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Embark on a transformative journey with an MPhil or PhD in Education at the ³ÉÈËBÕ¾. Our postgraduate studies offer you the opportunity to engage in groundbreaking research in the field of education. Our research specialises in making positive, ethically informed, co-created impacts on educational communities, whether these may be found in formalised school settings or more widely across society.

After receiving your application, we will establish if we have the expertise to supervise your project. This will normally consist of a Director of Studies (DoS), who will be your lead supervisor, and at least one other supervisor, who will offer you additional support and guidance throughout your studies. If you are offered a place as a student, your programme of study will look like the outline below.

Research expertise

You will be guided by our leading researchers within the Institute of Education who bring a wealth of professional and personal experience to your academic journey. As recognised by our OFSTED outstanding teacher education provision, our commitment to excellence will ensure you receive unparalleled support and opportunities to flourish as a researcher throughout your studies. Our research supervisors specialise in a diverse range of areas, including:

• Teacher-student relationships, identities, and classroom dynamics
• Social pedagogies and children’s rights
• Critical pedagogies and reflective practices in action research.
• Educational cultures and policies in practice
• Educational leadership and identity
• Generative AI and education
• Inclusive education, Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning
• Mental health and wellbeing in educational contexts
• Neurodiversity and educational lived experiences
• Trauma-Informed Practice for educational contexts

Research supervisors

Dr Sean Bracken 
Expertise: leadership of learning and teaching; inclusivity in higher, secondary and primary education; linguistic and cultural diversity.

Dr Mandy Duncan
Expertise: sociological perspectives of childhood, global perspectives of childhood, children’s rights, children’s participation in child protection interventions, early childhood, social research methods.

Expertise: educational leadership, early childhood care and education, creativity in education, inclusion, mentoring, resilience, internationalisation.

Expertise: student experience, values, mental health in university students, religious education, generational theory, Gen Z, the scholarship of teaching and learning, reflexivity in research, narrative research, narrative analysis.

Expertise: early years/ early childhood care and education, empathy and compassion, emotional labour, practitioner/ teacher self-care/ mental health and wellbeing in school.

Professor Alison Kington
Expertise: educational identities of teachers and pupils, teacher careers and retention, teacher/collective self-efficacy, classroom behaviours and interaction, teacher-pupil relationships, peer relationships in the classroom/friendships, and children's socio-cognitive development

Methodological expertise includes: mixed and merged methods, repertory grid techniques, critical event (and other) narrative approaches, observational techniques

Expertise: Educational leadership; adaptive leadership; leadership networks; emotions and identity in leadership; social pedagogy; social capital; early childhood; case study research; social constructivist research.

Disciplinary expertise: pupil alienation, teacher-pupil relationships, teacher identities, peer relationships, teacher efficacy, teacher expectations and the expectation effect, critical incidents.

Methodological expertise: grounded theory, mixed methods, critical realism, integration of quantitative and qualitative data.

AIEd; technological determinism; philosophy of education.

Dr Rachael Paige
Expertise: teacher presence and teacher identity, leadership in educational contexts particularly relational leadership, developing positive school communities, positive behaviour approaches in primary schools, collaborative approaches including communities of practice.

Expertise: Primary Physical Education, Pedagogy, leadership, physical activity, action research, reflective practice, Learning theory, Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction.

Expertise: Trauma- aware practice; childhood adversity: child poverty: parenting and family support; kinship care; forced migration and human trafficking; participative methodologies; visual methods.

Dr Elizabeth Russell
Expertise: lives and identities in education; teachers and schooling; higher education; social justice; religious education; oral history; interpretivist research.

Dr Alexander Sewell
Expertise: applied practice-based research investigating inclusive educational practice (all developmental/educational levels). Qualitative research exploring the lived/living experience of mental health. Research of any methodology seeking to further interest in and understanding of neurodiversity/neurodivergence. Practice-based research exploring supporting the education of parents for pre-conception, birth, and the critical first 1000 days of life.

Dr Carla Solvason
Expertise: concepts of educational justice and exploring policy in practice; educational cultures and re/creating cultures; social justice; educational opportunity; philosophy of education; children’s language development.

Dr Marie Stephenson
Expertise: leadership, theory & practice; ethical leadership & ethical decision-making; qualitative research; pedagogic innovation; and educational leadership.

Expertise: teacher training and teacher development, teacher identities, professional development through networking, leadership, social research methods, higher education, and interpretivist research. Affiliated to social pedagogy research group.

Expertise: Pupil-teacher relationships and classroom management; Education policy and its impact on equity (especially racial equity); Geographies of educational policy and equity; Methodological expertise: Critical Race Theory, Critical Policy Analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis; mixed-methods secondary data analysis.]

Research groups

Postgraduate Research Students are encouraged to join Research Groups at the University, and those with significant focus on Education include:

• Inclusion by Design Research Group
• Social Pedagogy Research Group
• Social Psychology of Education Research Group

Career benefits of pursuing a PhD or MPhil in Education at the ³ÉÈËBÕ¾:

• Advanced skill development:
  Enhances research capabilities, critical thinking, and deep understanding of educational theory and practice.

• Vibrant research community:
  Offers access to collaborative networks and professional development opportunities.

• Diverse career pathways:
  Prepares graduates for roles such as university lecturer, educational researcher, policy advisor, school leader, or consultant.

• Leadership and employability:
  Focus on research impact and professional growth supports progression into senior roles across sectors.

• Influence on policy and practice:
  Equips graduates to shape educational policy and practice locally, nationally, and internationally.

• Institutional and sector reach:
  Opens doors to careers in universities, government agencies, and non-profit organisations.