Useful reading

To help you best prepare for your MSc, your Programme Director has identified some pre-reading materials which will give you a head start on your programme.

Please find below some indicative reading lists for MSc Education including the specialist pathways. These should give you a feel for the type of literature which will be discussed in these courses. Detailed reading lists for each course will be provided for you by the course organisers.

Programme Compulsory Courses

Education Policy and the Politics of Education 

  • Lingard, B. & Ozga, J. (eds.) (2007) The Routledge Reader in Education Policy and Politics. London: Routledge.

The Philosophy of Education

Youth Studies (Option Course)

  • Furlong, A. (2012) Youth Studies: An Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge. 

The Curriculum: Context, Change and Development (Option Course)


This article will give you a flavour of the type of articles we cover on the CAP pathway:

You might also find these textbooks (online access through the University’s library) helpful if you would like a refresher of Psychology concepts and theories, or if you are new to Psychology as a discipline:

  • Leman, P., & Bremner, A. (2019). Developmental Psychology (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill UK Higher Ed.
  • Slater, A., Bremner, J. G., & British Psychological Society, publisher. (2017). An introduction to developmental psychology (A. Slater & J. G. Bremner, Eds.; Third edition.). The British Psychological Society.

For an awareness of a Froebelian approach and an introduction to the themes studied in this course please read:

  • Bruce, T. (2021) Friedrich Froebel: a critical introduction to key themes and debates. London: Bloomsbury.
  • Tovey, H. (2017) Bringing the Froebel Approach to your Early Years Practice. London: Routledge.

Here at Moray House School of Education and Sport we have an inspirational directory of Froebelian resources, do take time to explore at: froebel@ed.ac.uk

Additionally, the Froebel Trust has a comprehensive library of resources that will support your learning. Please make yourself familiar with Froebelian pamphlets and webinars.

Visit the Froebel Trust website 



Designing Educational Research (Pathway Compulsory Course)

  • Cohen, L, Manion L. and Morrison, K. (2007) Research Methods in Education. Routledge.
  • Hamilton, L., & Ravenscroft, J. (Eds.). (2018). Building research design in education: Theoretically informed advanced methods. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS (Pathway Compulsory Course)

  • Fielding, J., & Gilbert, G. N. (2006). Understanding social statistics. Sage.

Qualitative Research (Pathway Compulsory Course)

  • Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2011). Qualitative Research: Issues of Theory, Method and Practice (3rd Ed.). Sage.

The Nature of Enquiry (Pathway Compulsory Course)

  • Ravenscroft J. & Allison P. (2018). Building a Research Design: Thinking about Knowledge and What It Means to Education Research. In L. Hamilton & J. Ravenscroft, (Eds.), Building research design in education: Theoretically informed advanced methods (pp.9-25). Bloomsbury Publishing.

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