Enrich, extend, explore
YOUR PRACTICE Professional development for educators in the School of Education and Social Work 1
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Welcome Getting the right support Why choose us? Our professional development offer Consultancy Bespoke education and training Our Master’s framework MA in Education MSc Safeguarding Professional Doctorate in Education PhD study International Additional opportunities Contact us
WELCOME TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK Enrich, extend and explore your practice with our professional development provision. We offer a wide range of accredited and non-accredited professional development for education and social work professionals. Our Professional Development offer is delivered by experienced teachers, trainers and academics using innovative methods, cutting edge research and new technologies. It is continually evolving to meet the demands of the workplace. Throughout the year, there are opportunities for participants to take part in lectures, conferences and online activities in response to local, national and international issues in education. These opportunities include the annual Centre for the Study of Practice and Culture in Education (CSPACE) conference, which is an opportunity to network with others in the field and keep up-to-date with innovative practice. Working in education and social work means dealing on a daily basis with unique situations
and supporting people from all walks of life to flourish professionally and personally. Our Professional Development programme supports career-wide development and learning. You will have the opportunity to enrich your professional knowledge, expand your professional expertise and explore new areas of professional practice. This brochure details the range of development options available to individuals and organisations working in education and social work. These include creditbearing programmes of study like our flexible taught MA in Education, and noncredit-bearing professional development courses and standalone workshops. We hope it inspires you to take the next step in developing your career with us. Professor Kevin Mattinson Associate Dean and Head of the School of Education and Social Work 3
GETTING THE RIGHT SUPPORT at the right time
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We recognise that your studies need to fit around your work, family and social commitments. All our courses are flexible and many have options to start throughout the year. We also understand that you may need help in updating your academic skills if it has been some time since you last undertook a formal programme of study. To support your return to academic study, you will work with a module or programme leader throughout your time with us. In addition, we have specialist staff who are experts in academic skills development and career advice who can help you get the most out of every course.
“After teaching English for over 12 years I finally took the plunge and started my MA in Education in September 2017. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m glad I did. It’s allowed me to explore in depth several different theories which I’ve been able to use to invigorate my own teaching. It’s also been fascinating to be able to step outside of my ‘teaching bubble’ in order to see things from a variety of different perspectives. The course gives you opportunities to explore areas of personal interest and push yourself in new directions, while supported by friendly and knowledgeable tutors.” Part-time MA Education Student 2017/18
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WHY CHOOSE US? We’re proud of our high employability rates, with 97.9 per cent of the School’s postgraduate students in employment or further study six months after graduation (DLHE survey results 16/17). Evidence of previous study or relevant experience may be accepted after discussion with the programme leader to claim Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).
Our Master’s team are professional educators drawn from a wide range of settings and have extensive professional experience, knowledge and understanding. In the School of Education and Social Work, our long-standing, close relationships with hundreds of local schools, colleges and other educational and training settings as well as public, private and third sector social care and work organisations, mean that we understand the challenges facing educational professionals and leaders today.
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OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFER Non-credit-bearing professional development opportunities Our non-credit-bearing short courses are perfectly suited to education professionals looking to enrich, expand and explore their learning and development. Our well-established Level 7 framework offers a range of Continued Professional Development pre-service and in-service modules. On successful completion of these modules, you have the opportunity to work towards a Master’s in Teaching and Learning or Leadership and Management. This flexible approach allows schools and colleges to become self-improving
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organisations, demonstrating high quality collaborative learning that is centred on real pedagogical practice. In joining our CPD programme, you will become part of a community of practice wider than your own institution. Our innovative use of online resources gives you access to discussions with colleagues across the West Midlands. Programmes vary in length from half a day to five days and include a range of supporting online materials and reading.
