education, directly related to everyday practice. You’ll debate education policy, find out more about the drivers of educational change in England today and critically consider different approaches to schools and schooling, both within the UK and globally.

A key feature of Education Studies is a focus on you as a developing practitioner. You will be encouraged to develop a strong personal ideology of education and will be supported in the development of secure employability skills through our work-based placements. A number of core modules each year incorporate placements in schools or other education-related settings and carefully structured placement tasks will ensure that you gain valuable first-hand practical experience.

English

Studying English at BGU gives you access to the intense power of human creativity, with opportunities to debate critical questions that continue to shape the investigation of literature. You will encounter authors such as Shakespeare, Wilde and Pinter, Blake, Tennyson and Dylan, Wollstonecraft, Woolf and Winterson, Dickens, Morrison, and Blackman, and explore the richness and diversity of literary expression. All of this whilst you develop your understanding of key genres, styles, periods and contexts, supported by a passionate team of research-active lecturers.

At BGU you will study an exciting range of writers, texts and topics. You will be able to study works in their historical and genre contexts, explore literary concepts and themes (identity, memory, gender and adolescence), make intertextual and creative connections (myth, adaptation, film, creative writing) and develop your critical independence and career prospects with extended research and work-based projects. Throughout your studies you can follow your own interests through optional modules, and choose your own focal points and textual examples for assessment tasks.

You will acquire key academic and transferable skills such as critical thinking and evaluation, analysis, research and high-level communication skills through diverse methods of assessment, which blend established critical and communication skills with up-to-date digital literacies and platforms. You will develop expressive and creative skills fit for the 21st century; combining written essays and oral presentations with e-portfolios, multimodal video, posters, hypertext, digital publication, and independent research projects. You will benefit from an innovative and flexible approach to teaching and learning that promotes student participation and engagement. With the close academic support you will receive here at BGU, you will have the opportunities and guidance to fulfil your full potential.

As an English student at BGU, your engagement with literature won’t stop at the seminar door. The English team are all research-active lecturers who are passionate about the study of literature and its positive impact on the individual and wider society. We actively support a range of organised events and visits to enable a wider participation with literary culture, including visiting speakers, a research seminar series, subsidised film and theatre trips, workshops and celebrations, poetry readings and literary awards.