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MA Education

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  • Study Mode: Part Time
  • Location: High Wycombe
  • Duration: Two Years
  • Start Date: September 2023

Our MA Education course is an ideal course if you are passionate about education and want to improve your skills. Employers looking to fill leadership and advanced practitioner roles are increasingly looking for candidates with a master's degree, demonstrating their level of understanding of the sector.

Whether you want to build your skills in a current teaching role, or start a career in education or academic research, this course gives you the tools to begin applying advanced teaching techniques in a professional setting.

Pathways

Our MA Education programme gives you the opportunity to choose your specialism for your future career after you experience of the core curriculum in year one. We introduce you to various specialisms and offer you the flexibility to choose the pathway which leads to your chosen career.

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MA Education

What will I study on this pathway?

For those who would like choice and breadth as part of postgraduate study, the main MA Education pathway provides the most flexibility. The programme will encourage you to consider education in all its forms, from formal learning and training to compulsory education. You will have the opportunity to meaningfully contextualize learning within your own area of practice or interest. It is a pathway designed to develop a holistic skillset and enable you to choose the modules that are the best fit for your interests and professional aspirations. Through the programme, you will also engage with research and will have the opportunity to introduce a research-based intervention.

You will graduate with MA Education.

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MA Practice Education

What will I study on this pathway?

This pathway is for those who teach and support learning within a practice setting. The programme is tailored to the practice environment with opportunities to engage with topics that showcase the often-unique nature of practice-based learning, the challenges faced by your learners and tools to develop your practice. You will also delve deeper into educational theory, supervising and mentoring others and self-reflection. Through the programme, you will also engage with research and will have the opportunity to introduce a research-based intervention within your practice setting.

You will graduate with MA Practice Education.

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MA Positive Education

What will I study on this pathway?

We are delighted to offer this collaborative offer with Psychology. The MA Positive Education pathway is designed to help you understand how to apply the principles of positive psychology to education. As practitioners- and learners- you will consider ways to support and develop wellbeing as an integral part of education. You will examine topics and theories related to self-care and wellbeing, critically consider evidence-based interventions in education and have the opportunity to plan and implement a research project within your own setting.

You will graduate with MA Positive Education.

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MA Education Advanced Standing

Applying for our advanced standing entry is an ideal choice if you already hold a postgraduate qualification in the field of education and you want to study on our MA education pathway. You will be able to make use of your existing postgraduate certificate, so if you have a 60 credit PGCert, applying for the advanced standing entry makes the most sense. You can gain the same qualification with a lower cost and with reduced module requirements. You will study the same modules as the MA education course except: Applying Principles and Theory of Learning, Teaching and Assessment.

You will graduate with MA Education.

Why study this subject?

Employers looking to fill leadership and advanced practitioner roles are increasingly looking for candidates with a master's level understanding. Education and teaching is an interesting and varied career with lots of different options for you to discover.

Choosing to study education is not just choosing to further your skills as a teacher, its also choosing to grow your experience of mentoring, care, research and a young person’s development. We've designed this course for those who have an interest in working in a range of areas including:

  • primary education
  • secondary education
  • higher and further education
  • practice education in health and social care.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

At BNU, our teaching is centred around you. We make sure you get the professional support you need, backed up with professionally experienced lecturers. Assignments have been designed to enable you to focus on issues relevant to your professional context, providing you with the opportunity to combine theory with practice.

Our MA Education has been developed with your needs in mind. It offers a great deal of flexibility both in its structure and in the way that the teaching is delivered. This flexibility allows students to design their studies to meet professional interests and areas of practice.

In addition to this, BNU can provide you with a campus environment only 35 minutes from London, with our apps anywhere service allowing you to use software and apps from home. This way you can study from the comfort of your own home.

Our goal at BNU is to offer you a course that helps you reach your professional and personal goals within the world of education, with the support of professional lecturers and sector insight from people who have been there. We combine this with a facility close to London, where you can study both on campus and on home. We believe this course prepares you for whatever you might face in the future.

What facilities can I use?

Everything that is required for the study of this course is located across our 3 campuses. In addition, we have a 24 hour library for your use, with IT software, computers and the information you need. We also have apps anywhere that allows you to study from the comfort of your own home.

How will I be taught and assessed?

Our course provides useful professional development opportunities for you if you are already working as a teacher, or a meaningful introduction to the field for those seeking a career in education who have opportunities to apply the learning in practice. 

The focus of your engagement with the assessment process will be negotiated with a member of the programme team to ensure that assessed work responds to your interests and career aspirations. Your second year of study will focus on the development of an extended work project. This assessment is an exciting opportunity to frame a significant piece of work in your area of interest with a view to sharing this externally.

Some of the ways you will be assessed include:

  • practical and oral assessments
  • presentation
  • professional conversations with your lecturer

MA Education Programme Specification

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Application Guide

 

For information on how you can boost your career-prospects and apply for our postgraduate courses, follow our application guide.

