BA (Hons) EDUCATION (WORK-BASED)

Overview

This degree is all about deepening your understanding of how people learn. You’ll explore the cultural and historical aspects of the education system in the UK and beyond, and undertake placements in a wide variety of London settings.

These could include mainstream primary schools, schools for children with special educational needs, hospitals, prisons, Pupil Referral Units and theatres.

This course is designed for people already working in an educational setting and who want to gain a relevant degree while in employment.

Why Education at LSBU?

Our expert staff are committed to a practice-based approach, and we collaborate with psychologists to create exciting course modules.
3rd among London competitors for Student Satisfaction in Education (Complete University Guide 2022)
The Centre for Education and School Partnerships, which delivers this degree, has extensive links with schools, alternative educational settings and the creative industries.
We’re home to specialist facilities that contain all the equipment you can expect to find in a primary school setting.
You’ll have the chance to be involved in two work placements as part of your studies, gaining valuable experience and experiencing exciting new educational settings.

Mode Duration Start date Application code Application method
ModeFull-time Duration3 years Start dateSeptember Application codeX302 Application method UCAS

Location

London South Bank University student union is located at 103 Borough Rd, London SE1 0AA.

If you are visiting our Southwark Campus, you may wish to use our downloadable campus map (PNG File 466 KB). For information on accessibility, see our DisabledGo access guides. See our location page for more details.

Entry Level Requirements

Want to start your course this September? call 0800 923 8888 for entry requirements.

  • 96 UCAS points
  • CCC at A Level or equivalent
  • BTEC Level 3 Qualifications or a combination of A Level and Level 3 BTEC qualifications
  • All Level 3 qualifications welcome, including the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of  21 Level 3 credits at Merit
  • Plus five GCSEs including mathematics and English
  • Applicants must be employed in an educational setting in either a paid or a voluntary capacity.
  • English language qualifications for international students: IELTS score of 6.0, TOEFL - 550 (print-based), TOEFL- 80 (internet-based), Cambridge Proficiency or Advanced Grade C.
  • While a GCSE in science is not an entry requirement to this degree, candidates must note that a GCSE in science or equivalent is required for application to a PGCE or School Direct Teacher Training programme.

Missing English and Maths qualifications?

If you do not have the required English and Maths qualifications needed to satisfy the entry requirements for this programme, we have courses available at our partner College that you can take to upskill in these areas. Find out more at South Bank College.

Advanced entry

If you have already completed some studies at another university, we may be able to consider you for advanced entry. Please see our advanced entry page for more information.

Course status

United Kingdom

£9535

Tuition fees for home students

International

£15500

Tuition fees for international students

Tuition fees are subject to annual inflationary increases. Find out more about tuition fees for Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses.

  • Full-time

    full-time

    BA (Hons) Education (Work Based) (FT) - Year 1

    The fee shown is for entry 2025/26
    UK fee: £9535 International fee: £15500
    AOS/LSBU code: 5778 Session code: 1FS00
    Total course fee:

    * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.

    UK: £28605
    International: £46500

    BA (Hons) Education (Work Based) (FT) - Year 2

    The fee shown is for entry 2025/26
    UK fee: £9535 International fee: £15500
    AOS/LSBU code: 5778 Session code: 2FS00
    Total course fee:

    * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.

    UK: £28605
    International: £46500

    BA (Hons) Education (Work Based) (FT) - Year 3

    The fee shown is for entry 2025/26
    UK fee: £9535 International fee: £15500
    AOS/LSBU code: 5778 Session code: 3FS00
    Total course fee:

    * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.

    UK: £28605
    International: £46500

For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.

Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.

See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 391 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).

Possible fee changes

The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.

The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.

Scholarships

We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.

International students

International (non Home) applicants should follow our international how to apply guide.

Home

Mode Duration Start date Application code Application method
Mode Full-time Duration 3 years Start date September Application code X302 Application method UCAS

Accommodation

Once we have made you an offer, you can apply for accommodation. You can rent from LSBU and you’ll deal directly with the university, not third party providers. That means we can guarantee you options to suit all budgets, with clear tenancy agreements and all-inclusive rents that include insurance for your personal belongings, internet access in each bedroom and on-site laundry facilities.

Or, if you’d rather rent privately, we can give you a list of landlords – just ask our Accommodation Service.

Read more about applying for accommodation at LSBU.

Finance

You don't need to wait for a confirmed place on a course to start applying for student finance. Read how to pay your fees as an undergraduate student.

Prepare to start

Applicant events

After you’ve received your offer we’ll send you emails about events we run to help you prepare for your course.

Enrolment

Before you start your course we’ll send you information on what you’ll need to do before you arrive and during your first few days on campus. You can read about the process on our Enrolment pages.

Suggested reading

  • Bartlett, S. & Burton, D. (2012) 3rd Ed. Introduction to Education Studies: Education Studies: Key Issues Series. London: Sage Publishing Ltd.
  • Knowles, G. and holmstrom, R. (2012) understanding Family Diversity and Home – School Relations: a guide for students and practitioners in early years and primary settings. London: Routledge.

