PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
MA History of Education
Awarding body: University College London
Teaching institution: UCL Institute of Education
Name of final award
Master of Arts (MA)
Postgraduate Diploma
Postgraduate Certificate
Programme title: History of Education
UKPass code: P000563
Language of study
The UCL Institute of Education teaches and assesses students in English. Competence
in English language is required of all applicants. Programme regulations may indicate
the level of competence required of each applicant and may make its achievement a
condition of admission.
Participants
The programme is designed for Arts, History or Social Science graduates with a strong
interest in social history but is also suited to graduates in other areas with an interest in
history, education and policy. A variety of learners have enjoyed the course. In recent
years these have included those interested in history, humanities and social sciences.
While some participants have come straight from university, others have included
archivists, journalists, parents, school governors, teachers, policy makers, those who
work in the commercial world and public sector, and retired people. A wide range of
international students participate on the programme.
Aims of the programme
The aims of the programme are to enable students to:
• engage in debate on topical issues in history of education today,
encompassing not only schooling but the whole process of education and
learning;
• offer opportunities to experience a variety of learning and teaching strategies
including short lectures, film and guided discussion of selected readings, urban
walks and hands-on activities in London-based archives;
• engage with primary historical sources, supported by international researchers
with extensive expertise in the subject;
• reflect critically on, and develop a historical understanding of, the experience
of education in an international perspective;
• bring together biographical approaches, oral history and documentary
research for the study of lives in educational settings;
• contribute to research in history of education on interesting and important
topics with support and guidance by an experienced supervisor.
Programme outcomes
By the end of this programme, students should have:
• an awareness of debates about the history of education in the UK and at an
international level;
• the ability to reflect critically on and develop a historical understanding of the
experience of education in an international perspective;
• the ability to evaluate evidence and draw on it effectively;
• the ability to search for, access and make effective use of: primary and
secondary historical source material, archives, libraries, sources of electronic
information such the Internet;
• the ability to develop points and arguments - orally and in writing - and
acknowledge the force of counter-arguments;
• the ability to communicate effectively, in terms of class discussion, individual
tutorials and written course work;
• the ability to plan, implement and evaluate their personal learning.
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.
Mode of study Participants can attend on either a part-time (over two years) or full-time
(one year) basis. Attendance varies between modules, but usually involves a
combination of evening and online attendance. It is, however, possible to take the whole
MA through distance learning.
Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules, credits and awards
To complete the MA History of Education learners must gain 180 credits, of which:
i)
ii)
iii)
30 credits must be from the required module Debates in the History of
Education
30 credits must be from the required module What is Education?
60 credits may be from the recommended modules within the MA,
Understanding Research, Theoretical Foundations of Educational
Ideas or a wide range of other choices exist including Knowledge,
Mind and Understanding, Education and Development in Asia and
Educational Traditions and Systems in Europe.
iv)
v)
The remaining 60 credits must be from a dissertation with integrated
research methods in the field of history of education.
For those pursuing a distance learning option, the Institute offers a
wide range of optional modules in comparative education, history,
citizenship and educational research (see
http://www.ioe.ac.uk/study/53771.html)
In addition to attending taught modules, learners will be registered for two term's
supervision for a dissertation.
(The UCL Institute of Education uses the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System (ECTS), as a guide to support periods of study undertaken abroad and to assist
student mobility. Currently it is assumed that two UK credits equate to one ECTS.
Therefore a module of 30 credits would typically equate to 15 ECTS credits. For a
Master's degree to be awarded, successful completion of a minimum of 180 credits is
required. Participants 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
60 or 120 credits respectively and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate or
Postgraduate Diploma in the subject area.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved
and demonstrated
Learning in the group as a whole is participatory and uses a range of formats and media.
Typically, these will include occasional lectures, tutor-led seminars and discussion
forums, workshops, films, presentation of research publications. Taught sessions
generally include an input by programme tutor(s), who are specialists in the history of
education and may highlight key points, comparative dimensions, historiographical
issues etc. Students are able to raise points, ask questions and discuss key issues in
every session. We design learning activities to encourage critical engagement with
historical materials, develop expertise and strengthen generic skills. In optional modules
History of Education students will be working with students and staff from other MA
courses offered by the Department of Education, Practice and Society and beyond. We
offer tutorials and online support for assessment. Expert supervisors work with students
to support the extended writing in the form of a dissertation.
lnformation about assessment regulations
We offer a range of types of course work to support the module aims. They include
research proposal writing, critical evaluation of empirical and theoretical research,
discursive essay, empirical research and extended writing via the dissertation on a topic
negotiated and planned with the tutor. This is an opportunity to produce a piece of
sustained writing, constituting critical theoretical/conceptual analysis as well as (in most
cases) related empirical work, on a topic of direct interest.
Once an assignment has been handed in, two programme tutors will assess an
assignment and standards are cross-checked across the programme. Internal
moderation of written work is undertaken by programme tutors. The External Examiner
plays an important role in monitoring the quality of the programme and evaluating the
effectiveness of the teaching and support provided for the students and the reliability of
judgments in assessments.
Support for learning
Support strategies for learners on the programme include:
• A programme handbook that gives detailed information about the programme
and advice on study skills and individual module packs with detailed advice on
assessment.
• An induction programme including introduction to the Institute library, Moodle, IT
and other facilities provided by the Institute.
• Pastoral support from the programme leader.
• Supervision by a programme tutor who has specialist knowledge and
experience in the learner’s chosen topic. The tutor meets with the learner in
regular 1:1 tutorials and offers guidance and support in assignment writing and
research skills.
• Peer support and networking is facilitated through Moodle.
• Access to the full range of welfare and union facilities afforded to all Institute
students.
Methods for evaluating and improving the programme
Mechanisms for review and evaluation of teaching, learning, assessment, the curriculum
and outcome standards include
• Module evaluation by students
• Termly meetings of the Programme Committee and Programme Team
• Annual programme review prepared by programme team and considered by
Teaching and Quality Committee
• Periodic programme review and revalidation
• Staff review and development
• Peer observation of teaching
• External examiner reports
Committees with responsibility for monitoring and evaluating quality and standards
• Programme Committee
• Board of Examiners
• Teaching and Quality Committee
• Validation and Partnership Panel
Mechanisms for gaining student feedback on the quality of teaching and the learning
experience
• Student module evaluation (sessional and programme)
• Student representation on programme committees
Indicators of quality and standards
The following are key indicators of quality and standards in this programme:
• The external examiners’ reports are consistently positive with respect to the
programme maintaining very high quality and standards
• Progression of participants onto the MPhil/PhD programme.
• Promotion of learners who have completed the programme.
• Programme participants delivering specialist knowledge to other practitioners in
their own institutions or on a regional or national basis.
• Former programme participants have become academics, researchers and
writers in the history of education, managers, teacher educators and trainers.
• Highest rating in the recent REF indicates a vibrant research environment with
direct benefits for teaching and course development.
Relevant benchmark statements and other external and internal reference points
used to inform course outcomes
The programme provides learners with knowledge and understanding of the social
history of education and develops skills in historical methodology and communication. It
introduces and encourages a critical understanding of human events and interpretations
of educational history, and contributes to the development of autonomous, reflective
individuals, capable of making meaningful links between the educational past, present
and future.
Date at which programme specification was written or revised
July 2015