探花直播

We鈥檝e spoken to a full-time, a part-time and an international student to find out what motivated them to go on to further study and learn about their wide range of interests.

Sarah

Sarah came to her Master鈥檚 study straight from her undergraduate degree in Childhood, Family and Education at another university.

鈥淭he idea of Master鈥檚 level study can be daunting but if you enjoy your subject there鈥檚 no reason why you shouldn鈥檛 go for it, even if you鈥檙e a mum of one commuting in from Wolverhampton like me!

鈥淚 was a Nursery Nurse Assistant for about three years before doing my undergraduate degree but thought I wanted to be a teacher so this meant going to university. As a care leaver, this was a big deal for me; only around six per cent of care leavers go into higher education.

鈥淚t鈥檚 this personal situation of mine that鈥檚 driven my interest in education and the barriers some people face, not just because of personal circumstances like but other factors like having special educational needs (SEN).

聽鈥淪tudying for my Master鈥檚 is defining my identity 鈥� it changes the way you think, the way you look at the world. It鈥檚 also taught me that you have to be adaptable and have perseverance. Ultimately you have to find learning fun otherwise you wouldn鈥檛 put yourself under the pressure of this level of study. Luckily for me I work better under pressure and I also really enjoy learning.

鈥淭he tutors really challenge you on your ideas to make sure there鈥檚 academic rigour to your work. For my dissertation I鈥檝e been working on an auto-ethnography. Writing about yourself obviously presents certain ethical challenges as your research is based on yourself. This is an increasingly popular approach in postmodern society and the academics here have really helped me to manage the obstacles.

鈥淣ot everyone discovers their passion as early as I have so there鈥檚 a really wide range of ages and experience among the students on this course, which is really helpful for learning about different experiences and perspectives. Now, I鈥檝e decided that if I go into teaching, it will be in the post-compulsory education sector (usually 16+) or there鈥檚 a possibility I will try to move into educational consultancy with a particular emphasis on SEN. I鈥檓 also not ruling out a PhD in the future so there鈥檚 lots of ways I could take another exciting step forward!鈥�

Hariet

Hariet is a clarinettist and international student from Taiwan who completed a degree in music from the University鈥檚 Conservatoire back in 2005. She鈥檚 since been in Taiwan but has returned to 探花直播 to continue her academic career.

鈥淎fter my BMus degree I went back to Taiwan to teach music alongside performing. I was also married to a cellist. It soon became clear that it would be hard to make a living. I found that many highly-trained performers weren鈥檛 able to flourish financially because there isn鈥檛 enough emphasis on the importance of music education. This isn鈥檛 just a thing in Taiwan or the UK 鈥� it鈥檚 happening internationally.

鈥淚 had all of these thoughts about the benefit to children of learning to play an instrument, not just for their wellbeing and the achievement in itself, but also the way music education can enhance children鈥檚 abilities in other subjects which governments often deem to be more important, such as mathematics. However, I couldn鈥檛 prove it or have enough of a voice to effect any change.

鈥淪o I decided to do my MA in Education with a focus on international education to do some formal research in this area. I鈥檓 interested in showing that there is a difference between the benefit of learning music theory and actually physically learning to play and instrument (and the need to read music that this necessitates). It鈥檚 brought up all sorts of issues, including the fact that equity of opportunity to access instrumental education does not exists.

鈥淪tudying International Education has given me a much broader view than just music. It鈥檚 expanded my mind and given me the academic tools to use my experience and get my thoughts into writing in a way that I wasn鈥檛 able to before. Ultimately, my research has shown me that I don鈥檛 need to perform on the stage to have an influence in music. My aim now is to produce research, which I can use to influence policy makers. Who knows, a PhD may even be on the horizon now.鈥�

Aaron

Aaron is a full-time teacher in the UK and has been completing his Master鈥檚 study part-time around his work commitments.

鈥淚 completed my PGCE in 2017, which enabled me to teach in the further education sector. I then achieved QTLS (Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills). Through my PGCE I realised I loved the theory side of things, so I decided to take my studies further and start a Master鈥檚 degree.

鈥淚 was able to gain accreditation for the 60 credits of study at Level 7 that I鈥檇 already done as part of my PGCE. I鈥檓 completing the remaining 120 credits needed to achieve a Master鈥檚 by studying part-time and at a distance, but I still have a monthly meeting with my dissertation supervisor.

鈥淢y research interest is the role of data in the classroom. Educational institutions are so focused on data now but I felt that areas like behaviour are more complex than the numbers. We鈥檙e so focused on logging data we don鈥檛 always have time to analyse it properly and consider what it means. If we鈥檙e to spend all this time on data it needs to have some benefit! So I鈥檓 looking at the role of data in behaviour management, how it can be effective and whether it鈥檚 ethical. I鈥檝e interviewed staff, appraised the software we use and I have my own knowledge from using the systems every day too.

鈥淚鈥檓 loving this level of study and I鈥檓 already considering taking the next step with either a PhD or EdD (Professional Doctorate in Education) 鈥� part-time of course!鈥