SPECIALISMS INCLUDE: • Pupil-led anti-bullying strategies • NQT and NQT development programmes • Building a community of effective teaching practice • Creative teaching in the arts • Mentoring /coaching • Use of digital technologies in education • Creative parent partnerships • Subject knowledge development and enhancement e.g. mathematics/MFL/ physics development • Practice-led enquiry for quality • Innovation in assessment and curriculum design • Becoming research-active • Science, Technology, Education, Art and Maths (STEAM) initiatives • Special educational needs and disability development • Attainment • Leadership and management • Developing primary school physical education 9
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CONSULTANCY The School’s major strength is the knowledge, experience and skills of our staff. They are available on a consultancy basis to enable organisations to develop in a wide range of educational areas including those highlighted below. OUR EDUCATION CONSULTANTS INCLUDE: Dr Matt O’Leary Areas of interest:
Professor Martin Fautley Areas of interest:
• The impact of education policy on teaching and learning • Professional learning • Teacher development • Observation of learning activities to improve learning
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Dr Elizabeth Nassem Areas of interest: • School bullying
Assessment in music education Classroom composing Inclusion in music education Teaching and learning in the arts
Professor Alex Kendall Areas of interest: • • • •
Literacy Teacher development Teacher-led research/enquiry HE transition
SAMPLE WORKSHOP:
Overcoming the complexities of school bullying. This highly interactive workshop is designed to help organisations develop effective strategies to reduce bullying by addressing: • • • •
What constitutes bullying? Why pupils engage in bullying. Effective strategies to resolve bullying. Your reflections on your role as a teacher in dealing with bullying.
Participants develop a practical plan of action and strategies for dealing with bullying to implement and develop after the session. “This was a good presentation with interesting research being shared; this is something I could use when talking with trainee teachers about how to support pupils who are being bullied, or display bullying behaviour. Every school needs an Elizabeth Nassem!” Bullying workshop participant
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BESPOKE EDUCATION AND TRAINING ENDORSING TRAINING AND EDUCATION We may be able to work with your organisation to provide If you are holding an event, training day or a series of training events then we may be able bespoke credit-bearing and to help with endorsement in order to help you non-credit-bearing professional attract new markets and ensure the quality of your provision. A joint approach can add value development courses. to your event by offering a quality kite mark for marketing and recruitment purposes.
These cover a range of areas and can be adapted to your organisation’s workforce development needs. These courses can be delivered on or off site and are of varying length. Our aim is to work closely in collaboration with partners to ensure that we jointly develop the right programme for your needs. We can offer bespoke training in a range of areas, including: • Executive management • NQT+
“NICE has been working in partnership with the School of Education and Social Work to create new and exciting opportunities in the field of special needs. The process of developing our collaboration has been innovative and exciting and demonstrated how the merging of theory and practice can make a difference. We are proud to be working with BCU and look forward to developing our partnership further in the future.” Dr Melanie R Brown, CEO / Director of Services National Institute of Conductive Education (NICE)
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OUR MASTER’S FRAMEWORK FOR ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATION We offer many opportunities to convert your non-credit-bearing training into credit-bearing modules on our flexible ‘Framework for Accredited Professional Development in Education’.
We recognise that learning takes place wherever you may be working. Work-based learning, in association with the University, is becoming an increasingly popular way for practitioners to gain credit for their development within the workplace. If your employer currently delivers in-house courses, we can work with them to develop CPD opportunities that count towards university qualifications, such as our Master’s in Teaching and Learning or Leadership and Management.
credits), Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) or full Master’s degree in Education (180 credits).
This is possible because most of our professional development provision is mapped against a range of 20 credit modules on the MA Education programme, allowing you to build up credits towards a Postgraduate Certificate (60
Dr Amanda French, Head of Department of Professional Development, Research and Enterprise amanda.french@bcu.ac.uk
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Teachers and social workers who currently hold a postgraduate qualification can receive credits for Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) and experienced practitioners may be able to claim up to 40 credits Accreditation of Prior Experience (APEL). To find out more about APCL and APEL, please contact:
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TAUGHT MASTER’S DEGREES MA IN EDUCATION This taught postgraduate course is ideal for teachers, lecturers or trainers in any field of education who are keen to expand their knowledge and boost their professional qualifications. You don’t need to have completed a Bachelor’s degree to apply for this course, but we do ask for professional experience in an educational setting.
on graduation depends on the combination of modules and dissertation you complete. You will decide this following discussion with the programme leader and your personal tutor who will guide and support you throughout the programme.
