Education

About

The MA in Education provides an opportunity to study broad educational and pedagogical issues, while an individually supervised dissertation gives you the opportunity to research a specific issue in depth. It will provide you with a clear understanding of the nature and significance of educational issues, both generic and subject specific, and will examine the ways in which research in education might illuminate these issues.

A key feature of the programme is that students can make it their own: that is, while studying a limited range of modules, students can choose the contexts in which to apply the core ideas. During the dissertation there is further opportunity to select areas of personal interest and concern. Some students select one context to consider in all of their modules e.g. ideas from the programme applied to, say, science education or informal learning. Others use the opportunity to broaden their understanding of education by selecting different foci in different modules. In our modules we aim to introduce students to key ideas and ways of thinking that enable them to engage with related issues in contexts that are relevant to them.

The degree has been designed to meet the needs of educational professionals, especially those in teaching, management or administration at all levels of education. Students likely to benefit from the programme are those who are interested in education, often teachers, with a commitment to pedagogy, and educational managers in schools, further and higher education, as well as those working in educational administration.

Through its flexible delivery routes the MA in Education is suitable for students from all backgrounds and countries. In addition to a traditional full-time study route, the course is available via part-time and International Postgraduate Programme routes. On the part-time route teaching is delivered through intensive teaching weekends scheduled around (Durham) school half-term holidays making the programme suitable for those working full-time. Meanwhile the part-time International Summer Postgraduate Institute (ISPI) route is delivered through a combination of intensive summer school teaching and independent study. The ISPI summer teaching runs in Durham throughout July each year and attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds and countries, including the UK, and is ideal for those seeking part-time study in a truly international context. ISPI students benefit from a range of extra academic and cultural activities organised by the School. 

Students who have successfully completed the PGCE at Durham in the previous academic year have the option to use 90 credits they have accredited on this course. 

Therefore, these students will only need to do the core modules, Research Methods in Education and the Dissertation (if part-time, over 2 years), to complete the programme.

Content

Course Structure

Full-time students study the four taught modules plus the dissertation over one year.

Part-time students normally study two taught modules per year in years one and two and the dissertation in year three.

Core Modules

• Research Methods Education (30 credits)
• Critical Perspectives in Education (30 credits)
• Dissertation (60 credits)

Optional Modules

Students must select 60 credits from a list of optional modules which may include:

• 21st Century Technology: Implications for Teaching and Learning (30 credits)
• Arts in Education (30 credits)
• Assessment (30 credits)
• Curriculum Analysis (30 credits)
• Intercultural and International Education (30 credits)
• Policy Studies (30 credits)
• Psychology of the Learner (30 credits)
• Special Educational Needs and Inclusion: Rhetoric or Reality? (30 credits)

The above are examples of modules we have run in previous years. Modules are continually developed in response to student feedback and interests, as well as to reflect the changing nature of academic research within the department.

Subject requirements, level and grade

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• Applicants for the programmes must normally be graduates of this or another University or of the C.N.A.A., with an upper 2nd class honours or above (successful completion of a masters level PGCE will classify as 'above'), or have other specially approved qualifications which satisfy the Admissions Sub-Committee that they are suitably qualified to undertake the programme.
• Teaching experience may be considered appropriate in some cases (see pathway specific specifications). However all students must normally demonstrate a personal or professional interest in the academic study of education.

Preferred Tests:

a. IELTS: 6.5 (no component under 6.0)

b. TOEFL iBT (internet based test): 92 (no component under 23)

c. Cambridge Proficiency (CPE): Grade C

d. Cambridge Advanced (CAE): Grade A

e. Cambridge IGCSE First Language English at Grade C or above [not normally acceptable for students who require a Tier 4 student visa]

f. Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language at Grade B or above [not normally acceptable for students who require a Tier 4 student visa]

g. GCSE English Language at grade C or above

h. Pearson Test of English (overall score 62 (with no score less than 56 in each component))

Alternative accepted tests when those listed in a.-h. above are unavailable to the applicant (if the applicant requires a Tier 4 visa to study, advice on the suitability of these alternatives must be sought from the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office):

i. Certificate of Attainment (Edexcel)

j. GCE A-levels (AQA, CIE, Edexcel, CCEA, OCR, WJEC) at grade C or above in an essay based, humanities or social science subject from the following list: History, Philosophy, Government and Politics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Religious Studies, Economics, Business Studies, Law and Sociology. Modern or Classical Languages are not acceptable in meeting this requirement.

k. International Baccalaureate with a minimum of grade 5 in Standard Level English or a minimum of grade 5 if taken at Higher Level.

l. NEAB (JMB) Test in English (Overseas)

m. Singapore Integrated Programme (SIPCAL) at grade C or above in an essay based, humanities or social science subject from the following list: History, Philosophy, Government and Politics, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Religious Studies, Economics, Business Studies, Law and Sociology. Modern or Classical Languages are not acceptable in meeting this requirement.

n. Singapore Polytechnic Diploma and Advanced Diplomas at GPA 3.0 or above

o. WAEC and NECO Grade B3 or above from Nigeria and Ghana