Course Summary

The MA STEM Education provides the skills and knowledge to debate contemporary issues in STEM education and critically appraise research evidence and policy. Topics include STEM education programme design, climate education and sustainability, social justice in STEM education and leading innovation. The course will help you to develop the abilities and confidence needed to identify an issue in your educational context and undertake your own research project.  

• Deepen Knowledge of current STEM education debates
• Explore STEM education programmes, climate education debates, and leadership theories.
• Debate issues of social justice and inclusion in STEM education
• Develop your own research project

This is a part-time course taking place over 24 months with sessions taking place on weekends and evenings.

For any queries please email MA-STEM@shu.ac.uk

Course outcomes

By then end of the course you will have:

• an understanding and critical awareness of issues at the forefront of STEM education debates locally, nationally and globally
• a critical awareness of the relationship between STEM research and development, STEM careers and STEM education
• an understanding of theories and approaches to climate education in global contexts.
• an understanding of the complex issues associated with programme and curriculum design and originality in the development of innovative solutions to STEM education.
• a critical awareness of how research informed pedagogical approaches to STEM education are applied in practice.
• a critical understanding of leadership theories and how they can be applied across formal and non-formal education contexts.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• evaluate and synthesise professional, theoretical and research evidence.
• critically analyse organisational data and use this combined with, theory, research and professional evidence to tackle practice issues.
• discuss the importance of STEM education to climate education and global sustainable development, locally, nationally, and globally.
• demonstrate self-direction and originality in order to carry out research into STEM education practice and /or leadership challenges.
• interpret research findings and reflect systematically on the effectiveness of planned interventions on practice, including student outcomes.
• communicate clearly and effectively using academic conventions.

How You Learn

On the MA STEM Education, you will explore current policies, debates, and theories of STEM education and reflect on the connections to your context and work.

You will examine approaches to climate change and sustainability and consider the implications for your STEM programmes and context and work. 
You will critically examine and reflect on models of leadership and explore the importance of leadership to effect change at both practice and organisational level. You will reflect on strategies to bridge the gap between theory and implementation in practice. 
You will engage in self- directed study and will undertake a range of tasks over the duration of the course to build a knowledge base that is subject to critical review. You will be encouraged to put what you have learned into practice, and to reflect on this.
You will complete a final research dissertation or consultancy project to examine an area of particular interest. 

You will be supported and guided by tutors whose role is to design, develop, support and manage your learning environment. 

You will be taught by academics with expertise in STEM education fields, with inputs from STEM education experts from a range of professions to illustrate STEM innovations in practice. 

Taught sessions will make the connections between research evidence and practice. You will learn by situating course content in your professional context, taking a reflective and critical approach to theory and research evidence. Your tutors will foster discussion around STEM debates and provide opportunities, including external speakers to encourage active engagement with the subject matter.

You will learn through:

• active participatory sessions
• lectures and seminars 
• tutorials
• student and tutor formative feedback via structured feedback points in each module
• independent study
• digital resources
• completion of a dissertation/research study

Formative and summative assessments include written assignments, presentations, posters and a final dissertation as a research or consultancy project.

Future Careers

This course supports and furthers your career in:

• Community Education 
• Primary Teaching
• Education Administration
• Education Consultancy
• Further and Higher Education 
• Mentoring
• School/College subject leadership
• Primary school teaching
• Secondary school teaching
• Education Leadership 
• Teaching assistant 
• Museum education officer
• Education Research 

Equipment and Facilities Information

You will study at City Campus, in the heart of Sheffield, through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions.  Campus spaces allow for students to work in large and small groups or to move into breakout spaces to work individually. Groupings and spaces will be adapted in response to student learning needs. Alongside this, the course will utilise learning environments and you will have access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

In recent years, we’ve invested over £100m in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students.

Entry requirements

A 2:2 or above UK honours degree (or equivalent).

If you do not have this qualification we may consider your application individually, based on your personal, professional and/or work experience, and any other formal qualifications. 

If you have existing Masters level credit from previous postgraduate study, you may be able to use these to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete your qualification at Sheffield Hallam. Find out more. 

Articulation of Advanced Standing: if you have completed one of our PGCEs, you may be able to use these credits to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete this course. 

If you have any questions, please contact us.

If English is not your first language, you need an overall IELTS score of 6.5 with 6.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in all other skills. 

If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.5 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.

Fees

The Fees for 2024 entry are

Home:£10,310 for the course

Expression of Interest

To express an interest in either a 2024 or 2025 start please go to Expression of Interest form.

Legal information

Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.