Please be aware that this course does not lead to qualified teacher status.
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What’s covered in the course Highly flexible, this course allows you to study alongside working. You will work through a range of core and optional modules, designed to suit professional needs and specialised areas of interest. You can choose to follow different specialism pathways. The named award you achieve
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We offer the following Master’s pathways: Childhood Studies Early Years Leadership Educational Leadership and Management International Education Mentoring and Coaching Special Needs Education Youth and Community Education
Further details about specific modules can be found on our website. www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/education-ma
“As a former PGCE student, doing my Master’s in Education has been an eye opener in terms of the challenges facing education today. The course has provided me with the opportunity to work with different people exploring the dynamics around education. I hope this will influence the way I teach in a positive way. Module leaders have been supportive throughout the course and each module leader has made their module interesting and accessible to students. I have thoroughly enjoyed my Master’s and would encourage anyone who wants to know the ins and outs of education to come on the course.” Memento Makeleni, MA Education
MSC SAFEGUARDING This course will equip you with an up to date and in-depth knowledge of the legal, ethical, and practical issues which underpin practice in adult, young people and child safeguarding. Topics covered include:
• The legal, ethical and professional practice issues surrounding safeguarding
• Contemporary themes and key issues within the current safeguarding agenda
• Vulnerabilities, thresholds and risk
assessment within safeguarding vulnerable people including the ‘toxic trio’ • Complex multi-agency safeguarding casework and interventions including socioeconomic influences, resilience, and the complexities of working with a culturally diverse community • Findings and learning from research, serious case reviews, inquiries, reports and literature applied to theory and practice • Theories, styles, principles and processes of leadership that impact upon safeguarding For more information, visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/safeguarding-msc
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PROFESSIONAL DOCTORATE IN EDUCATION WHAT’S COVERED IN THE COURSE? The first two years of this course offer a thorough grounding in the essential skills required to articulate and interrogate key issues relating to education policy, the changing role of social institutions, aspects of pedagogy, and the implications for multiple and fluid professional identities on everyday education practice in a context of global interconnectedness and interdependence. The course is designed to take account of people’s busy lives with online resources and guidance about how to embed quality academic research into everyday practices in the workplace. The second part of the programme is an original, independent research project supported by a specialised supervision team. During this stage of the EdD, you may become a change-maker in your organisation as
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you explore the relationship between knowledge, theory and practice in your own and others’ workplaces. Our doctoral supervision and teaching team are creative and innovative researcher/ educators in their own right, with a wealth of academic and professional knowledge to draw on. They provide innovative approaches to educational research such as working with visual methods and new media. Through the course, you will develop intuitive judgement, foresight and the ability to conceptualise problems that typically impact on organisations. You will also be able to develop solutions to problems by applying theoretical concepts, and a range of research skills and approaches. You’ll build skills to communicate academic principles and concepts effectively to professional colleagues and the scholarly community.
“The EdD has been a great experience so far. The taught sessions are interesting and informative, highlighting new areas and theorists and encouraging thought-provoking debate amongst the group. Tutors are very supportive and provide helpful and well considered feedback. The assignments have been interesting to complete, the variation in assessment and the opportunity to discuss new ways of presenting findings have ensured that all students have the chance to fully demonstrate their understanding.” Kate Glanville, student on the Professional Doctorate programme For more information, visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/professionaldoctorate-in-education-edd
The Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) offers you the opportunity to conduct original research into professional practices in the workplace, while making a significant contribution to your continuing professional development. You will join our vibrant and supportive community of researchers in the School of Education and Social Work, who are drawn from many different occupational settings.
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PHD STUDY IN THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK Our Centre for the Study of Practice and Culture in Education (CSPACE) is active in a wide range of research in education policy and practice, and engages in education research across all age phases, from early years, through primary and secondary schools, to further education and post-16, higher education and lifelong learning. Areas of interest in which staff are currently active include: • • • • • • • •
Assessment Professional learning and development Teaching and learning in further and higher education Creativity Childhood studies/early years Education policy Leadership and management in further and higher education Music and drama education
We welcome applications in these and other areas of expertise in education.
