A new agreement reached between our Department of Education and the Amman Baccalaureate School in Jordan, as part of our wider partnership with the region, will help drive both international research and postgraduate recruitment.
The agreement, which was launched during the recent University delegation led by the Vice-Chancellor to the region, will see academics from Bath travel to Jordan in order to deliver aspects of our successful part-time MA Education course. This builds on other partnerships currently in place for the course with international schools in Bangkok, The Hague, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Doha.
With international education and globalisation an important theme for researchers across the Department, the new partnership will significantly strengthen our links with a growing network of international schools and also with the International Baccalaureate (IB) organisation, which is already funding three related research projects.
Once set up, the Amman Baccalaureate School / Bath Study Centre will enable those in the region to participate in the MA from closer to home whilst also helping the Department reach an untapped international audience – who, due to the distance, may have previously been deterred from studying with us.
In time, as students graduate from the course, it is hoped this exposure to the University will also lead to more doctoral students joining us in this area. We hope, too, that these stronger links will lead to larger numbers of high quality Jordanian students applying for undergraduate places in course across the Faculties and School of Management at Bath.
Head of the Department of Education, Dr Mary Hayden said: “I am delighted that we have now launched the Study Centre link between the Department of Education and the Amman Baccalaureate School. Arising out of our mutual interest in international schools and international education over many years, this link will see tutors from the Department of Education travelling to Amman twice per year to teach MA courses to teachers and school leaders who wish to improve their qualifications at the same time as engaging in postgraduate study that will inform their professional practice.
“We are particularly pleased that the launch coincides with the development of stronger links between the University and Jordan more widely, and has the potential to connect with other aspects of our research in Education, as well as in other departments.”
Professor Jeff Thompson of the Department of Education, who originally created the Study Centre model some 25 years ago, added: “This is an excellent opportunity for the Department of Education to extend our teaching and research in international education, an area in which we are already world leaders.”
For the University, such strong ties between the Department and partners in Jordan will help to further embed our internationalisation efforts in support of resilience of people and systems in Jordan.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Internationalisation) Professor Colin Grant added: “This latest agreement between the Department of Education and Amman Baccalaureate School builds on the University’s wider engagement in the region and is further proof of the benefits greater internationalisation of our activities brings in terms of sustainable partnerships. This initiative forms part of our multi-layered commitment to Jordan and the wider region.”