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To apply for a research degree, please make sure you fulfill the entry requirements and then complete the online research degree application form and upload your supporting documents.
You should have a good honours degree (2:1 or above) or masters degree or equivalent in the relevant subject area.
International applicants should be aware of our research degree English language requirements
Michael Preston-Shoot led the successful tender (2003) for the knowledge review on teaching, learning and assessment of law in social work education, commissioned by SCIE with funding (£60,000) from the Department of Health.
The systematic literature review and practice survey was followed by research for and production of a resource guide, again funded by SCIE (2005-2006) (£20,000), publication of journal papers and presentations at international conferences.
This body of work has become the key reference point for social work knowledge reviews and for the study of teaching law to social workers and non-lawyers generally.
Michael Preston-Shoot has extended this research work in several ways as a result of the findings from the knowledge review. Funding from SWAP (2005-2006) (£8,000), the social policy and social work learning and teaching subject centre, was used to research effective ways of teaching law and assessing student learning in the practice curriculum.
Funding from two other higher education academy subject centres, the UK Centre for Legal Education (UKCLE) and Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine (MEDEV) (2008-2009) (£5,000) enabled research for the publication of a practice survey and knowledge review on teaching law to medical undergraduates.
SCIE commissioned the development work which resulted in the publication of ten social work and law reusable electronic learning resources (2006-2007) (£21,000). These were updated in 2009. One, “all in a day’s work” won “First Place Best/Most Innovative Learning Object Award 2007”, Association of Learning Technology (ALT) Conference. ALT is the acknowledged lead organisation in the application and research of e-learning.
SCIE has commissioned the Unit to research students’ experience of using e-learning resources as part of law teaching and assessment (2008-2010) (£40,000).
Funding from his National Teaching Fellowship (£50,000), awarded by the Higher Education Academy (2005), has been used to research the outcomes of different methods of teaching, learning and assessment of law in the social work curriculum. Recently, this has been extended to research the views of medical undergraduates in respect of their law learning and assessment.
The involvement of “experts by experience”, particularly in research stakeholder conferences, was central to the research commissioned by SCIE and the approach taken to their involvement in systematic review research has been evaluated in an article published in Evidence and Policy (2005).
Michael Preston-Shoot has over several years undertaken funded research on the needs of children in need and on the outcomes of integrated working for children and their families, and on the outcomes for looked after children and young people at risk of becoming looked after. This work has been commissioned by councils with social services responsibilities to inform the development of policy and service provision.
He has been commissioned to undertake a systematic knowledge review and practice survey on both effective approaches towards safeguarding adults who self-neglect and procedures for the governance of safeguarding adults boards. This work has been commissioned by the Department of Health (£80,000) (2009-2010) to inform policy and practice guidance.
With Margaret Melrose and Kathryn Ellis he has completed research on need and outcomes of service provision in respect of adults accessing supported housing and social care services (£60,000). This has been extended to an evaluation of the options for tenants living in hard-to-let accommodation (£10,000) and to two studies which mapped the needs of service users with alcohol problems and evaluated systematically the literature on housing and related support interventions with this service user group (£20,000).
With Kathryn Ellis, Michael Preston-Shoot led the evaluation of the Partnerships with Older People Project, funded by the Department of Health, in Luton (£60,000). This project mapped the needs of older people in Luton, evaluated the impact of training for social care staff working with older people with dementia, and researched the outcomes of services for older people with dementia and their carers.
Research» Institute of Applied Social Research» Research centres» Social Work, Professional Practice and Law Research Centre» Research activities to date