 

Read more
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Postgraduate Open Days

Join us for a Postgraduate Open Day where you can discuss your options and chosen course with our course leaders.

 

Book your place
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Fees and Funding

There’s a range of ways you can secure funding for your course, including sponsorship, scholarships and loans. And if you recently graduated from BNU, you may be eligible for a fee discount.

 

Discover your options

What are the course entry requirements?

Individuals with an undergraduate degree, typically 2.1 or higher, with an interest in pursuing a career in education.

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) to the value of 30 credits is available within the master's framework. It is possible to APL against either Capturing Professional Education or Mentoring in the Practice Setting/ Principles of Practice Education. It is not possible to APL against the research modules. Where APL is sought, there is a requirement that it must have been conferred within the last 5 years.

Advanced Standing entry

Our advanced standing entry is an ideal choice if you already hold a postgraduate qualification in the field of education, allowing you to use your existing credits towards a full master’s degree. If you have a 60 credit PGCert, you can gain the same qualification with a lower cost, and with reduced module requirements. Our PGCert Practice Education course is a great option if you wish to increase your knowledge of practice education and then go on to study our MA.

Modules

This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.

MA Education Pathway
Core Modules
Credits
This module helps you engage with theory and practice associated with inclusive approaches to learning, teaching and assessment. We focus on planning and designing learning, and how these activities inform effective assessment and feedback practices. You’ll also be able to define pathways that are meaningful to your needs and career aspirations.
The module considers methods for evaluating effective practice and critical engagement with quality assurance and enhancement policy and practice. You’ll consider implications of quality assurance processes on learning, teaching and assessment at a range of levels. You’ll reflect critically on aspects of your practice via a Plan-Do-Review project. 
This module enables you to bring together prior learning and experience with a view to showcasing excellence as education professionals in practice. You’ll reflect critically on the defining features of your professional context and how these inform your practice in conjunction with opportunities for continued professional development.
This module helps you develop the skills associated with planning, designing, and conducting applied social research within your field of study, discipline or professional contexts. You are guided through a cycle of activity, including critically reviewing literature; identifying a research question; research design; data collection and analysis. 
Optional Modules
Credits
This module provides practitioners with a space in which to consider their professional contexts and focus on the development of their values and sense of purpose as individuals and professionals. You’ll engage with a theoretical framework consisting of aspects of philosophy, positive psychology, work-life balance and professional identity.
On this module, you’ll critically examine ways of promoting wellbeing in educational settings. We introduce key tenets of positive education and how these may be applied to enhance wellbeing, learning and teaching. You’ll consider contemporary evidence-based interventions and critically discuss your suitability for different educational contexts.  
This module explores concepts of leadership in practice. We’ll help empower you to interrogate approaches to leadership and how these may be used to promote inclusive practice, wellbeing, and engagement among both learners and professionals. The module provides a lens to examine the meaning of leadership and its affordances in driving change.  
Like many sectors, education seems to be under constant reform. This module aims to develop you as reflective practitioners as a means of considering and responding to the contemporary educational landscape.  In this module, reflection will be explored as an essential tool for continuing professional development and wellbeing.
This module is designed for practitioners with responsibility for mentoring, supervising, assessing and/or developing others as part of their professional role. We’ll help develop skills to facilitate learning in professional practice. As well as considering the learning of those you work with, you’ll consider how this drives your own development.
Core Modules
Credits
This module provides you with an opportunity to conduct an independent research project, under the guidance of a supervisor, that addresses an issue of relevance to your professional context and/or interest. This may be an empirical project, a work-based learning project, a developmental project or a literature-based integrative review project.
MA Positive Education Pathway
Core Modules
Credits
This module helps you engage with theory and practice associated with inclusive approaches to learning, teaching and assessment. We focus on planning and designing learning, and how these activities inform effective assessment and feedback practices. You’ll also be able to define pathways that are meaningful to your needs and career aspirations.
The module considers methods for evaluating effective practice and critical engagement with quality assurance and enhancement policy and practice. You’ll consider implications of quality assurance processes on learning, teaching and assessment at a range of levels. You’ll reflect critically on aspects of your practice via a Plan-Do-Review project. 
This module enables you to bring together prior learning and experience with a view to showcasing excellence as education professionals in practice. You’ll reflect critically on the defining features of your professional context and how these inform your practice in conjunction with opportunities for continued professional development.
This module helps you develop the skills associated with planning, designing, and conducting applied social research within your field of study, discipline or professional contexts. You are guided through a cycle of activity, including critically reviewing literature; identifying a research question; research design; data collection and analysis. 
This module provides practitioners with a space in which to consider their professional contexts and focus on the development of their values and sense of purpose as individuals and professionals. You’ll engage with a theoretical framework consisting of aspects of philosophy, positive psychology, work-life balance and professional identity.
