Manchester Metropolitan University

Explore the contested nature of education by considering ideas from the philosophy, sociology, politics and history of education to develop a deeper understanding of the role of education in society. Our masters course challenges you to think more critically about education. You'll consider the nature and role of education in global times, its relation to society and whether it can promote social justice and engagement. Some of the topics you might critically analyse include place-based education; education and the global economy and gender and race inequality in education. You'll study three core units and two option units. The option units give you the opportunity to delve deeper into the areas you're passionate about. You might choose to study the Practice Based Project, where you'll have the opportunity to explore and reflect on practice in an educational setting (from museums to schools) to enhance your own expertise. You could investigate topics such as disability and difference in education and how educational practice could be more inclusive and socially just. Or if you are interested in childhood and youth, you might conduct a critical analysis of an area of equality and empowerment related to children, professionals or families. Your final assignment is a dissertation where you'll choose the topic. Past dissertation topics have included conducting arts-based henna workshops with young girls to help them become more empowered, an auto-ethnographic study exploring the complexities of language and identity, and the use of ICT in private preschools in Malaysia.