Educational Studies (MEd)
Programme Structure
The programme comprises of four core-courses, two option courses and a dissertation, which will total 180 credits at masters level 11 (SCQF).
Core courses
Seminars on Contemporary Issues in Education
20 credits at masters level 11 (SCQF)
The course aims to give students opportunities to develop their understandings by reviewing literature and then, by direct interaction with others, refining their skills in oral and written presentation.
Modern Educational Thought
20 credits at masters level 11 (SCQF)
This course explores significant concepts, debates and discourses on theoretical issues that are important for students engaged in the study and practice of education. This course is focussed on central questions around the aims and purposes of education and ways in which modern educational thought plays out in professional practice and/or policy contexts. In addressing these questions, we will take as a starting point the claim that the development of rational autonomy, that is the Enlightenment project, is the central aim of education. Thus the course will begin with key readings in the history of ‘liberal’ thinking on education. It will encourage a critical reading of texts in the history of modern educational ideas, taking into account critiques of the liberal tradition from positions that include Marxism, postmodernism, communitarianism and feminism.
Introduction to Educational & Social Research
20 credits at masters level 11 (SCQF)
This course is an introduction to educational and social research. The overall aim of the course is to provide students with a fundamental level of research literacy. The aims of the course are:
- introduce students to current concerns in the philosophy and political economy of research
- provide students with experience in reading and critically reviewing research
- prepare students to conduct a research project of appropriate scope
- inform students about the intersections between method, methodology and approaches to enquiry
- ensure that students have the preparation they need for further study of research methods and methodology
- develop understanding of applying enquiry methods to a specific problem
Advanced Educational Research
20 credits at masters level 11 (SCQF)
This course is required for students who are studying for a research orientated Master’s degree. It will look in more depth at the issues of method, methodology and epistemology to which students were exposed in “Introduction to Educational and Social Research” and includes an element of pragmatic research practice.
Option courses
Students have a choice of two options from the following programmes:
- MSc Adult and Continuing Education
- MEd English Language Teaching
- MEd Inclusive Education: Research, Policy and Practice
- MSc Organisational Leadership
- MSc Young People, Social Inclusion and Change
Dissertation
60 credits at masters level 11 (SCQF)
The Masters Dissertation is the report of a research exercise. A research exercise is defined as an episode of interaction between ideas and practice in a field relevant to educational studies. It is an episode in that it has some unity and is not a mere agglomeration of experiences and thoughts. The ideas (the theoretical framework) may be pedagogic, philosophical, historical, political, economic, sociological, psychological, religious, administrative or any mixture of these; they must be related to the field of education. The practice may take the form of analysis of naturally occurring events or of empirical data from research activity, or the scrutiny of primary and secondary sources such as transcripts, journals, books, official reports and registers. The interaction must involve thinking at a high conceptual level; you must show yourself capable of interpreting data in the light of theory and of subjecting theory to test with appropriate evidence. The dissertation should contain between 12,000 and 15,000 words, excluding appendices.