Why study this course?
Our Education (including foundation year) BA degree will open opportunities for you to enter education. Our four-year course is the perfect route into a career in education if you can’t meet the necessary entry requirements or don't have the traditional qualifications required to start a standard undergraduate degree. You’ll graduate with the same degree title and award as students on the traditional route.
On the course you’ll have tutors and academic mentors who will support you to achieve your educational goals and identify your strengths. Offering great flexibility by the end of your foundation year, we’ll provide you with opportunities for specialism in a wide range of subjects after introducing you to a broad range of social sciences and current subjects.
Interested in finding out more? Sign up for one of our information events – online or in person – a chance to meet the tutors and get your questions answered. See below.
More about this course
Our Education (including a foundation year) BA course will engage your interest in a range of issues within the sphere of education and social sciences. Learning in a stimulating environment, you’ll develop your critical thinking and reasoning skills, allowing you to construct, evaluate and defend arguments in the sphere of education and related studies. We’ll equip you with the practical and academic skills that will allow you to assess what shapes educational practices, policies and institutions.
Throughout your degree, you’ll receive academic and pastoral support from a range of services at the University. Your support system will include an academic tutor and academic mentors, who will offer individual support, as well as small group workshops to reinforce your skills' development and to ensure that you’re settling into university.
The foundation year will build your confidence and improve your academic skills, providing a great foundation for higher academic study. You’ll develop an important variety of skills including research, report writing, critical analysis and planning. All of these are considered necessary by employers across an array of industries and indispensable in higher study of education and other social sciences.
Your foundation will be shared with students from a number of our other foundation year courses, so in Year 0 you'll get to study with other students interested in a variety of different specialisms. You’ll also take a taster module in education, so that you can gain an awareness of the field you will be studying for the following years. The taster module will introduce you to perspectives on the nature and purpose of education. It will present a critical overview of key historical changes that have shaped formal systems of education and highlight wider discussion on politics and policy in education, in particular issues around diversity and inclusion.
The focus in the subsequent years will shift from providing you with academic skills in the context of education studies to expanding your knowledge of the theories and practices in the field of education. Learn more about the content of the subsequent three years of this course on our Education BA degree.
Assessment
We pride ourselves on our student-centred and varied assessments. Each of the methods have been designed to help you flourish in your studies and support the development of key academic skills.
Fees and key information
Apply nowEntry requirements
In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:
- at least one A level (or a minimum of 32 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC Subsidiary/National/BTEC Extended Diploma)
- English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).
English language requirements
To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa (previously Tier 4) you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.
If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.
Modular structure
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2023/24 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.
Year 0 modules include:
This module aims to:
1. Explore the rationale of examining a variety of sources critically in academic and/or professional practice
2. Provide the opportunity for students to critically explore various themes relating to their pathway choice and sustainability.
3. Develop students’ ability to identify, evaluate and construct a variety of argumentsThis module will follow a task based approach involving a process of critically examining an issue, historical or current. Students will be involved in the process of identifying an issue and conduct research into it to gain a critical understanding.
There is a focus on collaborative group work during which students explore a past and/or potential intervention to the issue.
Students will critically reflect on the process and their own learning.
This module aims to:
1. To introduce students to the study of media, crime and ‘race’.2. To enable students to develop their reading and seminar skills and to respond critically and analytically to a range of texts.
3. To enable students to search, find and use appropriate digital resources, and further develop and consolidate academic skills to enhance their learning experience.
