Course Catalogue

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Education Policy provides an advanced understanding of education policy, focusing in particular upon policy literacy, the relation between educational reform and political ideologies, policy analysis and evaluation. Selected topics in education policy studies are used as a basis for in depth analyses of policy formation and implementation.

Supported distance e-learning with one compulsory Weekend Study School (Friday evening to Sunday) in Glasgow during the 20 week course. Students are normally expected to be online at least once a week during the course. Ordinarily the course commences in February.

Normally a master's degree in Education or a cognate area.

The summative assessment activity is designed to afford participants a degree of flexibility in order that their work can be tailored to individual professional needs and contexts. This course is summatively assessed by a written assignment equivalent to 5000 words in which participants demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, skills and application of the course through a critical analysis of reform in policy drawn from their respective professional domains.

This course is assessed following the University's assessment Schedule A (see
http://senate.gla.ac.uk/academic/assessment/scheda.html ). Following Schedule A, grades A to D
are Pass grades. In order to ensure flexibility for candidates to progress from M to D (doctoral) level,
and following the University regulations on progression for Masters level students (see the
University Calendar at http://senate.gla.ac.uk/calendar/current/13-graduatestudies.pdf , GR17)
candidates will be permitted to progress to the D (doctoral) level taught courses of the EdD only if they have obtained a Grade C for this (and the previous) Masters level course.

To cultivate independent and critical thinkers, who are prepared to exercise critical judgement in how they engage with course resources and with others in online interaction. Students will be presented with diverse views and competing theories in this field of scholarship, in which they need to position and defend their own arguments.

 to provide participants with an understanding of the major approaches in educational policy studies
* to enable participants to reflect critically on the relations between politics and public policy, including developing an understanding of neo-liberalism
* to enhance awareness of the underlying assumptions of these policy approaches and their impact on professional practice
* to develop an awareness in participants of the major issues in contemporary educational policy studies
* to equip participants with the necessary skills and understandings to undertake policy research in national and international contexts on important educational issues
* to locate policies within the context of contemporary debates on globalisation.

* identify different conceptualisations of policy and the policy process and critically analyse the basis of those differences
* critically analyse the structure of policy systems including political economy, policy cultures, policy institutions, policy actors and concepts of agency
* critically use theories of the state to examine the relationship between reform ideologies in education and training, practices in institutions and policy implementation.