Bachelor of Science (BSc)

BSc Education

Become a leading educational researcher in any education related career you choose; innovating and evolving the field globally.

  • Duration: 3 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: X300 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Industrial experience
  • Scholarships available
  • Field trips

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Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £29,000 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

We are committed to attracting and supporting the very best students from all backgrounds to study this course.  

You could be eligible for cash bursaries of up to £2,500 to support your studies. 

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Course unit details:
Sociology of Education

Course unit fact file
Unit code EDUC14051
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This unit covers various theoretical traditions of scholarship within the sociology of education, and explores ‘big questions’ about the role of education in society. It explores institutional based processes, such as institutional power dynamics, teacher labelling, the curriculum and ‘hidden curriculum’, and the construct of ability. In doing so, the unit will explore the processes through which educational and social inequality are generated and how alternative forms of education might address inequality.

 

Aims

The unit aims to:

Begin with an introduction of key theories in sociology (e.g. Marx, Weber, Foucault) and their applications to education. It will introduce a number of concepts (e.g. functional/structural– agency/structure) which are then used to study a variety of educational contexts (e.g. schooling, higher education, international education). It explores major concepts in the sociology of education such as equity, inequality, power, social justice and social mobility, and helps students to apply these to relevant educational issues and debates (e.g. access, curriculum, pedagogy etc.). It aims to address four main questions:

  • What role does education play in society, both nationally and internationally?
  • How can we understand schooling and other educational institutions sociologically?
  • How do educational processes link with wider structures of societal inequality?
  • What forms or structures of education might help to address issues of inequality?

 

Learning outcomes

Students should/will be able to:

    Teaching and learning methods

    The module will utilise a range of learning formats, including lectures, seminars, group activities and online materials, as well as readings, presentations, formative feedback and summative assessments. The module will adopt interactive approaches to learning using digital competencies, with independent and group activities in lectures, seminars and as part of the suite of formative and summative assessments.

     

    Knowledge and understanding

    • Explain issues related to social justice, social mobility, and social inequality in education[SC1] .
    • Identify major sociological perspectives (functionalism, conflict, symbolic interaction and critical pedagogy), their theoretical components and their historical evolution.
    • Identify key debates, theories and arguments in the sociology of education (such as society; social structure; culture; social institutions, economy; social change; social class; status; race; ethnicity; gender; social conflict; etc.) and how these relate to empirical research.
    • Explain evidence regarding educational inequalities and their relationship to wider social and economic structures and processes from a socio-cultural theoretical perspective (Marxism, Vygotsky, Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Bourdieu, Funds of Knowledge/Identity, etc.).
    • List a range of alternative educational traditions, including progressive, popular, radical and democratic education.
    •  The learning objectives have been clarified to provide more achievable aims to students at Level 4.

    Intellectual skills

    • Critically reflect on contemporary issues and how they relate to key ethical, social and political debates in education.
    • Demonstrate scholarly independence by using sociological theories to understand key educational problems and their solutions.
    • Reflect on their own experiences of education (past, present and future) and understand how these may be influenced by the issues raised on the course unit.

    Practical skills

    • Evaluate how issues of inequality, social mobility and social justice may be manifest in their future professional careers and how they will navigate or address such issues.
    • Use sociological theory/concepts to analyse complex educational problems through digital literature searches and analysis.
    • Access and interpret information digitally and evaluate information critically, reflecting on its credibility as a source of information.

    Transferable skills and personal qualities

    • Find, read, summarise, and synthesise digital evidence from multiple sources to solve complex problems. problem-solving.
    • Participate and communicate effectively in digital teams to share information and produce shared materials.
    • Write coherent and substantiated argument on a specific topic.

    Assessment methods

    Method Weight
    Other 40%
    Written assignment (inc essay) 60%

    Critical Reflective Journal Entries (choose two out of three) - 1000 words. 40% Weighting

    1 traditional essay - 2000 words. weighting 60%

    Feedback methods

    Feedback Online

    Recommended reading

    Boronski, T. & Hassan, N. (2015) Sociology of Education, London: Sage.

    Dewer, J. (2004) Democracy and Education. Courier Corporation.

    Fielding, M. & Moss, P. (2010) Radical Education and the Common School: A Democratic Alternative, London: Routledge.

    Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Bloomsbury

    Gerwirtz, S. & Cribb, A. (2009) Understanding Education: A Sociological Perspective, Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race and Family Life, Los Angeles: University of California Press. 

    Meighan, R. & Harber, C. (2007) A Sociology of Educating (5th edition), London: Continuum.

    Morris, M.W. (2016). Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. New York, NY: New Press.

    Required texts (Core)

    Sadovnik, A. (2016). Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader, 3rd Ed. New York: Routledge.

    Study hours

    Scheduled activity hours
    Lectures 30
    Independent study hours
    Independent study 170

    Teaching staff

    Staff member Role
    Sophina Choudry Unit coordinator

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