Graduate School

Education research overview

The School of Education and Continuing Studies (SECS) offers a research degrees programme developed in partnership with schools and colleges, thus ensuring that we meet and exceed all requirements for professional and classroom relevance.

Over a number of years the School has also evolved a style of educational research,  referred to as 'Practitioner Based Enquiry'. Work completed within this style is making an impact on educational policy at regional and national level in areas as diverse as secondary school curriculum provision, post-registration nurse education, police training and staff development and retraining for the Post 16 (FE) sector and the armed forces.

Our researchers are also involved in a wide range of consultancy and funded knowledge transfer activities. Current research projects include work with Portsmouth, Southampton and Hampshire County Councils and the Training and Development Agency.

For more information about how to apply please contact the Faculty of Humanities and social Sciences using the Contact us page.

If you have any questions about studying for a research degree at the University of Portsmouth, please complete our enquiry form.

Key Facts

Academic staff: 30, please see staff list webpage.

Postgraduate research students: 9

Internal links: The School of Education and Continuing Studies (SECS) has links with the three research centres in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences: Centre for Studies in Literature (CSL), Centre for European Studies and International Research (CEISR) and the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies.

External links: The School closely works with approximately one hundred local and regional primary and secondary schools per year.

Research Centres

Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR)

The Centre for European Studies and International Research (CEISR) is a major interdisciplinary centre for research on Europe, its diasporas and its relations with the wider world. CEISR was established in 1997 and is now the largest centre of its kind in the UK . It brings together over 70 researchers from across the University including linguists, historians, sociologists, political scientists, education experts, criminologists, security specialists, anthropologists and specialists in area studies.

CEISR made the largest entry to the European Studies panel in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008 and has achieved international excellence for its research on European history, politics, policy, culture and language, sociology, sociolinguistics, and in the fields of slavonic, francophone and French area studies.

Resources

Our postgraduate research students have full access to the University, Faculty and Departmental facilities, including the University Library's resources. We have a well-equipped computer laboratory with a wide range of statistical packages and qualitative data analysis software.

You, along with all the Faculty's full time postgraduate research students (pooled hot desk for part time students) will be based at the Postgraduate Research Centre in Park Building. This will allow you to immerse yourself in a thriving research environment and work in your own allocated desk with computer and printing facilities.

Our postgraduate research students take part in our regular research seminars and we hold an annual 'Postgraduate study half-day', where our students have the opportunity to present their research in progress to their peers as well as to academic staff from across the Faculty, and receive feedback on it. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences also provides many teaching opportunities to support the development of our postgraduate research students as future academics.

Research Areas

Education

The School of Education and Continuing Studies offers the research degrees of MPhil and PhD, as well as several taught Master's degrees including a significant research component.  Our researchers are working and can provide you with high quality research supervision in areas such as :

• Teaching and learning processes
• Special educational needs
• Post 16 education and training
• Curriculum provision in secondary and post-compulsory education
• Aspects of Initial Teacher Training (ITT).
• Education management
• Early Years provision

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