Education (Vocational Education and Training) MA

This module will develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of research methods, in both academic and professional contexts. It considers some of the theories, methods and implication of research and the complex role of researchers and of practitioner-researchers. You'll explore a range of methods of enquiry in order to enable you to understand the significance and ethics of research.

This module seeks to deepen your knowledge and understanding of educational research. You'll learn about traditions of educational research; positivism, interpretism and action research and the strengths and challenges of carrying out research in these traditions. This module provides you the opportunity to carry out a piece of research based on a contemporary or work-related issue or problem.

This module helps you examine the dominant patterns of education that have arisen in response to the pressures of globalisation and global institutions. You'll evaluate how the dominant (neo-liberal) systems are affecting education and leading to an increased focus on education as a preparation for the workplace. The module will help you understand the knowledge economy and global competition and the resulting policy formulation related to education, training and human resource development.

This module will help you explore the increasingly international nature of education. You'll examine different approaches to education and the ways different cultures define the key concepts of education. The module will help you to understand international perspectives on what is valuable knowledge and how it is learned. You'll explore how culture impacts on education, how it affects the structures and processes that take place in classrooms and you will use this knowledge to consider how this affects learners and ideas that travel across cultural boundaries.

This module will help you to explore the role of mentoring and coaching. You'll have the opportunity to examine issues linked to implementing and managing mentoring/coaching schemes, the role of mentors and/or coaches, the strategies that could be used within a mentoring and/or coaching relationship and the ethical issues governing them.

This module will develop your understanding of the ideas of curriculum: what is taught, how it is taught and why it is taught. You'll explore elements of the hidden curriculum, including hierarchy, power, values, confidence, stereotypes and labelling. The module will also help you to understand how a teachers’ role is constructed. What are teacher identities and how do these shape the role of teachers? Is teaching a professional activity? What are the ideas around this aspect? What is a reflexive/reflective teacher and how does this enhance professional development? You'll also consider some learning theories and their practical application within your setting.

This module provides a structured opportunity for students taking a leadership stance either formally or informally, or who aspire to a leadership role, to systematically consider and critically reflect upon leadership as a concept, and “effective leadership” in particular. Students will actively engage with such concepts as the role of the leader, how that role links to and differs from management, and how leaders can be developed.

This module will help you examine the historical, political and legislative developments leading to current national and local policy agendas relevant to those working in education and other public services. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in a range of contexts such as early years, youth work, teaching, learning and development, health care, community work, family support and social care.

This module will enable you to critically examine how policy approaches to countering extremism and promoting community cohesion have addressed and impacted on policy and practice within various educational sectors; The module will enable theoretical analysis of the various meaning/s of these concepts and of how they have been framed by policy and translated into educational practice.

This module critically explores theories of management and organisation, the impact of political and economic changes on management practices, managing collaboration and managing change in organisations. You'll critically explore approaches to managing oneself, managing others and managing public service and voluntary sector organisations alongside a systematic understanding of the practical management skills required of a professional role in the public and voluntary sector.

In this module, you'll study changing cultural and historical attitudes to disability including recent social changes that encompasses the disability rights, human rights and equality, and models of health and disability. You'll explore how our understanding of SEND has developed, and the impact of this on our understanding of inclusion, as well as investigate how the needs arising from specific SEND conditions are culturally and socially defined, and what this means for educational policy and practice.

This module is an introduction to how statistics relevant to professionals working in educational settings can be identified and analysed. You'll aim to explore techniques for descriptive analysis and summary of secondary datasets and will have the opportunity to carry out some basic statistical modelling. This module is designed for those who have not studied statistics before, the focus will be on how to examine and comprehend pre-existing datasets.

You will be introduced to a range of ICT tools and techniques for innovation in teaching and learning. Emphasis is placed on the selection of approaches appropriate to the learners’ needs. Alongside the practical aspects of using these tools you will consider how they can transform learning and develop a deeper, theoretical and analytical understanding. You'll also explore current debates in the field of e-learning.

This module will help you to develop understanding and skills in the area of online tutoring, facilitation, and in the design, planning and implementation of e-learning and blended learning courses.

In this module you'll be encouraged to develop a systematic understanding of the personal, professional and practical skills which support informal education, volunteering, employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship. Alongside this you'll have the opportunity to critically explore theories of informal education and the influence of social and economic policy including key concepts such as intrapreneurship, citizenship, social enterprise, innovation and a knowledge-based economy.

The module will help you to reflect on a range of international perspectives on early childhood education. It will emphasise the relationship between theoretical perspectives and aspects of practice in early childhood education. You'll critically engage with debates about early childhood education and will focus on the education of children in a range of settings.

This module will help you explore the role played by assessment and constructive feedback in developing student learning. You'll pay particular attention to the skills and knowledge of structures and processes required to work effectively at a variety of levels (module, course, department, school, university, professional body) in order to support students in their learning. The module will also help you to understand methods and approaches used to review and assessment of academic practice in relation to assessment and feedback and student support .

This module will help you to discuss learning and teaching within your subject discipline, appropriate techniques of curriculum design and the overall curriculum context within your institution. You'll pay particular attention to methods and approaches to the review and evaluation of academic practice in relation to learning & teaching and curriculum design. The module will also give you the opportunity to address the need to underpin academic practice with a knowledge and understanding of key educational ideas, models and theories.

This module will provide the opportunity to develop a creative teaching and learning session, which you will present at an in-house conference at the end of the course. You'll produce a conference paper which will present an evaluation of the teaching and learning development you have undertaken.