Guest posts
Faculty: Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
School: School of Education
Course:
BA (Hons) Primary Education Studies
Category: Education
6 February 2023
Primary Education Studies student Kieran looks back on his university experience and discusses some of the routes students on the course might take after graduation.
ARU educates undergraduate learners in an extremely well-supported manner. Lecturers are knowledgeable, friendly, and interested in your success. Everyone around you will want the best for you, and that has really been reflected in my two years of studying here!
I started my university journey in possibly the most difficult time for the country in recent years: the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving on from tiny village schools to the massive world of uni studies is scary enough at any time, let alone when the country is in a wave of disaster. I had an extremely different experience than most starting degree studies.
I moved away from home to begin my dream course of Primary Education Studies, a subject and degree I had my eyes set on from my teenage years. However, as my first year of study drew to a close, I realised I wasn’t in the right place, and I went through the transfer process to move to ARU.
This ended up being one of the best decisions I have made, as it meant I could study in my home city of Cambridge, which is both beautiful and historical, and I felt that ARU suited me better as a learner.
What I am trying to say is not only that ARU is fantastic, but that your first decisions aren’t always right in the end – mine wasn’t! But now I am in a great place, studying in a way that suits me, so things always work out!
With the end of my final year at ARU fast approaching, the topic on the minds of everyone lately is: ‘what happens next?’
For many on the Primary Education Studies course, the next step is initial teacher training of some form to gain QTS (qualified teacher status), with some people choosing to go through the SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training) programme. This enables teacher trainees to get classroom experience on the job.
Others may not be at a point where they are ready to go into the classroom yet, and that is completely okay!
Another common route at this stage is to go on to study a postgraduate degree. This could be undertaken in the field of Primary Education Studies or another subject that links with it, such as Social Work. Many choose to continue their studies with ARU; however, some do move further afield.
The most obvious career option for someone with a degree in Primary Education Studies is primary school teaching, and most graduates from the course will take this route. However, you may not realise that having this degree does not limit you to the primary classroom!
Other roles that can open up following the completion of the degree include (but are not limited to) secondary school teacher, early years educator, learning mentor, special needs coordinator, and teaching assistant.
Outside of the classroom, there are interesting opportunities in museum education, student engagement in universities, family support work, and educational psychology, among many others. In short, the options open to you will be many and varied.
University can feel like a huge step for some – you are not alone. My best advice is to give it your best shot. You have to try something before you know what happens and take every opportunity to further improve yourself and your learning!
When you use the university experience to your advantage, you can and will gain so much from ARU, academically, socially and in all walks of life.
By Kieran Chapman
BA (Hons) Primary Education Studies
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Disclaimer
The views expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the views of Anglia Ruskin University. If you've got any concerns please contact us.