Higher Education 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 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 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 explores the meaning of childhood in different social, cultural and historical contexts, from a range of theoretical perspectives, and how social, economic and political factors impact on children’s lives and their later development. We consider the positioning of children within society and identify current debates about children’s well-being and holistic development and how these are reflected in policy and practice. We discuss children’s understanding of social and/or cultural issues for example, gender roles and expectations, mental health, prejudice, developing sexuality and sexual identity. We explore how the voice and autonomy of the child is taken into account in responding to social and/or cultural issues. This module will be of interest to those wanting to work with children and young people in a range of educational and support roles, encouraging you to take a critical perspective in discussing how our understanding of childhood shapes policy and provision and supports the rights of the individual.

You will study historical attitudes to disability including, for example, medical intervention from the early part of the 20th century and more recent social changes including the disability rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and a range of models of health and disability. You will critically evaluate appropriate policy and legislation and how this has influenced the development of appropriate provision and practice. You will explore how our understanding of SEND has developed, and the impact of this on our understanding of inclusion. You will investigate the needs arising from specific SEND conditions, and what this means for educational practice. This module will also support you in developing some of the professional knowledge and understanding required within the NCTL National Award for SEN Co-ordination, related to the following standards: 1. The statutory and regulatory context for SEN and disability equality and the implications for practice in your school or work setting 2. How SEN and disabilities affect pupils’ participation and learning 3. Strategies for improving outcomes for pupils with SEN and/or disabilities

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.

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 will discuss, from a critical point of view, a range of approaches to teaching and learning that are appropriate for use in higher Education settings. You will also engage with the theories and practices within HE settings that are used to design curricula, to encourage student engagement, and to quality assure and administer higher education courses. You will consider methods and approaches for evaluating student learning within HE as well as methods for evaluating student satisfaction and academic practice. Key policies and educational ideas that relate to higher education will also be discussed.

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 encourage you to critically reflect on how curricula are developed for children in primary and early primary education, exploring the influence of social, political and cultural drivers in this development. You will consider how children's learning needs are identified and prioritised as curricula are established, and how appropriate pedagogies are promoted to support effective teaching and the assessment of learning.