My Education Studies story: Khanh
From Vietnam to Northampton, how Khanh made the decision to come to UoN
Three years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life — going to the University of Northampton. Back in Vietnam, it was my second attempt at university after giving up on a degree that I did not enjoy much. I discovered my passion for teaching after two years volunteering at an orphanage as a mentor and decided to become a teacher. As an international student I was not eligible to apply for a Primary Education course, therefore, I chose to study Education Studies followed by a PGCE pathway.
My name is Khanh, a fresh graduate from the University of Northampton, this is my journey from Vietnam to this cobblers’ town.
It was not a “lucky-dip” while choosing the University of Northampton; it took me weeks looking at the internet, finding out about the University, the course and especially the town. Northampton is a beautiful town in the middle of England but near enough to get to the hustle of London, but most importantly, it is affordable to live here. The University, moreover, decided to give me a scholarship based on my academic achievements, it was certainly a great help and one of the biggest motivations for me to come to the UK to study as I came from a low-income family.
For those considering studying at the University of Northampton, I believe money should not be the number one concern for getting into higher education. The University of Northampton has plenty of opportunities and support to encourage young people to go to university. Though paying my own rent and groceries was truly tough, I managed to find a part-time job in a theatre by signing up with Unitemps (the University’s recruitment agency). This helped me make a living for the last three years as well as saving up enough money for the rest of my tuition fee after the scholarship discount.
Although Education Studies is not a teacher training course, many students take it as part of their route towards becoming a teacher, and into many other degree level jobs, so it is one to consider for a broad range of graduate aspirations. The course gave me a great in-depth understanding of the different aspects of education from historical and philosophical, to international contexts.
I was lucky to have some great lecturers such as Neil, Toby, Wendy, Paul, Kyffin and many more. From each of them, I saw a different education philosophy and approach toward learners. However, university is not all about knowledge and books and assignments; it is also about skills that you wish to acquire as a responsible adult.
I enjoyed my “Debate in Education” module of my second year, it was fun but also useful as it developed my confidence in leading a debate as well as speaking in front of a crowd. At the beginning of the third year, we also received guidance about applying for the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for those of us who wish to become teachers.
English is not my first language; but my lecturers always found a way to do their best to help me with my lectures and written work, and I am thankful for that. I am now pursuing my PGCE pathway as planned, but I also want to apply for a Master’s as an educational researcher. My dissertation research about understanding and tackling school violence/bullying in Vietnam received positive feedback. I have always wanted to use the knowledge acquired to improve education in practice, especially for my developing home country.
There are a wide range of courses in the field of education, and they will certainly lead you to different career paths, my Education Studies course has opened the door for me to follow my dream profession, but has also given me the opportunity to follow further studies. My advice for those considering this course is to know what profession you want to follow as just like other courses; it would be a waste of time and money to invest in a course that you do not enjoy. Either becoming a teacher, a researcher or any other profession, it is essential to consider whether Education Studies will be a good foundation for you to follow your dream.
For any international students like me, I have seen too many agencies that advise foreign students to take some courses that you have no idea about. Hence, I want to make a clear statement that Education Studies is NOT something “only for home students”, be confident in your abilities, show your passion and I am sure the University of Northampton will do their best to support your study. The last advice from me, if you are applying for the course, please look at these before applying:
· Course content
· Award maps
· Undergraduate Handbook
Those are all available on the University’s website, and I only realised how useful they were at the beginning of my second year.
Finally, I understand that each of us will have a different experience at this university, I sincerely hope that what I shared above will become useful for you before applying to study at the University of Northampton, and I hope you will enjoy the course as much as I did.