This module explores introductory ideas around the themes of self and society, in order to:
- introduce students to academic study in the Social Sciences and Humanities at H.E level
- encourage students to reflect on their own identities, as well as their skills and qualities and how they might further develop them through their H.E studies
- introduce and develop academic literacy, critical thinking and analytical skills through engagement with and production of a range of short Social Science and Humanities themed texts
- introduce reflective practice and support students to become effective, self-aware learners
- introduce and develop digital literacy skills
- develop organisational, planning and time management skills
- guide students to constructively use feedback to improve academic workThis core module aims to enable students to:
• Investigate the basic principles of research
• Critically analyse published research
• Develop and practise research skills
• Develop writing skills required for effective report writing
• Develop strategies to use feedback to improve writingThis core module aims to enable students to:
• Increase their knowledge and awareness of current research in their subject area
• Source and critically analyse published research in their area of interest•
• Further develop and practise research skills
• Further develop speaking skills required for effective presentation of research findings
• Further develop strategies to use feedback to improve writingThis module aims to:
- Improve academic literacy through essay writing and feedback in the context of Social Science and Humanities debates
- Develop critical analysis and evaluation of academic source material
- Select and integrate source material appropriately in academic writing
- Develop students’ voice in academic writing
- Integrate reflective practice throughout the essay writing process
- Further develop organisational, planning and time management skills
- Guide students to constructively use feedback to improve academic workThis module aims to:
• Introduce students to perspectives on the nature and purpose of education
• Present a critical overview of key historical changes that have shaped formal systems of education
• Highlight wider discourses on politics and policy in education, in particular issues around diversity and inclusion
• Foster reflective practice and professionalism as foundation to future employment in the education sector or elsewhere
• Provide students with the opportunity to develop the academic and personal skills required to progress onto an Education degree
Year 1 modules include:
- This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Tuesday afternoon
On this module you will think critically about what education is and what it means to become an educationist and reflective practitioner. You will interrogate assumptions underpinning educational practice, consider alternative approaches and become aware of your own educational values.
Through active class participation and engagement with educational theory you will explore varied approaches to developing a range of academic practices (such as oral communication, reading, writing and referencing as well as creative, visual and digital literacies) in the context of education studies. This may include, but is not restricted to:
• social and embodied approaches
• developing your ‘voice’ in a variety of written genres
• primary research/fieldwork.You will become familiar with the conventions of academic study in the education context through reading, writing and enquiry. The module will introduce you to educational research processes and ethics and support you in conducting a small-scale research project.
Throughout the year you will be encouraged to reflect critically on your learning and its impact on your development as an educationist.
This module aims to:
• Support your development as an educationist and member of an inclusive academic community.
• Facilitate your reflective practice based on reflective models/theories.
• Encourage you to critically engage with educational debates and underpinning theories.
• Develop your academic literacy using a range of approaches.
• Introduce you to educational research. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Tuesday morning
This module serves as an introduction to the key concepts that underlie the study of education, and that will be employed throughout the rest of the course.
It will introduce you to various ideas and theories about the role education plays in society. It will ask you to think about the meaning and purpose of education in the light of these ideas. In particular we will focus upon questions about the transmission of knowledge and culture. And we will ask what the relation between knowledge, culture and education should be, especially in our own rapidly changing, highly technological, multi-cultural society.
The module aims:
• To introduce you to the study of education as a social phenomenon and encourage you to question its role in contemporary society
• To examine critically the idea of culture and the role it plays in social and educational theory
• To analyse what we mean by knowledge and to explore the ways in which it gets established
• To study the historical impact of various developments in the representation, storage and transmission of knowledge, such as writing and number systems, printing, and digital media
• To reflect upon the future of education in the 21st century given the rapid advances in IT, AI and robotics as well as the environmental challenges facing humanity - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Thursday morning
The module introduces Education Studies. In doing so it draw on a wide range of intellectual resources, theoretical perspectives and academic disciplines to illuminate understanding of education and the contexts within which it takes place. It also introduces potential career pathways using Education Studies experiences and qualification.
The module aims to
● Introduce students to the subject discipline;
● To provide an overview of some of the major issues and debates in the development of English education and encourage students to critically engage with these from social justice in education perspective;
● Present a range of theoretical perspectives which can be used to describe and analyse the education system;
● Provide a sound foundation for self-reflection in relation to career choice and employability
● To offer students a context within which to develop the practices of reading, of dialogue and of reflective writing required in higher education. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Thursday afternoon
The module encourages you to reflect on your own identity, educational possibilities and limitations in urban contexts. You will engage with key reading and relevant theories to support this exploration. You will look at how the urban environment can be used as a resource for educational enquiry, particularly concepts of place and space and how these influence the social reality of the city. The module explores how education and policy in the urban environment impacts on social class, ethnicity, gender, race, language and multilingualism. Further, it investigates formal and informal learning in a variety of urban educational contexts. Throughout the module, you will develop your critical reading and writing skills and improve your oral skills in presentations and seminars.
