Education (Evidence Based Practice) Fully Online (Taught)

The University of Buckingham is:

• Home of the two-year degree, the University of Buckingham, based in the South East of England, is ranked 6th for Student Satisfaction in the UK (National Student Survey, 2020).

• Our award-winning small class tutorials ensure every student is known by name and supported throughout their studies, including by dedicated personal tutors.

• As pioneers of the two-year degree, we offer a condensed version of the traditional three-year degree, meaning you can gain a full honours degree and complete your studies a whole year earlier. Alternatively, you can complete both your undergraduate and master’s degree with us in just three years: saving you time and money.

Never has there been a time when the relationship between practice and research in Education been under such scrutiny. This course enables students to complete a Masters Dissertation and to link this study to the way evidence-based practice has been integrated into Education.

The course consists of a number of modules including one which questions the legitimacy of an evidence-based practice approach. In addition to this students will critically engage with literature, which goes on to inform a research project to explore an educational issue. This is with a view to improving the candidate’s own professional practice or that of others. The study culminates in a dissertation involving a candidate’s own project in their school or research in a wider field of education.

What is the point of doing an MA when I have a PGCE or am an experienced teacher?

• Professionals do not stop learning at any stage in their working lives. Doctors and lawyers, for example, have to have regular refresher courses. In the same way, teachers need a framework like an MA within which to learn about recent research in education and be prompted to consider whether they could be even better at what they do.

• Not only will you learn about recent research in education, but you will also learn how to do research yourself.

• Having taken the trouble to gain this qualification will show your employer and future employers that you are a serious, professional employee.

• You will find the course intellectually stimulating.

This is a full 180 Master’s course and so is eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s loan if you live in the UK (www.gov.uk/masters-loan). It is an eighteen-month, part-time course for teachers and school leaders to develop expertise in the field of education through critical evaluation of research and scholarship.

Course content
The course includes:

Establishing your research focus
Discovering relevant literature and how to write a literature review
What is expected of Level 7 academic writing?
How to navigate the topic of research methodology
Planning your dissertation
Ethical considerations when researching

Course delivery
Every Master’s student is allocated a supervisor. You will regularly communicate for example, via Teams, Zoom, Email or another online meeting platform with your supervisor at times that are suitable for you both, to support each module.

You will also have access to regular online study sessions throughout the course. There is an induction session early on to introduce you to how the course will run, then there are twilight sessions UK time, during the year to support you with each module and with additional sessions to aid with the completion of the dissertation. The majority of these are optional in terms of attendance as we know that many people struggle to be available at certain times. However, all these sessions are recorded and can be watched after the live event. This means that as you progress through the course you end up having access to library of videos that you can re-visit, to support you to a successful outcome.

It is important to understand that you, as a Master’s student, will be expected to work independently and to use the guidance provided to complete the required modules.