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Education BA

Key Information

Course code

X300

X301 with placement

Start date

September

Placement available

Mode of study

3 years full-time

4 years full-time with placement

Fees

2024/25

UK £9,250

International £19,430

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Entry requirements

2024/5

ABB - BBC (A-level)

DMM (BTEC)

29 (IB)

Scroll to #entryRequirements

Overview

The Education BA at Brunel offers you the opportunity to combine the study of education with professional practice to give you a pathway into a range of education professions and postgraduate professional study including teacher education.

Whether you are looking to explore education related fields – such as counselling, educational psychology, social services, local authority work, social work, administration and education management – or you already know you want to teach, Brunel’s Education BA will give you a strong foundation from which to build.

The course will equip you with a broad and balanced view of educational theory, policy and practice within a range of educational contexts. You will also have numerous opportunities to develop a range of transferable skills such as critical reflection, systematic analysis, communication, collaboration, presentation and writing skills.

When it comes to professional practice, the Education BA includes three integrated work placements to give you the opportunity to explore different educational settings. To help you manage your time, you can do your placement experience weekly or in a block over the holidays. We are also proud to introduce our RJC Accredited module and qualification in Restorative Practice, a sort after qualification in schools and other education settings. 

If it’s teaching experience you’re seeking, Brunel’s network of partner schools is diverse and well-established which means you can gain highly valued teaching experience in vibrant multi-cultural schools where you will be fully supported by a Brunel tutor.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Course content

The Brunel Education BA aims to equip you with a broad and balanced view of educational theory, policy and practice within a range of educational contexts.

In each year of the course you will study a set of compulsory modules and undertake an integral placement to help you put what you learn into practice in a variety of educational settings.

The course is structured around three broad learning strands that run through each year:

  • Education, culture and society
  • Educational theory and development
  • Professional skills and practice

In your second year, you will study the RJC Accredited core module which, if passed, will give you a foundation level qualification in Restorative Practice. You can convert this into becoming an accredited Restorative Practitioner after gaining some practice experience with our Students Union. 

Compulsory

  • Understanding Concepts in Education
    This study block aims to enable students to develop an ability to reflect critically on some of the more important theories and contributions to an understanding of what it means to be educated, and to develop an understanding of the nature and processes of learning and their relevance to both educational practice and students’ own learning development.
  • Issues and Perspectives in Education
    This study block aims to enable students to recognise varied roles, responsibilities and organisational cultures of the professionals who work with children, young people and their families e.g. within education, health and social services, and to gain awareness of the various frameworks that define and regulate education-based work with children, adults and young people. It aims to develop awareness of potential boundaries and issues associated with accountability within and across disciplines and approaches to Education Practice, and to identify government policy and legislation on childhood and youth issues e.g. inclusion, equal opportunity, child poverty, youth justice, mental health and child protection.
  • Human Development
    This study block aims to enable students to understand theories and research related to human development, to develop the ability to critically evaluate research and practice, and to demonstrate an understanding and awareness of research methods used to study child and youth development.
  • Education and Society
    This study block aims to enable students to develop an understanding of the structure and provision of education in the UK and key historical development to the current day, to develop an understanding of role played by education policy and educational institutions in cultural change, and to develop their ability to critically examine issues and debates.
  • Study Skills and Methods of Enquiry
    This study block aims to give students a sound knowledge of the study skills required for undertaking an Education degree, and to give students a sound knowledge of undertaking a research project in education.
  • Education Work Placements 1
    This study block aims to understand how the major disciplines of education impact upon professional communities, to provide opportunities to link the knowledge, understanding and skills gained on the course within a work-based setting, to develop autonomy and initiative, and work effectively as a member of a professional team, and to help gain experience of the working environment and assess career opportunities available.

Compulsory

  • The Social Study of Children and Young People
    This study block focuses on the social study of childhood and aims to enable students to demonstrate an understanding of the contribution of sociological frameworks in relation to understanding childhood, to demonstrate an understanding of a range of education issues that that impact on childhood, and to develop the ability to critically evaluate theories of childhood.
  • Research Methods
    This module aims to recognise and understand the logic, structure and stages of empirically based educational research. Students will experience and reflect upon the practice of specific research techniques used in educational research.
  • Education Work Placements 2
    This study block aims to provide an opportunity to establish links between education research theory and practice, to explore how educational disciplines can apply within a range of educational contexts, to generate work-based issues in preparation for Level 3 placement and the Research Project, and to explore employment opportunities within placement organisations.
  • Educational Spaces
    This study block aims to develop an understanding of the contrasting range of education arenas – including formal, non formal and informal, to develop an understanding of the nature of learning that takes place outside dedicated learning environments, and to develop an understanding of informal and non-formal learning initiatives, arrangements and practices.
  • Education in Literature and the Media
    This study block aims to demonstrate an understanding of the different ways in which writers in literary texts have represented education over time, to demonstrate an understanding of how writers for the screen (both film and television) have represented education over time, to demonstrate an understanding of how education is portrayed in the contemporary news media, and to develop students’ ability critically to evaluate the ways in which views of education are constructed through works of literature and the media.
  • Educational Practices
    This study block aims to demonstrate an understanding of the contribution of philosophical, psychological and sociological frameworks in relation to children and young people, to demonstrate an understanding of a range of contemporary issues that that impact on intervention work with children and young people, and to develop their ability to critically evaluate applied research and practice.

