The University of Cambridge Faculty of Education
is committed to the highest standards of research and teaching and is a significant contributor to the improvement of educational policy and practice in partnership with schools, colleges and other educational agencies both in the UK and internationally.
Recent History
In August 2001 the Faculty became one of the largest groups of educational researchers and teacher educators in the country. The new grouping reflects a strategic commitment by the University of Cambridge to contribute to excellence in all phases of public education, both nationally and internationally. Bringing together colleagues from the former University School of Education and Homerton College, the integrated Faculty currently has an academic staff of eight professors, one reader and some 60 lecturers/senior lecturers and over 100 support staff.
Research
The Faculty of Education has a commitment to conducting research of high quality and practical value. Our research is underpinned by a strong set of values which give it purpose and direction. Particular effort is directed towards the improvement of education with a central focus on teaching and learning, informed by principles of inclusivity and social justice, and valuing the contribution of user groups, especially practitioners, in collaborative research partnerships.
The Faculty has academic groups focusing on many aspects of education, some generic (inclusion and special provision; leadership and improvement; learning and teaching), some phase-specific (early years and primary; secondary), and some subject-specific (arts; language and literature; mathematics; science), as well as on studies of education from disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives (economics, history, philosophy and sociology; neuroscience and psychology).
The joint submission from the former School of Education and Homerton College was rated internationally excellent in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. Further information can be found in the research area of this site.
Teaching and Learning
The Faculty's teaching programmes are divided into two broad categories:
- Courses that concentrate on the academic study of the process of education itself (the undergraduate degree and many of the MPhil courses); the Faculty also has a significant number of students who are studying for a doctorate (PhD).
- Courses of teacher education, either at initial level (through the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, which focuses upon initial teacher training) or through the continuing professional development of those already in the teaching profession (here there is an extensive programme of courses leading to a number of qualifications including certificates, diplomas and the MEd degree).
- Undergraduate Course
- Post-Graduate Certificate in Education
- MPhil (full time)
- MPhil (part time)
- MEd (part time)
- PhD (full and part time)
- Practitioner Professional Development
Collaborative Working
For its undergraduate degree the Faculty works closely with other Faculties in the University to provide the joint-honours degree of education combined with one of the following subjects: biological or physical sciences, classics, English and English with drama, history, geography, mathematics, modern foreign languages, music and religious studies.
The Faculty also works in close partnership with educational providers, both schools and Local Authorities, across the Eastern Region and nationally, and with national governments and international agencies, on professional and practitioner based learning programmes, and on research projects within national and international contexts.
Student numbers
The student body comprises around 1000 full time students (300 undergraduate, 200 postgraduate research students (including teachers pursuing practice-based research in their own schools and classrooms) and 500 students on the PGCE course, and approximately 1200 part time students following certificate, diploma, masters and doctoral programmes.
Expertise
The wide range of expertise in the Faculty covers all stages of formal education, principally from the early years, through the primary and secondary stages of schooling, but also extending to the post-compulsory, further and higher education sectors; it also includes all the main subjects of the National curriculum. The Faculty also benefits from expertise and research on the contribution that disciplines of history, philosophy, sociology and psychology of education have made to the process and practice of education. The Faculty is therefore well placed to make major contributions both to the advancement of knowledge and practice about issues of contemporary significance and to the development of individuals and educational institutions.
New Building and Facilities
The Faculty relocated to a single site in January 2005. In addition to the purpose built New Faculty Building, the Faculty continues to occupy the Mary Allan Building, the Science Block and Trumpington House; these four buildings are to be found on the same site. The Faculty has excellent facilities to support teaching and research, including a library and information service offering one of the best education collections in the UK.
Back: Teacher Training
Back:Course Profiles (Under-grad)
Back: Education |