On this module, you’ll critically examine ways of promoting wellbeing in educational settings. We introduce key tenets of positive education and how these may be applied to enhance wellbeing, learning and teaching. You’ll consider contemporary evidence-based interventions and critically discuss your suitability for different educational contexts.  
Core Modules
Credits
This module provides you with an opportunity to conduct an independent research project, under the guidance of a supervisor, that addresses an issue of relevance to your professional context and/or interest. This may be an empirical project, a work-based learning project, a developmental project or a literature-based integrative review project.  
MA Practice Education Pathway
Core Modules
Credits
This module helps you engage with theory and practice associated with inclusive approaches to learning, teaching and assessment. We focus on planning and designing learning, and how these activities inform effective assessment and feedback practices. You’ll also be able to define pathways that are meaningful to your needs and career aspirations.
The module considers methods for evaluating effective practice and critical engagement with quality assurance and enhancement policy and practice. You’ll consider implications of quality assurance processes on learning, teaching and assessment at a range of levels. You’ll reflect critically on aspects of your practice via a Plan-Do-Review project. 
This module enables you to bring together prior learning and experience with a view to showcasing excellence as education professionals in practice. You’ll reflect critically on the defining features of your professional context and how these inform your practice in conjunction with opportunities for continued professional development.
This module helps you develop the skills associated with planning, designing, and conducting applied social research within your field of study, discipline or professional contexts. You are guided through a cycle of activity, including critically reviewing literature; identifying a research question; research design; data collection and analysis. 
Like many sectors, education seems to be under constant reform. This module aims to develop you as reflective practitioners as a means of considering and responding to the contemporary educational landscape.  In this module, reflection will be explored as an essential tool for continuing professional development and wellbeing.
This module is designed for practitioners with responsibility for mentoring, supervising, assessing and/or developing others as part of their professional role. We’ll help develop skills to facilitate learning in professional practice. As well as considering the learning of those you work with, you’ll consider how this drives your own development.
Core Modules
Credits
This module provides you with an opportunity to conduct an independent research project, under the guidance of a supervisor, that addresses an issue of relevance to your professional context and/or interest. This may be an empirical project, a work-based learning project, a developmental project or a literature-based integrative review project.
MA Education (Advanced Standing) Pathway
Core Modules
Credits
This module helps you develop the skills associated with planning, designing, and conducting applied social research within your field of study, discipline or professional contexts. You are guided through a cycle of activity, including critically reviewing literature; identifying a research question; research design; data collection and analysis. 
Optional Modules
Credits
This module provides practitioners with a space in which to consider their professional contexts and focus on the development of their values and sense of purpose as individuals and professionals. You’ll engage with a theoretical framework consisting of aspects of philosophy, positive psychology, work-life balance and professional identity.
On this module, you’ll critically examine ways of promoting wellbeing in educational settings. We introduce key tenets of positive education and how these may be applied to enhance wellbeing, learning and teaching. You’ll consider contemporary evidence-based interventions and critically discuss your suitability for different educational contexts.  
This module explores concepts of leadership in practice. We’ll help empower you to interrogate approaches to leadership and how these may be used to promote inclusive practice, wellbeing, and engagement among both learners and professionals. The module provides a lens to examine the meaning of leadership and its affordances in driving change.  
Like many sectors, education seems to be under constant reform. This module aims to develop you as reflective practitioners as a means of considering and responding to the contemporary educational landscape.  In this module, reflection will be explored as an essential tool for continuing professional development and wellbeing.
This module is designed for practitioners with responsibility for mentoring, supervising, assessing and/or developing others as part of their professional role. We’ll help develop skills to facilitate learning in professional practice. As well as considering the learning of those you work with, you’ll consider how this drives your own development.
Core Modules
Credits
This module provides you with an opportunity to conduct an independent research project, under the guidance of a supervisor, that addresses an issue of relevance to your professional context and/or interest. This may be an empirical project, a work-based learning project, a developmental project or a literature-based integrative review project.  

What are the tuition fees

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Home, Academic Year 2023 - 2024

£5,500 per year

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees.

You could benefit from financial support through a bursary or scholarship during your time as a student. For more details visit our financial support, bursaries and scholarships section.

Questions about fees?

Contact our Enquiries Team:

0330 123 2023

advice@bnu.ac.uk

What are my career prospects?

An MA in Education allows you to engage with a aspect of educational practice in depth, giving you knowledge and expertise that enables you to build confidence and inspire.

Completing this course is also a springboard to further academic research, such as an EdD or PhD. Many of our graduates go on to become senior educators in primary, secondary and higher education, as well as published researchers.

Course leader

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Rebecca Rochon
  • Associate Professor
Read full profile
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Dr Matthew Smith
  • Associate Professor
  • Course Leader for MSc Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education
Read full profile
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