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Education (Early Childhood Studies) MA

2024-25 (also available for 2023-24, 2025-26)

This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Start date

16 September 2024

6 January 2025

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time (Sept. only)

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. Develop your career within the specialist field of early childhood education.
  2. A broad range of module options means you can tailor your studies to suit your current role or future career ambitions.
  3. 98.4% of our postgraduates go on to work and/or further study within six months of graduating.

If you’re looking to develop your career within the specialist field of early childhood education (0-7 years), then this course could be for you.

Why Education (Early Childhood Studies)?

  • In this course you’ll reflect on a range of international attitudes to early childhood education. You’ll also consider the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in early childhood education.
  • You’ll have the opportunity to focus on current issues faced by early years professionals and you’ll study early childhood education in international contexts. Themes include children’s rights, sociology of childhood, psychological perspectives on childhood and international approaches to early years education. The course combines knowledge about practical aspects of the early years curriculum with the opportunity to bring a theoretical understanding to help to deepen and challenge your thinking.
  • The course is tailored around you. You can expand on your early years focus by choosing from a range of options to match your role, experience or organisation to help you progress as an informed, reflective and inspirational practitioner.
  • On this course you’ll have the opportunity to develop an understanding of critical reflection and how to employ independent learning strategies to enable you to evaluate and inform your professional practice.You’ll also develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research and be able be able to use these skills in researching an aspect of early childhood studies for your dissertation.
  • You’ll be taught by an outstanding team of teachers, and will have access to our extensive professional and academic network which feeds directly into course design and delivery and to excellent facilities and specialist equipment.

Course detail

Core modules:

International Approaches to Early Childhood Education

The module will help you to reflect on a range of international perspectives on early childhood education. It will emphasise the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in early childhood education. You'll critically engage with debates about early childhood education and will focus on the education of children in a range of settings.

Methods of Enquiry

This module will develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of research methods, in both academic and professional contexts. It considers some of the theories, methods and implication of research and the complex role of researchers and of practitioner-researchers. You'll explore a range of methods of enquiry in order to enable you to understand the significance and ethics of research.

Introduction to Action Research

Action Research is a practice-based research methodology for practitioners wanting to change practice(s) within their professional setting. You will learn about the tradition that informs action research as research methodology, how to write a research aim and research question(s) for a piece of research, the different ways of collecting data to answer research questions and how to build rigour and quality into your study. You will use what you have learned in the module to write a proposal for a piece of research that could be undertaken as a dissertation later in your course.

Dissertation

This module seeks to deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research. You'll learn about traditions of educational research; positivism, interpretism and action research and the strengths and challenges of carrying out research in these traditions. This module provides you the opportunity to carry out a piece of research based on a contemporary or work-related issue or problem.

You will study either ‘Introduction to Action Research or ‘Methods of Enquiry’.

Option modules:

In addition, you choose two modules from the ‘Option modules’ tab below.

Please note: If you start your course in September, you will complete four modules and then your dissertation. If you start your course in January, you will complete two modules, then your dissertation, then the remaining two modules.

Entry requirements

You should have an honours degree in a relevant subject at 2:2 or above, or a professional equivalent.

The University will determine whether a degree can be recognised as UK equivalent.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Your career


This MA course provides you with a broad range of module options allowing you the opportunity to tailor the programme to suit your current role and/or future career ambitions. Successful study at this level supports you in your current role, helps give you the confidence to tackle a wide range of workplace challenges and supports you in taking advantage of wider promotional and developmental opportunities.

The course offers a recognised qualification, a broadening of horizons and a chance to pursue particular areas of interest.

*Percentage of our postgraduate students who go on to work and/or further study within six months of graduating (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey 2016/17).

98.4% Graduates employed*

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services

A wide range of resources are also offered within the School of Education and Professional Development, which you would be a part of should you decide to study this course. The school provides you with support in a variety of areas, these include:

  • Student Support Office (iPoint): a one-stop-shop for students, studying within the School. Here you can get help and advice, including checking your timetable, finding a tutor, handing in assessments. We can also refer you to other departments within the University such as student finance, student services etc.
  • Academic Skills Tutor: provides guidance about how you can develop your academic skills in order to improve your grades. We provide support with general academic skills including essay writing, time management, presentations and group work skills; information technology and numeracy; research skills, as well as personal development for example confidence-building and assertiveness.
  • Student Support Officer: provides confidential and impartial advice on welfare and course-related issues.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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