Department of Education
2000s and 2010s
The new millennium saw the rapid expansion of the University of York and the Department of Education. In April 2006, the National Science Learning Centre was opened on campus by Tony Blair. The Centre aims to provide state of the art training for science teachers. The creation of the National Science Learning Centre was closely linked to the University of York Science Education Group (UYSEG).
The Department now has over 500 students and is one of the largest Graduate School of Education in the UK. The Department’s Postgraduate Certificate in Education programme trains over 120 secondary school teachers a year.
The Department of Education continues to make an impact in education research. The University of York Science Education Group (UYSEG), in partnership with the Nuffield Foundation, developed Twenty First Century Science, a set of GCSE science courses which are now used by over 900 schools in England and Wales. The courses have been praised for encouraging more teenagers to take an interest in science.
The Science Education Group is also responsible for Salters’ Advanced Chemistry, an A-level chemistry course developed at the University of York. It is currently followed by over 17,000 students across the UK.
The Department of Education’s Psychology in Education Research Centre launched in 2013 and the Centre for Advanced Studies in Language and Education has created over 100 research publications since its launch in 2009. The Centre for Research on Education and Social Justice currently has over 20 research projects and runs a successful and influential seminar series which tackles social issues in education today.