Compulsory

  • Growing Up in 21st Century Britain
    This study block aims to enable students to critically review current debates in the field of children and young people, childhood and youth, to develop an understanding of cultures of children and young people, childhood and youth, and to develop an understanding of the issues associated with growing up in Britain in the 21st Century.
  • Education in Different Contexts
    This study block aims to develop knowledge and understanding of social, historical and political factors that have influenced current educational provision for children and adolescents in state education in Britain, to develop and understanding of theories of curriculum design and educational change, to further develop an understanding of the theories and concepts of informal/non-formal learning, and to develop an understanding of the practices of informal and non-formal learning through a range of mechanisms, experiences and practices.
  • Educational Work Placements 3
    This study block aims to provide an opportunity to apply and transfer knowledge between education research theory and practice, to apply these disciplines within a range of educational contexts, to produce a research report relevant to the needs of local employers, and to explore employment opportunities within placement organisations for preparation on graduation.
  • Education and Research 3 – Dissertation
    The dissertation aims to enable students to advance their knowledge, skills and understanding of the process of research though in an educational environment, and to develop students’ ability to define a viable research question, manage research in a workplace context, analyse and critically discuss findings.

This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.

This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.


Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Read more about the structure of undergraduate degrees at Brunel.

Careers and your future

Our Education BA offers you a pathway into employment in a range of educational-related fields either on graduation or via further professional study such as Schools Direct, Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and Post Graduate Diploma Youth and Community (PGDipYCW).

As an Education BA graduate career options include education administration, after-school programme co-ordination, early years education, and informal education, education welfare, continuing professional development co-ordination, business training, and primary school teaching. With your Foundation qualification in Restorative Practice, your CV will have a competitive advantage against other graduates going into education careers. 

Brunel Education BA graduates are top UK earners. On average, Brunel Education alumni earn £35,400 five years after graduating compared to a £24,700 average for Education graduates across the university sector (Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)).

UK entry requirements

2024/25 entry

  • GCE A-level ABB-BBC.
  • BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DMM in a related subject. Other subjects may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • BTEC Level 3 Diploma DM in a related subject, with an A-Level at grade C.
  • BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma M in any subject, with A-Levels at grade BB is preferred however 3 BTEC Subsidiary Diplomas can be assessed on an individual basis.
  • International Baccalaureate Diploma 29 points.
  • Obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points in the  Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
  • T levels : Merit               

A minimum of five GCSEs are required, including GCSE Mathematics grade C or grade 4 and GCSE English Language grade C or grade 4 or GCSE English Literature grade B or grade 5.

Brunel University London is committed to raising the aspirations of our applicants and students. We will fully review your UCAS application and, where we’re able to offer a place, this will be personalised to you based on your application and education journey.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.

EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 (min 5.5 in all areas)
  • Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
  • BrunELT: 63% (min 55% in all areas)
  • TOEFL: 90 (min R18, L17, S20, W17)  

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

Fees and funding

2024/25 entry

UK

£9,250 full-time

£1,385 placement year

International

£19,430 full-time

£1,385 placement year

Fees quoted are per year and may be subject to an annual increase. Home undergraduate student fees are regulated and are currently capped at £9,250 per year; any changes will be subject to changes in government policy. International fees will increase annually, by no more than 5% or RPI (Retail Price Index), whichever is the greater.

More information on any additional course-related costs.

See our fees and funding page for full details of undergraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.

Please refer to the scholarships pages to view discounts available to eligible EU undergraduate applicants.

Teaching and learning

One of the aims of the BA Education programme is to prepare you for a range of Education-based roles and practices. On-campus ‘in person’ delivery allows us to model many of the skills, behaviours and practices that you will be studying.

Additional skills such as group-work, communication and practical skills (for example mediation techniques) are better delivered and practiced in person.

All sessions will be in-person on campus across all levels except for where there is independent study or project work. There may be an occasion digital session – where this is easier for an external speaker, or if we intend to model a session on ‘online learning’ for example – but this'll be the exception rather than the norm. Attendance is expected at all sessions.

The course will be delivered through:

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Practical (skill-based) sessions

In addition, you are expected to undertake a placement at each level. This'll be at an approved external setting chosen by the student at a time that reflects the practice of the host organisation.

There'll be a series of extra-curricular activities including sessions on campus and the occasional visit/field trip.

Students are strongly advised to purchase core texts from module reading lists, although copies are also available via Brunel Library.

Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.

We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.

Brunel has one of the longest established education departments in the country and is a leading research centre for work in supportive education that receives high ratings from the UK’s leading benchmarkers such as Ofsted.

You'll be taught by a team of enthusiastic and supportive academic staff, many of which are active researchers on a variety of education topics.

Your learning will take place in groups of different sizes and compositions to provide a variety of experiences as you get to know and interact with a group of likeminded students as you develop on the course.

You'll be taught using a variety of teaching and learning techniques that include: lectures, seminars (to promote discussions and group work), tutorials, student presentations, practical sessions, and for the placement modules, workplace mentors and tutor support.

Work-based experience is designed to provide you with opportunities to apply and enhance your learning and research skills in professional settings where you'll do range of directed tasks and research activities at each level of study.

A great deal of your learning will take place in your own independent learning and research where you will develop a range of study skills, research-related skills and critical thinking during directed reading, reflective exercises and preparation for assessments and work-based experiences.

Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.

Assessment and feedback

Assessments vary between modules and typically include critical assignments, reflective reports, portfolios, student presentations and posters (group and individual) and placement portfolios. Most modules incorporate both a written and presentation element.

At the end of your course, you will complete a dissertation in an education topic of your choice under the guidance of a dissertation supervisor.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.