Integrated PhD in Education

This is a new unique taught research degree (full time only) leading to a PhD in Education which will allow students to gain a powerful combination of knowledge, skills and research experience that will make them highly employable in university teaching, government, public service and industry. The programme is fully equivalent to the highly regarded traditional PhD and combines a specific research project with a coherent programme of formal coursework. Through the taught element of the programme, you will develop a wide range of professional skills drawn from a menu of advanced taught modules. It aims to integrate a knowledge base of three basic elements:

• A substantial taught element (unlike many other British research degrees) which incorporates research skills, subject specific knowledge and interdisciplinary topics;
• Professional and transferable skills;
• A research project leading to submission of a PhD thesis.

Students are drawn from a wide variety of professional backgrounds but all will have an interest in education. We will develop your professional knowledge and understanding in the context of educational research. Over the course of the programme, you will acquire research methodology, skills and understanding in a range of research approaches. You will develop and extend your specialist subject knowledge. You will also gain transferable skills designed to broaden your professional skills and knowledge and enable you to critically apply these in developing your own professional role and context.

Dr Kalwant Bhopal

3 - 4 years full time

The Integrated PhD consists of taught modules plus workshops taken by all students and delivered by a team of educational specialists. The research training programme covers all practical and theoretical aspects in conducting educational research.

Your compulsory units will include:

• Research Skills and Processes
  This unit provides you with an introduction to a range of research skills, processes and issues that you will need to be aware of when designing, conducting and managing your own research.
• Philosophical Issues in Educational Research
  The focus of this unit is an exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of research. The unit thus provides an introduction to epistemological issues in the philosophy of social science, including an introduction to philosophical assumptions underlying different approaches to educational enquiry.
• Data Collection
  The purpose of this unit is to offer you the opportunity of gaining familiarity with a broad range of Data Collection approaches beyond the needs of their immediate research project. This unit will also provide an introduction to ethical issues in data collection, and to issues in the choice, design, effective use and validity of a range of approaches.
• Data Analysis
  The focus of this unit is to consider research data from a qualitative analytical approach. It examines what we mean by qualitative analysis and the meanings you acquire. Your own data collected data will be used to apply and explore a range of qualitative analytical techniques.
• Communicating and Disseminating Research
  This practical workshop based unit focuses on the development of research findings for publication and dissemination to a variety of audiences, in both national and international contexts. Particular attention is paid to considering ways in which the evidence base of research can be clarified and the impact of research on practice improved. ESRC and BERA guidance in disseminating research will be integrated into the course.
• Quantitative Methods
  The focus of this unit is the analysis of quantitative data. The emphasis is on understanding the underlying principles of data analysis and what can be achieved by employing statistical processes. A secondary focus is the critical reading of statistically based research texts.

You will have your choice of electives from varying selection such as:

• Action Research
  This unit explores action research as a mode of investigation aimed at changing practice through reflective analysis and understanding. It aims to give you an appreciation of the relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge and the contribution action research can make to both. The unit explores some of the ongoing debates about action research, as well as some of the practical challenges, that any student contemplating the approach should be aware of.
• Policy and Programme Evaluation Research
  The focus of this unit is on the theory and practice of evaluation research as it has come to be understood and practiced over the past thirty years in different local and national policy contexts. While the main focus is on and policy evaluation, for those who have responsibilities for evaluation in their workplace institutional self-evaluation will also be explored.
• Case Study Research
  The focus of this unit is the characteristics and types of case study research. It is an introduction to the different ways in which case studies are conceptualized and conducted. We will discuss the background and status of case study as an approach and what it has to offer.
• Qualitative Analysis
  The focus of this unit is to consider research data from a qualitative analytical approach. It examines what we mean by qualitative analysis and the meanings you acquire. It will use two perspectives to explore the techniques of qualitative analysis: documentary analysis; use of computer assisted qualitative analysis packages.

and/or a Selection of units from our Masters Programmes on offer in such fields as Information Technology, Curriculum Studies, Management and Leadership, Science Education, Mathematics Education, Post-Compulsory Education, Sport and Physical Education, Special Educational Needs and Teacher Education and Training.

For a Course Spec, please click here

Each unit will be taught by an expert in that subject area and each will use a variety of approaches to assist your learning. These may involve lectures, seminars, workshops, student presentations, observation, reading tasks, group work and data collection and field work exercises. For most modules, work will be assessed by a written assignment. You will also receive feedback from your supervisor on a regular basis.

Research Elements

You will be required to conduct research, and to present a thesis of 75,000 words maximum.

At the beginning of the programme you will be assigned a personal tutor who will give you advice on the programme content and your topic.

You will need a good first degree in a relevant subject but as MA Level units are included in Years 1 & 2 you do not need an MA to enrol on this programme. In addition to your academic qualifications, we will be looking at your other interests and achievements to date and these will also be taken into consideration when making offers. You will be required to submit an initial research proposal with your application and to provide evidence of your existing qualifications.

Overseas Students

International students will be required to meet a minimum English language entry requirement is IELTS 6.5 or equivalent but we can organise pre-sessional English language tuition to those whose scores fall below the required level. Full details can be found by visiting our http://www.soton.ac.uk/International/Applications/EntryRequirements.

Students may be eligible for financial assistance and should contact their local British Council office for further information.

International students on programmes of more than six months are usually allowed to work part-time up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during vacations. To meet UK immigration requirements, however, students must show they can pay their programme fees and living expenses without working in the UK, and they cannot expect to finance their studies in this way.

Please click here for details of other funding opportunities available.

Apply online, download or print the Postgraduate Application Form

Download or print the Research Fees Information

Download or print the Research Insert Form

Download or print PhD Guide

Details on how to apply for the Research Degrees are available here...

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