  • Murphy, L., Mufti, E. & Kassem, D. (2009) Education Studies: An Introduction. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

On this course, you’ll not only find yourself learning about exciting ways to teach – you’ll find yourself benefitting from them too. As well as traditional learning methods, it includes practical, classroom-based aspects. For example, to help you study the teaching and learning of reading, you’ll be placed into a school to support the reading development of a child.

You’ll also look at topics such as language and literacy, mathematical thinking, special educational needs and disability, equality and diversity, prison education, and education in museums and theatres.

Methods of assessment for this course overall: 85% coursework.

Year 1

  • What is education?
    This module introduces students to key concepts and issues in the history, sociology and philosophy of education. By examining historical and current issues that are of major concern within the world of education, the module seeks to provide students with the theoretical ideas that will underpin future studies at Levels 5 and 6. Themes such as equality, human rights and citizenship are addressed within the module both as current political issues and as ideas that illustrate the competing ideologies within education. The module also provides students with the opportunity to develop skills related to factual learning such as accessing, assimilating and organising information.
  • Language, Literacy and Learning
    This module will allow participants to develop their understanding of the English curriculum and recent developments in the research and methodology of teaching reading, writing and speaking and listening in the EY and primary classroom. Links between theory and practice will be made explicit and learners will be encouraged to reflect on their own experiences as language users and producers.
  • Developing mathematical thinking
    This module introduces students to key concepts and issues in the development of mathematical thinking. By examining attitudes towards mathematics and the processes within problem-solving, the module seeks to provide students with both theoretical and mathematical ideas that will underpin future studies. Themes such as number, pattern, questioning and assessment are all addressed within the module.
  • Constructing childhood
    This module explores the ways in which childhood is constructed by societies and communities. It focuses on how these constructions of childhood are conveyed through literature, film and advertising, looking at ‘texts’ about childhood and those designed for children. The module considers how constructions of childhood have changed over time and how these different constructions have been shaped by political, social and economic factors. The theoretical underpinning for this module is from the fields of literary theory and cultural studies. It seeks to provide students with the theoretical ideas that will support future studies at Level 5 and Level 6.
  • Study skills for Education
    This module introduces students to Higher Education Study Skills. Students will explore core skills including time management, core computing and maths skills, developing academic English, giving presentations and critical reading. There will be specific information on assignment planning and assignment writing. This will include an examination of the language of titles and the use of criteria. The module will be personalised with students working from their own current level of understanding.
  • Community, family and children
    This module explores concepts of community, family and childhood. It discusses how these notions change over time and can vary from culture to culture. The module explores students’ own position with regard to these concepts as this will impact on their work with children in educational settings. It discusses the impact of media views, dominant discourses and educational and social policy in relation to ideas of community, family and children. The module discusses notions of equality and how society seeks to meet the needs of diverse communities. It explores how communities enable children to become adults and how society works with disaffected young people.

Year 2

  • Interpersonal Interactions
    Students will develop their theoretical understanding of a range of personal interactions between pupils, professionals, family and peers and reflect on their importance in educational contexts. Using theory to inform practice students will develop their approaches to enhancing relationships between pupils and others in their educational workplace setting with the aim of promoting learning, well-being and inclusive practice for all.
  • Equality, Culture and Citizenship
    This module builds on concepts introduced at L4. It provides a more critical and analytic exploration of the notion of equality, including critiquing notions of justice and social justice. The module develops the notion of community through analysing models of citizenship and the role of the individual in communities and wider social arenas. It explores what it means to hold rights, children’s rights and the link between being a rights holder and a responsible citizen. The module explores the notion of the individual, individual freedom and identity and the impact of culture on identity and life in a wider social arena.
  • Barriers to Learning
    Students will develop their theoretical understanding of a range of potential ‘barriers to learning’, which may arise for pupils in their educational contexts. Using theory to inform practice, students will develop their approaches to identifying and reducing barriers, with the aim of developing inclusive practice for all pupils in an educational setting.
  • Introduction to Technology and Education
    The use of technology in educational contexts has had a profound effect on the way that teachers teach and students learn. The aim of this module is to provide an introduction to the role of Information Technology in Education and explore the key concepts and issues regarding the potential of technology for teaching and learning. This module will investigate the ways in which technology can be used to support learning and to assist teachers and consider the affordances and constraints of various types of technologies currently used in different learning contexts.
  • Alternative Educational Setting Placement
    This is a placement module. For the length of the module students will spend their time in an alternative educational setting to their own place of employment. This experience will provide students with the opportunity to work with children, families and communities in a different educational context and this will enable students to develop their knowledge and understanding about education in a wider sense.
  • Anti Racist education practice
    It is vital that educators understand how to challenge racism.  They also must know how to establish and sustain an anti-racist experience for learners. In this module, students will develop an understanding of racism through an intersectional lens, considering its manifestations and impact at both interpersonal and institutional levels. Building on some of the themes introduced in What is Education?, students will explore anti-racist curriculum and pedagogy as well as policies and practices. The module will consider the practical application of legislative and policy directives, focusing on decolonising the curriculum and considering the hidden curriculum in relation to anti-discriminatory practices. Students will look at a range of scenarios to explore and question how people and institutions address various forms of systemic and structural racism.  For the assessment of this module, students will explore and evaluate anti-racist practice.  Completing this assignment will enable students to build skills needed to research and produce a successful dissertation in Year 3.

