The Advanced Practice route enables participants working in educational settings to reflect on their own practice, taking a professional academic approach. The programme's presentation is fully online, or a combination of online and face-to-face for those who can attend. A separate MA Advanced Educational Practice school-based cohort group (minimum of 12 participants) may be available.
Normally a minimum of a second-class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, or a teaching qualification (Qualified Teacher Status or equivalent) with two years’ practical experience is required. Applicants with alternative qualifications may wish to consider the Graduate Diploma route.
The route has been developed to respond to the needs of educational practitioners in both UK and international settings. Its field of study is pedagogical practice examined through the different lenses of learning, the curriculum and action research. Learning is presented through using the community of practice as a tool to share and enhance understanding.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
All MA Education students take two compulsory modules (60 credits). Those on the Advanced Practice route take a third compulsory module (30 credits), as well as one optional module (30 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits), or two optional modules (60 credits) and a report (30 credits).
The two education compulsory modules ground the student in an understanding about education and education research. The Advanced Practice compulsory module further supports the understanding of research by considering practitioner research methodologies.
The flexibility of the Advanced Practice route means that students study optional modules which allow them to consider any focus in investigating their practice: subject or pedagogic. The following list indicates the kinds of modules on offer. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee that every module will run every year. Participants may also bring in 60 credits from successful completion of a recent PGCE (Early Years, Primary, Secondary or Post-Compulsory routes).
Modules within this route are normally taught fully online through our virtual learning environment (VLE) Moodle. Attendance is measured through access to the material and activities, responses in forums and completion of tasks shared online. All participants are assessed through coursework (which may be two or more short essays, a long essay, portfolio or presentation) at the end of each module, and receive both formative written feedback on a draft and summative feedback on a final submission.
Some modules have an expectation that participants will carry out an inquiry or project in their educational setting. This can be as a volunteer but the team do not make placements or arrange field opportunities.
The majority of students on this programme are already in employment, normally in educational settings. It is expected that study on the programme will open up opportunities either for promotion within the student's current place of employment, or enable them to apply for new roles within an educational setting.
The programme, and this route in particular, is designed to empower students as education practitioners through development of transferable academic skills in practitioner research and engagement with literature.