The Social Justice and Education MA will help students to identify, examine and understand key sociological and philosophical perspectives on social justice, including issues of 'race', class, gender and sexuality, and education. Participants will explore the personal and political dimensions of social justice concerns and develop their professional, practical and research skills in this area.

About this degree

This programme provides students with the opportunity to address, in a unique way, the complex links between social justice and education, focusing on key current policy and political debates about the role of education. They will also be able to develop, extend and reflect on their own professional interests, concerns and practice and how to address pressing issues of social justice in their everyday professional and personal lives. Through their engagement with cutting-edge research in this area they will learn tools for fighting for social justice and transformation in the educational areas relevant for them.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of face-to-face evening sessions and interactive online learning using a variety of teaching and learning styles. Sometimes a conventional lecture-based approach is taken, with the aim of providing an overview of the field. Lectures are usually followed by open discussion or group work. At other times a seminar format is adopted involving, for example, group discussion of set reading, a video or an introductory presentation. Assessment is through coursework essay assignments, plus submission of a report or dissertation.

Careers

Graduates of this programme are currently working across a broad range of areas. Some are leaders, managers, teachers and practitioners in the compulsory education sector across international contexts. Many are working as professionals in NGO organisations specialising in social justice across many countries such as Chile, Japan, Canada and the UK. Graduates can also be found working as civil servants and government officials. In addition, many find places in the higher education sector including across a range of professional roles, as researchers, and as university lecturers worldwide.

Employability

Students develop the capacity to:

• reflect critically on debates concerning education and social justice across diverse contexts
• appraise how knowledge forms, and is formed by, education politics, policy, practice and research
• consider the implications of theory, research and analyses about social justice in education and how it can impact their own future practice and professional development
• use oral and written communication skills in order to make arguments, examine evidence and creatively advance social justice and education
• evaluate processes entailed in social science and philosophical research and conduct their own unique research in the area of social justice and education.