The School of Education

The School of Education is an award-winning School of enthusiastic, highly experienced professionals committed to increasing understanding of education, learning and youth work through high quality research. We offer an excellent working environment with a wide range of courses across teacher training and education. 

The School prepares students to work with all ages and levels, from early years through to adult education. As well as initial training for professionals in early years and for teachers, lecturers, trainers and youth workers, we offer extensive opportunities for continuing professional development. We welcome a wide range of international undergraduate and postgraduate students to study and do research with us and provide short courses in teacher education for international delegates.

Most academic staff have very close working relationships with the professional field and are engaged in a range of outreach activities. We strive to reach out with our research, scholarship and partnerships to influence the world around us. We expect high standards from ourselves and take considerable pride in our work.

The School has a thriving research culture, and hosts a range of lectures and seminars, which attract external partners as well as staff and research students. Our research activities have a collaborative approach and are organised through our overarching Huddersfield Centre for Research in Education and Society (HudCRES). The REF2021 national research quality assessment exercise saw the School of Education make substantial progress forward in how the quality of our educational research was rated. It saw us more than double the number of our staff whose research was submitted compared to REF2014. Despite this sizeable increase in the staff included, our research quality ratings increased further. In particular, 67% of our ‘research impact’ activity was rated as 3*(internationally excellent) or 4* (world leading). Similarly, for the first time ever, part of our ‘research environment’ evidence submission was rated as 4* (world leading), highlighting our strong international research collaborations. This increase in both the quantity and quality of our educational research saw the School of Education rise to 29^th (out of 83 submissions nationally) in the Education 'Research Power’ table from REF2021. 

Teaching and Learning in the School of Education

We are student-centred in our approach to teaching and learning, and prioritise the needs, interests, and abilities of our students, and aim to foster an engaging and personalised educational experience. We endeavour to empower our students to actively participate in their own learning journey, and within the School, academic staff act as facilitators who guide our students through exploration and critical thinking. Assessment is used as a tool for feedback and growth and student progress. We aim to develop autonomous, motivated, lifelong learners who are prepared for the challenges of the dynamic, ever-evolving world beyond the classroom. The School of Education aims to offer our students an excellent experience and to develop them to be superb professionals, critical thinkers and action researchers.