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Student interviews

Madeline Crosswaite, BA Educational Studies, final year

I liked the idea that Education covered lots of disciplines, politics, psychology and history. I chose to study at York because the city really appealed to me and because of the reputation of the Department of Education.

I think that the diversity of disciplines and topics covered in the BA Educational Studies degree are really good, although the main focus is education you can still explore other areas. I feel that the course has given me a good understanding of many areas of study. Studying education at York has given me a lot of extra opportunities. I have worked as a research assistant and I have worked in schools with the York Students in Schools programme, which is run separately from the course but which has a lot of appeal to education students. As a part of volunteering and enrichment for my course I have also done a placement with the Centre for Living History at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming in Merton, where I worked with school groups. It was really positive experience and it was great to put the academic side of my studies into practice in the classroom.

As I draw to the end of my degree I have found myself torn between going into research or teaching. I think because education is such an applicable and current degree I would like to teach first to further my experience and understanding of education as a topic and then to go into research. I am planning to continue on to teacher training with the thought of then going back into research.

Martina Pentrella, BA Educational Studies, final year

I have always been passionate about education. I started off as an English as a Foreign Language teacher. I really enjoyed the short course that I did and I wanted to explore educational issues in more depth, which is why I decided to take the BA in Educational Studies course at the University of York.

I think that the teaching at York is of a very high standard and the range of topics that we studyare very interesting. Overall I have found the course to be intellectually stimulating. The course has given me the opportunity to look at a broad range of topics to do with education. I feel that it has given me an open horizon and that I have the skills and knowledge to go back to teaching or on to further study.

During my time studying education at York I have been involved with some of the research institutes. I did a placement with the IEE; The Institute for Effective Education. This experience has given me a more academic perspective on education. Upon completing my degree I hope to go back into teaching for a bit and then hopefully go on to further study with an MA or a PhD.