Education EdD

Our Doctor of Education (EdD) postgraduate research degree is currently recruiting for the January 2024 cohort.

The EdD is offered on an exclusively part-time basis with one intake starting in January.

Doctoral researchers are supported through successful completion and thesis submission by drawing on extensive expertise from within the Department of Education and the Graduate School.

Our EdD is targeted at professionals with a responsibility for education within their own organisation/workplace setting.

Run on a cohort model, we offer 10-12 places for doctoral researchers to join this exciting EdD programme each year.

For further information, please contact EdD Programme Lead Dr Andrew Carroll at andrew.carroll@brunel.ac.uk.

Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here: Research degree progress structure.

Doctor of Education (EdD) programme of study

There are four study blocks in the taught component of the programme spread across the first two years (6 weekend study schools per year) with end of year papers as follows:

Year 1

ED6700: Improving education and enhancing educational professionalism

• The (recent) history of educational improvement in the UK and abroad, particularly from the perspective of policy (including standards-based improvement; inspection and improvement; measurement, curriculum reform, learning outcomes; league tables)
• The possible contributions of research to educational improvement (including action research; school effectiveness and improvement; teacher judgement; teacher activism)
• The literature on professions, professionalism and professionality, and its relevance for education (including conceptions and definitions of professions, professionalism and professionality; teacher professionalism; teacher agency; teacher autonomy). Enhancing professionalism (including the role of teachers, of research, of policy; the role of accountability)

ED6701: Making sense of education: Theory, history and policy

• Theories of education (with a particular focus on how educational theories and forms of theorising differ from theories and theorising in other practical fields and academic disciplines)
• The history and development of education as a scholarly and academic endeavour, in the UK and elsewhere. The history of education (with a particular focus on the history of school education and educational reform)
• Trends in education policy in the UK and elsewhere (including critical analysis of political dimensions of education policy and how such policy helps or hinders educational practice and educational professionalism)

End of year 1 task: 10,000 words historical paper on a topic of personal choice

Year 2

ED6702: Making sense of educational and social research

• The development of the social sciences and the interrelationships between science, social science and educational practice
• The history of educational research and its status among the social and behavioural sciences
• Normative and moral dimensions of social and educational research

ED6703: Close-to-practice research; design, skills and judgement

• Understanding different approaches to research in education (including the difference between explanatory, interpretative and critical research)
• Main approaches and designs of close-to-practice research (including action research, evaluation research, case study and ethnography). Principles of research design. Data collection, data analysis and data interpretation in close-to-practice research
• Improvement of practice and the role of research. Values, ethics and politics of close-to-practice research

End of year 2 task: 10,000 words paper based on an empirical inquiry (topic of personal choice) within own professional context

Years 3, 4 & 5 – Thesis writing stage

There are four Saturday schools for each year group spread across the academic year

Annual research conference

The department organises a research conference in July each year and doctoral researchers in all year groups are expected to present either an oral or poster presentation based upon their ‘work in progress’

You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.

In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.

Find out more.

The programme has been designed to enable senior professionals to engage in work-related research that makes a real difference to their own organisation.

Teaching and supervision over the first two years of the programme's taught component takes place on weekends (e.g., Friday afternoon/Saturday) and summer school blocks to fit around the demands of our doctoral researchers’ busy work commitments.

This is complemented by four Saturday schools offered in years 3, 4 & 5 each year when our doctoral researchers are supported by their supervisory teams during the thesis writing stage.

The Brunel EdD offers high-quality doctoral training and supervision experience for a small cohort of experienced professionals who see doctoral study as a way of making a real difference to the profession as well as to themselves personally.