Year 3

  • The Learning Environment
    The module aims to enable students to understand practice relevant to the age phase with which they work, by focusing upon learning within their particular work environment.
    This includes an understanding of:
    • The relationships which exist between different stakeholders within the education setting: parents, children, teachers, other adults – and how these affect learning;
    • The physical and practical aspects of creating and maintaining an effective learning environment; The ways in which learning can be effectively celebrated.
  • Contextualising Education Globally
    Deconstructing the education system enables learners to gain greater understanding of the complexities of how the education system works and how the parts of a system are related to one another and to society. This module builds on the year one module ‘what is education’ by exploring policy, practice and curriculum across the globe. Through learning about education systems in other countries and making a comparison with their own, learners will be able to analyse educational issues systematically. This will give learners opportunities to accommodate new knowledge and principles which can then be applied across education systems.
  • Contemporary Issues in Education
    This module provides students with the opportunity to bring together a range of issues explored in depth in discreet modules and to critically explore the impact each element discussed has one upon the other. It will critically explore the role and purpose of education in contemporary Britain and the factors that impact on both government educational policy and the expectation parents, communities and children have of education. As the module is focused on contemporary concerns, the content is subject to change. For example, it may discuss how the new 2014 national curriculum is relevant to children growing up in the 21st century.
  • Educational Autobiography
    This module will equip students with the framework, theory and methodologies to reflect critically on their own educational journey. Through lectures, seminars and workshops, students will be guided to map and analyse their experience of primary, secondary and tertiary education, and ultimately write a critical educational autobiography (educational autoethnography) as the endpoint assessment.
    Students will apply previous learning such as theories of education and pedagogy, barriers to learning, and personal and social interaction to their own experiences. It will also enable students to reflect on their understanding of wider social and cultural issues such as equality, culture and identity, and social justice in a personal context. The assignment will build on skills developed through reflective journals completed at Levels 4 and 5, and is a Level 6 module that develops students’ understanding and experience of research methodologies in parallel with the active research which underpins their dissertation project.
  • Project
    This module builds on several previous modules that have developed skills in literature reviews, ethical approval, case study and small-scale research. By planning and implementing their own research students will consolidate skills already learnt to develop a more sustained and in-depth study. Students are supported with 1:1 supervision, developing their own research in a chosen area of interest. The module provides students with practical research experience that will lead into a range of postgraduate studies. The module also helps develop a range of appropriate academic skills such as evaluating validity and developing a questioning approach to the status quo in education.

Careers

Employability Service

At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:

  • An online board where you can see a wide range of placements: part-time, full-time or voluntary. You can also drop in to see our Job Shop advisers, who are always available to help you take the next step in your search.
  • Our Careers Gym offering group workshops on CVs, interview techniques and finding work experience, as well as regular presentations from employers across a range of sectors.

Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.

You’re guaranteed an interview for teacher training after you graduate from this degree, and have excellent employment opportunities if you want to start your career in an educational or related setting. You’ll also be very well prepared to take a PGCE or employment-based route into teaching, or to carry your studies on to Masters level.

We have extensive links with schools, alternative educational settings and the creative industries, as well as organisations such as The British Dyslexia Association, Achievement for All, and researchers in the field.

Placements

You’ll have the chance to complete two placements in contrasting educational settings. In your first year, you’ll spend time in a school taking on the role of a reading mentor. In your second year, you’ll complete a placement in an alternative educational setting, such as a prison, pupil referral unit (PRU), or hospital school.

Teaching and Assessment

You’re never on your own on this degree. Even when you are out on placement, you’ll be visited by a tutor. Further resources will be available through our visual learning environment and monitored chat rooms, with tutor input, to enable you to communicate with your fellow students and learn from each other’s experiences.

Study Skills will be embedded throughout the modules as well as a specific Study Skills module. You'll receive support in accessing assistive technology and LSBU’s study, library and disability services. You’ll also be allocated an individual academic advisor to help your development.

Percentage of time spent in different learning activities
Lectures and seminars Self-directed studyWork-based placements
Year 1 18% 79% 3%
Year 2 12% 68% 20%
Year 3 13% 84%3%

People profiles

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Contact information

Course Enquiries - UK

Tel: 0207 815 7500

International team enquiry

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7815 6189

Key Information Set Data

Full-time