Learning and Teaching (Taught)

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.

The MSc in Learning and Teaching is a two-year, part-time, professional development course for qualified teachers who are currently working in schools or similar educational settings.

The course focuses on developing your pedagogical practice in schools and classrooms, through engagement with and in research.

The MSc is intended for teachers, in both primary and secondary schools and further education, and including school leaders, who are interested in developing a research-informed approach to their existing practice. It focuses on the processes of learning and teaching, and is rooted in your own practice in school (or a similar educational setting). It is not possible to enrol if you are not currently working in a school (or similar setting) and is unsuitable for those in higher education.

The course is built around four main themes:

• Teachers and learners

• Curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment

• Responding to pupils

• Schools, equity and achievement

The course involves attending in-person teaching weekends and carrying out investigations in school, which are supported by set readings.

Throughout the course there is a strong emphasis on collaboration within your school and across the course. The University’s Virtual Learning Environment is used to support the school-based tasks and sustain critical discussion with peers. In addition to attendance at the seminars, all students are expected to engage in online activities, reporting and reflecting on their reading and school-based investigations.

Research in the department is organised around three major themes:

• Language, Cognition and Development

• Policy, Economy and Society

• Learning: Pedagogy, Learning and Knowledge.

Within each of these themes there are several research groups and centres. All staff and doctoral students belong to one or more of these research groups, each of which has its own seminar programme to which graduate students often contribute. In addition, the department as a whole sponsors regular seminars and public lectures which attract distinguished national and international speakers.