Education Studies and Early Childhood
Entry requirements
We welcome applications from students who are completing an Access to Higher Education Diploma. We normally look for applicants to have studied a course that is in a similar subject and offers are usually made in line with our published tariff point range.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE in English Language at grade 4 or C, or higher.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
About this course
- Acquire a deep understanding of why early years education is so important
- Enjoy the freedom to follow up your own interests with a wide range of optional modules
- Voluntary work in your second year counts towards academic credit
- Focus on your employment prospects, whether you are looking to pursue a teaching career or other support roles in schools and early years settings
- Benefit from a dedicated and supportive programme team
Research shows that early childhood education plays a critical role in cognitive development and later life. The Education Studies (Early Childhood) degree is perfect if you want to analyse in-depth why those early learning processes are so vital.
Although some of the philosophical and pedagogical theories you study are the same as on the BA Education Studies degree at Winchester, the focus is always on how to apply them to the early years. Alongside core modules, you learn about how other factors influence early childhood learning, including race, gender, power, technology, culture, ecology and inclusion.
One factor that makes this such a fascinating area for study is the intense political disagreement about all aspects of early education. On our course, you assess a range of political ideas about family life and caring for the young that have had far-reaching effects on schooling and wider society.
In Year 1, you learn to familiarise yourself with the important names and terms in educational theory and you are encouraged to reflect on how your own educational experiences have influenced you.
In Years 2 and 3, you learn more about the impact of different social, political and cultural perspectives on early childhood learning. The course gives you a lot of flexibility to follow your interests. In Year 2, you can choose from a range of optional modules as diverse as What is a Child?, Play, or Progressive Education. In this second year, you can also choose to do volunteering for academic credit.
In Year 3, you write your dissertation on a topic of your choice – examples of 2017 dissertations include the role of the parent in the nature/nurture debate, the impact of life scripts in early childhood, and the relation between physical education and academic performance. You also pursue optional modules which may include the Loss of Childhood, Early Childhood in a Changing World, or Film in Education. By the end of the programme, you graduate as a well-rounded, critical thinker in early childhood theory.
Our graduates pursue careers in teaching, social services, and the caring professions. Some do PGCEs, but most find the degree has opened their eyes to other possibilities. Many work in support roles in schools and early years settings, sometimes with children with special needs and often in challenging settings like pupil referral units or special schools. Others go into local government, international development or charity work.
The Education Studies and Early Childhood BA is the right degree for you if you have a wide interest in education and early childhood. You may be thinking about teaching, but at this stage you are looking to keep your options open. The programme tutors form a dedicated and enthusiastic team who look forward to meeting you and talking about your ambitions.
Modules
For detailed information on modules you will be studying please click on the 'View course details' link at the top of this summary box.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Winchester
Department of Education Studies and Liberal Arts
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Education
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Education
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
When you look at employment stats, bear in mind that a lot of students are already working in education when they take this type of course and are studying to help their career development. This means they already have jobs when they start their course, and a lot of graduates continue to study, whilst working, when they complete their courses. If your course is focused on nursery or early years education, a lot of these graduates go into nursery work or classroom or education assistant jobs; these jobs are not currently classed as 'graduate level' in the stats (although they may well be in the future as classifications catch up with changes in the way we work), and many graduates who enter these roles say that a degree was necessary.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Education
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£24k
£26k
£31k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
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Course location and department:
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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