Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the context of educational issues, professional education and stakeholders’ expectations

Justify and evaluate a selection of appropriate education theory

Communicate ideas for professional practice development to a specialist/non-specialist audience.

Demonstrate a critical awareness and evaluate the evidence, current literature, advanced scholarship and contemporary problems at the forefront of your discipline and chosen area of focus

Assignment – An analysis of behaviour management approaches in a case study school

Using a provided case study identify elements of effective behaviour management and those requiring further development. Link the analysis to relevant theory and peer-reviewed research. Further identify the impact of educational policy and your own professional practice.

(5000 words) – (LO1,2, 3, 4)


This is a pass/fail module.

Educational and Professional Issues gives you the opportunity to explore your personal, professional and academic identities, linking to your placement experiences. You will gain an understanding of what it is to be an academic and a professional within a Secondary context exploring the issues such as, effective use of the library and becoming research informed, developing academic arguments and linking these to classroom practice. Also, the impact of Ofsted and policy on educational outcomes and the notions of performativity and accountability within secondary schools. The management of behaviours and the awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will also be explored.

Through taught university sessions, this module helps you to learn what it means to be an education professional and how to develop your professional skills and attributes. You will engage in reflection about your own values and how these impact on your practice in school and will also reflect on your work in your placement, identifying what you are doing well and what your next steps are in your journey to becoming an excellent qualified teacher.

During this module you will also learn and develop your understanding of the following:

Critical use of literature

Critical evaluation and analysis of findings and the implications for future teaching

Ability to use literature and become evidence informed in their future practice.

University workshops will draw upon their school experience and help trainees to interpret that experience in the light of current thinking on teaching, learning, assessment and schooling. Some sessions will introduce trainees to themes through case studies. At other times you will be asked to focus on evidence you collect through school experience. Trainees will also be asked to use the ideas explored in the sessions in planning their future work. Trainees will also be asked to collaborate with others in preparing and presenting your views on key issues.

There may be a complementary series of workshops in their school or college. In these workshops, senior colleagues will introduce trainees to the way in which issues impact on their institution and trainees will have the opportunity to develop their understanding through dialogue with experienced and other trainee teachers.

For academic support, learners can arrange a tutorial/tutorials with their module tutor of up to 1 hour in total where draft assessment work may be discussed.

Further support is available during timetabled sessions with their University tutor.
Further academic skills support is available from the academic skills tutors: https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/study-skills
and IT support also available: from Digital Services https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/get-digital

As well as texts from Teaching a Knowledge Rich Curriculum trainees will find the following specifically useful for this module:

Bennett, T. (2020) Running The Room. The Teacher’s Guide to Behaviour, John Catt Educational Ltd.

Ofsted (2014) Below the radar: low-level disruption in the country’s classrooms. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/below-the-radar-low-level-disruption-in-the-countrys-classroom

Education Endowment Foundation (2019) Improving behaviour in schools: six recommendations for improving behaviour in schools. Available at: Improving Behaviour in Schools | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)

Teams and Blackboard VLE will be used throughout the programme. All books on the module reading list are available as e-books from the university library*. *Correct at time of going to print.