Education EdD

Our Education department is committed to social justice. We are situated in an ethnically and culturally rich urban and suburban community, which we seek to engage with and serve through our portfolio of activities. Our student and staff body are representative of the international profile of the Department and our commitment to social justice permeates all aspects of our work, which includes outreach activities and research demonstrating impact in relation to widening participation and social mobility.

The Department of Education strives to be the most innovative in London. Based on the oldest teacher education colleges in the British Commonwealth – each with a unique history - we offer research-led programmes for teachers and other education professionals and those with an interest in the academic study of education and schooling. Research and scholarly activity in the Department includes work in the fields of philosophy, professional education, educational identities and narratives, equality and diversity, transgressive educational spaces, inclusion and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, higher education policy and practice, literature and the humanities, social mobility, STEM education and interculturality for diversity and global learning. Our research is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the British Academy, the Higher Education Academy and many other organisations and charities. We are committed to working locally, nationally and globally and the impact of our research reflects that aspiration. In the 2014 REF, 60% of the Department of Education's research was world-leading or internationally excellent, and 90% of our impact was graded as internationally excellent. Staff specialisms fit into the four research groups in the Department: Education, Identities and Society, Interculturality for diversity and global learning, Pedagogy and Professional Education, and STEM Education.

Our Doctoral Researchers are a key part of our research and scholarly community and we seek to nurture and develop them as the next generation of researchers in education who both create and co-create new knowledge in order to advance the field. We view education as a discipline in its own right as well as drawing on other disciplinary fields such as history, philosophy and sociology to inform provision for our EdD Doctoral Researchers. We believe in the holistic development of the researcher and offer opportunities for doctoral researchers to become fully immersed in Department, College and wider University research networks, providing them with new insights into theory, methodology, methods, ethics and real-world application. We seek to do this through peer to peer, personalised academic and pastoral support alongside the highest quality doctoral supervision from experts in the field. Our doctoral researchers are encouraged to be active members of our Department and to participate in, and lead research-related events, seminars and activities. We also actively promote the involvement of our Doctorial Researchers in research networks and communities beyond the University. We aspire to provide them with a learning environment where they feel that their presence is genuinely valued. 

The EdD Programme

The EdD is targeted at senior professionals with responsibility for key areas within their organisations, such as professional learning and teaching, curriculum design and development, policy reform and implementation. They may be college/university lecturers, those working within senior leadership positions in all phases of schooling, or they may be working in professions allied to education.

The EdD programme is designed to equip doctoral researchers with skills in educational research and scholarship that enables you to produce an original piece of close-to-practice educational research at doctoral standard. The main aims of this programme are to enable doctoral researchers to:

• develop research skills and knowledge relevant to the study of educational practice
• reflect critically on their own professional practice
• read, interpret, evaluate, conduct and disseminate research that is relevant to and has the potential to impact on their professional development and workplace practice
• undertake doctoral-level research and meet the requirements of rigour and originality

There is no need for doctoral researchers on this programme to search for a supervisor prior to application since every EdD doctoral researcher will have a supervisory team assigned at the start of their registration. During the first two years of study (the Applied Research Training (ART) taught component), the supervisors’ role will be to guide and mentor doctoral researchers toward successful completion of the ART. From Year 3 supervisors will be allocated to support the thesis stage.

Individual supervision meetings will take place during study schools and at other times determined by a mutual arrangement between doctoral researchers and supervisors. It is normally expected that part-time EdD doctoral researchers should meet for a formally recorded meeting with their supervisor(s) at least once every six to eight weeks. Each doctoral researcher is required to meet with the entire supervisory team at least once per term.

While we welcome applications from student with a clear direction for their research, we can also provide you with some ideas. Search for PhD topics for your chosen field of research.

Doctor of Education (EdD) programme of study

There are four study blocks in the taught component of the programme spread across the first two years (6 weekend study schools per year) with end of year papers as follows:

Year 1

ED6700: Improving education and enhancing educational professionalism

• The (recent) history of educational improvement in the UK and abroad, particularly from the perspective of policy (including standards-based improvement; inspection and improvement; measurement, curriculum reform, learning outcomes; league tables)
• The possible contributions of research to educational improvement (including action research; school effectiveness and improvement; teacher judgement; teacher activism)
• The literature on professions, professionalism and professionality, and its relevance for education (including conceptions and definitions of professions, professionalism and professionality; teacher professionalism; teacher agency; teacher autonomy). Enhancing professionalism (including the role of teachers, of research, of policy; the role of accountability)

ED6701: Making sense of education: Theory, history and policy

• Theories of education (with a particular focus on how educational theories and forms of theorising differ from theories and theorising in other practical fields and academic disciplines)
• The history and development of education as a scholarly and academic endeavour, in the UK and elsewhere. The history of education (with a particular focus on the history of school education and educational reform)
• Trends in education policy in the UK and elsewhere (including critical analysis of political dimensions of education policy and how such policy helps or hinders educational practice and educational professionalism)

End of year 1 task: 10,000 words historical paper on a topic of personal choice

Year 2

ED6702: Making sense of educational and social research

• The development of the social sciences and the interrelationships between science, social science and educational practice
• The history of educational research and its status among the social and behavioural sciences
• Normative and moral dimensions of social and educational research

ED6703: Close-to-practice research; design, skills and judgement

• Understanding different approaches to research in education (including the difference between explanatory, interpretative and critical research)
• Main approaches and designs of close-to-practice research (including action research, evaluation research, case study and ethnography). Principles of research design. Data collection, data analysis and data interpretation in close-to-practice research
• Improvement of practice and the role of research. Values, ethics and politics of close-to-practice research

End of year 2 task: 10,000 words paper based on an empirical inquiry (topic of personal choice) within own professional context

Years 3, 4 & 5 – Thesis writing stage

There are four Saturday schools for each year group spread across the academic year

Annual research conference

The department organises a research conference in July each year and doctoral researchers in all year groups are expected to present either an oral or poster presentation based upon their ‘work in progress’

Tailored careers support is offered to all our current doctoral researchers and for up to 3 years after you complete your research at Brunel. We help you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research. Our careers provision includes online advice, one to one consultations and a range of events and workshops.

In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.

The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1). A Masters degree is desirable and relevant experience in an education related field is essential.

An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.

Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement here.

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)