PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
MA in Science Education
Awarding body: University College London
Teaching institution: University College London Institute of Education
Name of the final award:
Master of Arts (MA)
Postgraduate Diploma
Postgraduate Certificate
Programme title:
Science Education
Admission code:
P005972
Criteria for admission to the programme
Programme participants should have a good honours degree. Candidates who do not
meet this requirement may be able to qualify through special procedures.
If your first language is not English you may be required to provide evidence of your
proficiency in the English language.
The UCL Institute of Education is committed to admitting and supporting participants
with disabilities and welcomes such applications. Participants do not need to be
“registered disabled” to draw on these services. Disabilities Support can also support
people who have a temporary mobility / dexterity impairment / other difficulty as a result
of an accident, injury, illness or surgery. We aim to treat every person as an individual,
with needs which may differ from those of other people with a superficially similar
disability. We do not therefore have standard procedures for participants with dyslexia,
nor standard procedures for visually impaired participants: each person's needs are
considered individually.
Aims of the programme
The course provides participants with a critical understanding of concepts in science
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education and knowledge of how science education is influenced, studied and
researched. The course develops:
 intellectual skills, such as constructing educational arguments;
 professional skills, such as developing policies in science education; and
 research skills, such as devising and carrying out a plan to answer a research
question.
The general aims of the course are to:
 Develop a critical understanding of the literature and concepts of science
education;
 Help stimulate interest and enjoyment so that participants continue their personal
and professional development beyond the course;
 Contribute to the development of autonomous, reflectively thinking individuals,
capable of taking a leading role in education;
 Prepare for the successful completion of coursework assessments and thus the
achievement of a valued and widely recognised further qualification;
 Help provide professionally relevant elements of knowledge, understanding,
skills and values; and
 Develop an appreciation of the national and international contexts in which
science education evolves.
Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external and internal
reference points used to inform programme outcomes
The programme will help participants to develop and demonstrate achievements in the
following areas:
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Theoretical knowledge and understanding of concepts and issues involved in
science education as a field of disciplined enquiry;
Theoretical knowledge of general education processes;
Critical consideration of the purposes of education, and more specifically science
education;
Theoretical and practical understanding of curriculum development processes;
Theoretical and practical knowledge of issues associated with science education;
and
Professional knowledge and understanding of the policy contexts influencing the
development of science teaching and learning
Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes
By the end of the programme, participants should be able to:
 identify a range of different perspectives used in the study of science education;
 be aware of, and know how to access, literature in each perspective;
 understand, in outline, the theoretical underpinnings of different perspectives;
 develop the skills of critical writing;
 construct an educational argument in the context of reviewing academic books
and articles;
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participate in online discussion about ideas arising from the sessions with
colleagues and tutors;
become familiar with a range of research methods in science education;
develop a focused research question and a plan of how to research it;
evaluate research critically;
adopt current conventions for reporting research in written form;
identify ethical considerations in the execution of education research and report
on these considerations for independent evaluation;
discuss critically contemporary issues in their own learning and teaching context;
explore assumptions which underpin current practice;
be informed about the arguments for current changes and the evidence on which
those arguments are based;
articulate their own personal vision for science education (whether formal or
informal) and formulate developments which they wish to make in their own
practices in order to move towards it.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be
achieved and demonstrated
The programme consists of a range of teaching and learning strategies. The
Foundations of Science Education module is run as mixed mode; that is a combination
of face-to-face and online teaching sessions. Students are required to participate fully in
all the sessions. The face to face sessions usually consist of a short tutor input, followed
by group tasks involving discussion and feedback, ending with consolidation and leading
questions which, where relevant, lead into online discussions. There are readings for
each session and sessions are built around student responses to questions raised
around the readings. Online sessions ask students to bring their teaching and learning
experiences together to address questions raised in the face-to-face sessions. Peer
discussion is seen and encouraged as a core learning strategy and students are
encouraged to engage and respond to each others’ contributions. Both face to face and
online sessions open up research issues which help students address the final module
assignment involving critical reviews of three texts in science education research.
Assessment in the Foundations of Science Education module is through a written
assignment of 5 000 words based on a critical review of three texts: a book, an
academic article and a professional article. Participants discuss a first draft with their
personal tutor before submitting the final version. Assignments are parallel-marked and
a final grade is agreed at a moderation meeting.
The What is Education module can be studied either face-to-face or online. The
sessions consist of presentations by specialists in Education who will outline their
response to the question 'What is Education?' assessment is based around six core
questions of the module:
 What is education for, what is its purpose, both here and now and looking to
the future?
 What should be its fundamental values and ethics?
 What do we mean by knowledge and learning (including formal and informal
contexts)?
 What is our concept of education?
 What is our image of the child, the teacher, the school?
 Who is responsible for education, and what does it mean to be responsible?
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Using one of the six core questions as a prompt, participants write a 5,000 word
essay that explores this question in relation to an educational context or area of
interest that you know well, for science education students this will be in a science
education context. Personal tutors give formative feedback, and mark the final
version as for Foundations of Science Education.
The dissertation and report are through one to one supervision between tutor and
student on an agreed topic relating to science education. There are also group
sessions as well as an online forum. All students have draft chapters regularly and
formatively marked before submitting their work for final assessment.
Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules, credits and awards
To gain the award of an MA in Science Education, participants have to successfully
complete
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two core modules each of 30 credits;
one recommended module of 30 credits;
either the Dissertation in Science Education worth 60 credits OR the Report in
Science Education 30 credits;
one optional module of 30 credits if opting for the dissertation OR two optional
modules each of 30 credits if opting for the report.
The two core modules are:
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Foundations of Science Education;
What is Education.
Students who for academic or personal reasons are unable to successfully complete the
180 credits required for the masters award may exit with the completion of 90 or 120
credits respectively and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma
in the subject area.
Mode of study
Part-time over two years or full-time over one year. Attendance is normally in the
evening. Delivery is mixed mode.
Language of study
English
Date at which the programme specification was written or revised. Initials of
author.
RL, October 2015
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