Year 2 modules include:
This module enables students to undertake a period of work-based learning in relation to their course at Level 5 within an appropriate educational institution or organisation and to gain credit for that learning. Students have the opportunity to apply, to test and to extend the knowledge that they have gained at all levels of their course. In doing so, students are able to enhance and extend their understanding of professional educational practice.
Students unable to take up a work placement can take the peer mentoring opportunity and gain an insight into mentoring, coaching and supervision together with opportunities to apply their learning to support new C-level students on the course. This represents an important first step that will allow students to build mentoring processes as a component into their subsequent professional lives or to open up a specific career path.The module aims to give students the opportunity to:
• Apply their prior learning in an appropriate work environment;
• Relate specific knowledge (theoretical perspectives, ethics, policy and practice understanding) to the work or mentoring environment;
• Consider professional practice and pedagogies in specific real-life situations;
• Recognize how their work relates to wider educational and social discourses;
• Enhance their professional and personal development.Note: Students are expected to find and organise their own placement in an educational setting where they get insight into professional teaching and learning practice. This is very likely to involve a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
- This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Thursday afternoon
This module recounts the relations between systematic studies of the mind or brain, from the close of the 19th century, and educational theory and practice.
In the first part of the module, the history of psychological theories from William James to Howard Gardner are studied, for the purpose of assessing their capacity to guide learning in the classroom.
In the second half of the module, the birth of contemporary neuroscience from the cognitive revolution of the 1950s is recounted, in order to assess the extent to which contemporary theories of language acquisition, reading, writing and arithmetic can resolve difficulties associated with teaching and learning in these areas.
The module aims to enable students to:
• Acquire knowledge and understanding of theories of the mind and brain from the late nineteenth-century to the present.
• Understand the relation between these theories of the mind and prominent learning theories.
• Critically assess the extent to which theoretical models of the mind are useful guides for the planning of teaching and learning in the classroom.
• Develop their professional capacity for reflection through appreciating the importance of mediating judgement when applying a theoretical model to practice. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Monday morning
In this module, students will be introduced to the two main traditions of social research – positivism and interpretivism. They will learn about key aspects of social research and the steps involved in developing an effective qualitative research project. They will be provided with examples of good quality educational research and will have opportunities to analyse and critique these, aiming to develop their own knowledge, understanding, and skills.
At the end of the module, students will design and conduct a small-scale qualitative pilot research study. It is envisaged that this module will form the foundation for the final year dissertation module. As such the pilot study report will directly feed into students’ dissertation research project.
Module Aims:
As a result of successfully completing this module, you will be able to:
1) develop a good understanding of the purposes, nature, components, and processes of social research.
2) design and conduct a small-scale qualitative research study in education.
3) review and critique existing social research.
4) report the findings of a small-scale primary qualitative research study. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Monday afternoon
This module builds upon the understanding gained at Level 4 (in particular in SS4021) about the social function of education and the nature of the knowledge it transmits. It serves both as an introduction to the sociology of education and an opportunity to reflect upon the social and ideological forces shaping formal education in the UK today.
This module will introduce you to debates about the school curriculum. Why are particular subjects taught and why are some considered more important than others? How is it decided what the content of each subject should be? In order to address these questions we will explore various theories in the sociology of knowledge and education. An understanding of these theories will help us understand the ways in which curricula are moulded by ideas both about the function of education and about the nature of society.
The module aims to:• Critically explore the curriculum as a site of contestation between different views on the purpose of schooling
• Introduce students to theories within the sociology of knowledge in relation to concerns about whether school curricula convey knowledge or ideology
• Identify and analyse competing ideological positions surrounding current curriculum debates
• Consider the nature and purpose of individual subjects within the National Curriculum
- This module currently runs:
- spring semester - Thursday morning
This module introduces students to the teaching profession, offering an insight into key aspects of teaching as a career - with a focus on typical practice in schools.
The module provides a critical framework to examine many of the essential elements of good practice and a range learning theories and research, exploring their application in the classroom and how and why they are important.
The module aims:
• you will gain knowledge and understanding of the teaching profession teaching as a potential career path.
• you will gain knowledge and insight that will allow you to make informed decisions regarding application to teacher training.
• you will be introduced to key readings and research that underpin the most effective practice for teachers.
• you will explore how teachers place this theory into practice in their classrooms.
• you will explore professionalism through the Teacher Standards and how this relates to life in school.
