Study Education at Otago

Introduction

Kia ora everyone, my name is Sasha, and I’m a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies. The Education degree is not a teaching degree, so you won’t be qualified to be a teacher at the end of it, but it is super interesting. We’ve covered a lot of facets of education that I think have really equipped me for an exciting future in the field.

I chose to come to Otago based on its strong research reputation. I’ve also really enjoyed living in Dunedin and all the different extracurricular activities the city has to offer. There are plenty of outdoor activities to get into, and it’s a really exciting place to live.

Why did you choose Education?

I chose to study Education as I was doing a teaching degree, and really found that some of the education papers delved into aspects of education that I hadn’t thought about previously. I really wanted to get stuck into those more, so I eventually made the switch to a Bachelor of Arts. I’ve felt really happy with that choice.

What has your degree covered?

Throughout the degree, we have covered the history of education, the psychology of teaching and learning, different educational theories, and philosophies of different educational approaches. I’ve really enjoyed looking at education from all of those angles and putting it all together to see how systems influence how people grow up in New Zealand and throughout the world.

What have you enjoyed the most?

I’ve particularly enjoyed the critical and theoretical focus. A lot of the papers we study encourage you to examine aspects of education critically—to not take them for granted but to ask why things are the way they are, how they might change in the future, and how those changes could improve outcomes for children throughout New Zealand.

Throughout all of my papers, my lecturers have been really supportive. Quite the contrary to what you hear at high school, you’re not on your own—you can go to anyone for help. It’s been a really supportive environment with lots of friends and people to help you along the way.

Currently, I am looking for jobs off the back of graduating, and I feel as though my degree has adequately equipped me for you know hopefully a long career in the education sector. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking into education as a field of study.