Primary Education (Policy and Practice) MA

The Primary Education (Policy and Practice) MA offers opportunities to engage with the latest research and international debate concerning curriculum, pedagogy and assessment and its implications for professional practice in primary education. Students will develop knowledge and skills to evaluate and conduct educational research related to their professional interests and develop their own perspectives as leaders in primary education.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (90 credits), and either a dissertation (60 credits) and one optional module (30 credits), or a report (30 credits) and two optional modules (60 credits). Some modules are available to study remotely.

• Futures for Policy and Practice in Primary Education
• Researching Early Years and Primary Education
• What is Education?

A range of optional modules is available to students each year. Students can select optional modules to reflect their personal and professional interests. Recommended modules taken by students in recent years include:

• Contemporary Issues and Debates in Primary Education
• Literacy Development
• Children's Rights in Practice
• Assessment for Learning
• Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Other modules are also possible - please contact the programme leader, Amanda Ince, for advice.

All students undertake an independent research project in primary education (policy and practice). The project culminates in a dissertation of 20,000 words or a report of 10,000 words on a topic agreed with their tutor.

A range of learning and teaching approaches is employed across the programme, including lectures, student presentations, group discussion, directed reading/writing tasks and contributions to the Virtual Learning Environment, designed to promote active engagement and capitalise on participants' diverse backgrounds. Student performance is assessed through coursework assignments and the dissertation/report.