Year 3 modules include:
- This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Tuesday morning
The module allows students to gain experience of conducting a small-scale research study by searching, gathering, interpreting and presenting primary data. It outlines possibilities for further scholarly activity and research as graduates of Education Studies.
This module is integrally connected to and develops from the level 5 module Researching Education (SS5021). When the students start learning research skills at level five, they are encouraged to look at their research studies at levels five and six as one extended project. As the research study report they write at level five is based on a pilot study for their dissertation project, they can incorporate aspects of the level five report into their dissertations, without it being flagged up as self-plagiarism.Students begin by reviewing the pilot studies that they carried out at level 5 with the view to devise their level 6 research projects. Students will evaluate the research focus, the methodology, and the findings of their pilot studies. This reflection will become the starting point for their new learning in this module.The module introduces students to some key debates in the philosophy of research and the emergence of the interpretivist paradigm in social research. They will be asked to locate their studies within the interpretivist paradigm and develop convincing justifications for doing so.
The students will have opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of various aspects of qualitative research methodology. This knowledge will help to devise a sound design for their dissertation research projects.
The module will help the students develop and enhance their skills of qualitative data analysis.
Throughout the module, students will be provided opportunities to develop the skills of writing a good-quality dissertation that will report the execution and findings of a small-scale, qualitative primary research project.
Module Aims
The module aims to enable students to:
1) develop an emerging knowledge and understanding of some of the key philosophical debates related to the ontology and epistemology of social research.
2) develop a deeper understanding of the purposes, nature, components, and processes of social research.
3) be able to design and conduct a small-scale qualitative research study in education.
4) be able to insightfully review and critique existing social research.
5) be able to confidently report the findings of a small-scale primary qualitative research study. - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Tuesday afternoon
This module reflects on the meaning, purposes and role of the educator in democratic societies. It explores notions of social pedagogy and ideas around the role of a public intellectual. It considers value settings for the educator and for education and seeks to help students develop a personal philosophy of education.
The module aims to:● Examine a number of important approaches to understanding the role of the educator and professionalism in democratic societies, including theoretical contributions from a reading of social pedagogy, citizenship education and the meaning of the public intellectual;
● Familiarise students with complementary and competing conceptions drawn from theorists such as Freire and Dewey as well as work on leadership, management and professionalism;
● Critically examine the characteristics, aspirations and convictions of the educational workforce and ideological constructions of the educator;
• Critically explore contemporary education and the pressures of teaching – focused around professionalism, ideology and the marketisation of education;
• Enable students to develop their own philosophies of education – where it takes place and what it means?;
• Explore global models of education in an attempt to critically explore western education from a decolonial perspective - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Monday morning
Module description:
You will be introduced to academic debates around social justice and inclusion as philosophical notions and as practical realms of education. You will be encouraged to engage academically, critically and reflectively with the different interpretations of inclusion and equalities that emerge from inclusion studies, inclusion policies and political discourses around inclusion. You will
develop a historical and analytical understanding of aspects of past and current policy in relation to inclusion and inclusive education, including disability and special educational needs. It will draw upon formal areas of inclusive studies and social justice, and educational academic research.The module aims:
1. To enable students to apply theory to interpret debates around inclusion, inclusive education and inclusive practices in society;
2. To highlight debates around inclusion and exclusion in educational discourse, inclusive policy and theory;
3. To explore the many interpretations and definitions around inclusion and equalities and analyse how they are embedded in education
4. To examine the relationship between educational and social structures with reference to issues of inclusion, social exclusion and social justice;
5. To explore academic educational research around inclusion and inclusion policy to critically engage with current debates around inclusions and exclusions in education - This module currently runs:
- all year (September start) - Monday afternoon
This module introduces students to key debates within the philosophy of education, by way of critical examination of central contributors to that debate from ancient Greece to the late 20th century.
Philosophical accounts of the nature and value of education have been fundamental to education studies since its inception, informing all other methodical approaches within the area. Whereas, however, other approaches tend to appropriate and assume the validity of a philosophical theory in order to apply it to an educational phenomenon, in the philosophy of education we critically examine the coherence and validity of the original theory itself.
The study of philosophy is hence pedagogically unique, insofar as it recognises no authorities or valid assumptions, apart from those that can be established through logic. Students taking the module not only gain knowledge of what philosophers have said, but are also invited to philosophise with and against them, subjecting their claims to critical scrutiny.