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KEY FACTS • We offer supervision for both part-time and full-time study. • As part of our PhD offer all candidates complete a University-wide taught course in research methodologies • To support their studies, all students are assigned a Director of Studies, and at least one additional supervisor to support and guide them through their thesis. • We organise an exciting programme of seminars and expert lectures throughout the year to which all postgraduate students are invited. • We have a thriving transdisciplinary research community in the School of Education and Social Work. As a PhD candidate, you will be encouraged to play a key role in our various Research Centres of Excellence, for example by publishing your research and presenting it at internal and external research conferences. • You will have access to our dedicated postgraduate research room. www.bcu.ac.uk/education-phd
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INTERNATIONAL
Working with our partners at the National Institute for Conductive Education (NICE), we are also able to offer short courses for professionals in the fields of neurological motor disorder.
We have a growing portfolio of short courses that are delivered on behalf of and in collaboration with international partners. Programmes already successfully developed and/or delivered overseas include professional development programmes for teachers in:
We focus on developing programmes that are bespoke to the requirements and needs of partner organisations and we work with colleagues across a wide range of curriculum areas in both primary and secondary education.
• Primary Art and Design • Secondary Art and Design • Primary Music • Secondary Music • Primary Physical Education • Secondary Physical Education • Primary Science and Technology • Leadership and Management • Special Educational Needs 22
The School has a growing reputation in the fields of Early Childhood and Early Years Education and is building relationships in this field in many parts of the world, particularly South East Asia.
POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION, INTERNATIONAL (PGCEI) The continued growth of the international school sector is a reflection of economic development and demonstrates recognition that an educated population lies at the heart of economic and social development. The PGCEi programme brings together the best practices from the English teacher training system. While it does not result in Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), the content and assessment – both academic and professional capability – are closely informed by the requirements that operate in England. In addition, those completing the programme gain 60 academic credits at FHEQ Level 7 (Master’s Level) which can be carried forward to a Master’s degree with the University.
MASTER’S DEGREE STUDY The flexibility of our Master’s framework means that we can tailor our provision to an international audience to support our international partnerships. As a result of the growing interest in the field of music education, we are also developing an MA in Music Education which will be part of the School’s portfolio from 2019/20.
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ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES In undertaking postgraduate study or professional development, you will be joining a research active learning community, which specialises in teaching-informed research. You will have opportunities to join this community, some of which are listed below. We encourage you to make the most of these extra-curricular opportunities to ensure that you get the most out of your studies.
The annual CSPACE conference covers a wide range of topics, such as the use of touchscreen technology in the early years and the importance of multi-agency working for young people’s creative musical engagement.
As a student in the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (HELS), you will have access to the HELS Doc Skills Hub, which offers a range of support and activities. Writing retreats Our research development team run regular writing retreats to help you with the process of writing up your research. Research Wednesday The Hub offers a range of research-related activities and events on Wednesdays during term time. These activities include:
UNIVERSITY CONFERENCES As a postgraduate student in the School, you will have the opportunity to attend special events and activities, including our Centre for the Study of Practice and Culture in Education (CSPACE) Conference.
HELS DOC SKILLS HUB
“It was fascinating to see the work that colleagues are engaging in across the University and was great to see such a wide representation from both experienced academic staff and newer researchers and postgraduate and undergraduate student researcher awards students. In this way the conference epitomises our themes of community, creativity and collaboration!” CSPACE attendee, 2017 blogs.bcu.ac.uk/education
• Breakfast Club - come and enjoy a free breakfast and talk about your research • Research methodologies seminar programme • Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice • Thesis mentoring and academic writing support • ‘Shut up and write’ events • Getting the best out of your supervisions and supervisor • PGR Net social and networking events • Scholarship days www.bcu.ac.uk/research/areas/education
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CONTACT US To talk to us about the professional development opportunities available in the School of Education and Social Work, please get in touch. We’re happy to advise on the right route for you. Dr Amanda French Head of Department for Professional Development, Research and Enterprise amanda.french@bcu.ac.uk
School of Education and Social Work Birmingham City University, Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3TN 26