The module aims to enable students to:
• Gain knowledge of key debates within the philosophy of education, from ancient Greece to the late 20th century.
• Understand how positions within the history of philosophy of education inform contemporary educational debates.
• Develop skills of analysis and logical criticism, by examining the coherence, reliability and validity of philosophical theories related to education.
• Appreciate the importance of reasoned argument and criticism over authoritative assertion of belief in debates on topics of public significance. • to offer an historical perspective upon the relationship between sport, education and society;
• to encourage a critical examination of the relationship between play, games and sport and their respective relations to educational ideologies;
• to explore current controversial dimensions to sport in education and in schools, the community, and wider society;
• to become familiar with recent initiatives from government and sporting bodies to regenerate sport in schools and offer a critical perspective on them;
• to attempt a critical evaluation of sport and its place in contemporary education with a view to its regeneration as a core aspect of educational practice and purpose.- This module currently runs:
- autumn semester - Monday afternoon
Module description:
The module will encourage academic debate around gender issues and gender theory and education as hallmarks of urban education and its theorisation; these debates will emanate from and be stimulated by empirical encounter and the reading of current educational academic research. It will draw upon formal areas of gender studies, feminist theory, sociology of education, gender philosophy, educational research and cultural studies.
The module aims:
• Critically examine the understanding of gender and reflect on own expectations of appropriate ‘male’ and ‘female’ behaviour and other gender identities.
• Understand the importance of making gender visible in educational and social theory.
• Engage critically with debates about gender differences in participation and achievement in education.
• Discuss how learner identities may be influenced by current understandings and expectations of gender and sexuality.
• Explore the role of schools in creating and maintaining gender hierarchy and stereotypes.
• Demonstrate an understanding of gender sensitivity in conducting and engaging with research.
What our students say
“My course has helped me grow as an individual. I feel more confident, but most importantly, it has encouraged me to become a critical thinker.”
National Student Survey
Where this course can take you
After this four-year course you’ll be able to enter a wide range of careers within education, such as local government, charities, youth work and educational management. You’ll also gain a range of transferable skills, such as critical thinking, reasoning and writing that will translate into a variety of careers.
Continuing your studies with us
The School of Social Professions has a wide range of exciting industry-linked programmes available on a full-time and part-time basis in education, health, social and community work. The following courses would be ideal for progression into postgraudate study:
- Education - MA
- Get into teaching with one of our PGCE courses
- Youth and Community Work (with JNC Recognition)- MSc
If you've already studied your undergraduate degree with us, as a graduate of London Met, you'll be entitled to a 20% discount on any further study with us.
Important information about this course
We're committed to continuously improving our degree courses to ensure our students receive the best possible learning experience. Many of the courses in our School of Social Sciences and Professions are currently under review for 2023-24 entry. We encourage you to apply as outlined in the how to apply section of this page and if there are any changes to your course we will contact you. All universities review their courses regularly and this year we are strengthening our social sciences and professions courses to better reflect the needs of employers and ensure you're well-equipped for your future career.
What is a degree with a foundation year?
This is a four-year degree course with a built-in foundation year (Year 0). It's the perfect route into university if you don't meet the necessary entry requirements for the standard undergraduate degree. You'll graduate with a full undergraduate degree with the same title and award as those who studied the three-year course.
Additional costs
Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.
Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.
Discover Uni – key statistics about this course
Discover Uni is an official source of information about university and college courses across the UK. The widget below draws data from the corresponding course on the Discover Uni website, which is compiled from national surveys and data collected from universities and colleges. If a course is taught both full-time and part-time, information for each mode of study will be displayed here.
How to apply
If you're a UK applicant wanting to study full-time starting in September, you must apply via UCAS unless otherwise specified. If you're an international applicant wanting to study full-time, you can choose to apply via UCAS or directly to the University.
If you're applying for part-time study, you should apply directly to the University. If you require a Student visa, please be aware that you will not be able to study as a part-time student at undergraduate level.
When to apply
The University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) accepts applications for full-time courses starting in September from one year before the start of the course. Our UCAS institution code is L68.
If you will be applying direct to the University you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only be able to consider your application if there are places available on the course.
To find out when teaching for this degree will begin, as well as welcome week and any induction activities, view our academic term dates.
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