MASTER OF EDUCATION IN THE RHODES UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

MASTER OF EDUCATION IN THE RHODES UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Overview?

Research Foci

Application Procedure

More information (Fees, financial aid, specificities for international students)

OVERVIEW

Master of Education Options

The MEd can be obtained in different ways at Rhodes University.

Option 1: Full Research

This option requires writing a full Master’s level thesis on an approved topic. Depending on the research focus you chose you will either join a research programme with formal contact sessions or work independently with your supervisor. We do not offer distance education options at Rhodes so even without formal contact sessions, you are expected to spend time at Rhodes University working with your supervisor, peers and in the library.

Option 2: Research by coursework and half thesis

This option is not currently offered and would need to be negotiated between the Specialisation Coordinator and the Head of Department at Rhodes.

Option 3: Research by coursework and research portfolio

This option is not currently on offer at Rhodes.

Duration of Degree

The degree may be completed in one year with full-time registration or over two years with part-time registration.

Curriculum Design

Depending on the research option and the specialism you chose you will either attend approximately 40 days of formal block contact sessions (spread over one or two years) or work independently with your supervisor.

ADDITIONALLY, all candidates for the degree are required to attend a course in research design aimed at preparing them to conduct a research programme and analyse and report the results. Exemptions may be considered if candidates have previously completed a similar course.

Publication Expectations

It is expected that a paper from the thesis will be prepared for publication.

Admission Requirements

Candidates who hold a post-graduate BEd(Hons) degree (SAQA Level 8) or an equivalent Level 8 qualification qualify for this course. If you are wanting to move from another field (such as the sciences or humanities into the education faculty) some specialisms may require you to have completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in order to obtain the necessary understanding of educational theory for independent Master’s level research.

For those who do not hold the usual prerequisite qualifications , an application may be made (with the potential supervisor’s support) to be considered for an Ad Eundem Gradum (AEG) degree.

More detail about the Master of Education degree and AEG applications can be found by referring to the most recent Rhodes University Calendar for details.

RESEARCH FOCI

This degree may be undertaken in any approved field of educational research, depending on the availability of supervisory staff. Currently the Education Department can supervise studies with the following research foci:

  • Education Leadership and Management (Contact person: Dr Farhana Kajee – f.kajee@ru.ac.za)

Our research and supervision focuses on educational leadership and management. Of particular interest is the development of leadership amongst teachers, learners, school board members, school management teams and other stakeholders. Students are invited to conduct research with a focus on leadership development and we particularly privilege studies, which are interventionist in design. Theoretically, we draw on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) as a framework for analyzing leadership development because of its interventionist methodology, and because it is a practice-based and future-oriented theory, which aims to transform social conditions. Our students generally come from educational contexts and hold various positions such as teachers, heads of department, principals and departmental officials. The ability to act as an independent reflexive researcher and critical thinker who can contribute to knowledge production and bring about transformation and development of leadership practices is promoted.

  • English Language Teaching (Contact person: Professor Emmanuel Mgqwashu – e.mgqwashu@ru.ac.za)

Our research and supervision focusses on the three disciplines under the broader field of English Studies: Language, Literature and Culture, Communication and Media. Our scholarly work engages critically with theoretical, philosophical, and research based study of the English Studies field, and the implications for teaching, research, curriculum design and assessment, both within schooling and higher education contexts. The debates characterising and informing different approaches to thinking about what it means to teach English in the 21st century, on the one hand, and in multilingual, multicultural, and multiracial contexts, on the other hand, form the basis for our work.

We have the capacity to supervise environmental education/Education for Sustainable Development research focusing on transformative and social learning and the evaluation of EE/ESE programmes in relation to a diversity of learning contexts (workplaces, school and post-school education, government and non-government environmental programmes, and informal and community-based contexts). Our students come from a variety of fields including teachers with various subject specialisms, lecturers and other adult educators, curriculum or resource developers, journalists, writers, researchers, conservationists, development workers, and social learning facilitators. This research focus is supervised through staff of the Environmental Learning Research Centre (ELRC). Read more about the master’s degree and our research programmes.

Our research and supervision focuses on geography teacher education and school geography curriculum and pedagogy. The research agenda is driven by the need for geography education to re-orientate to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in response to the global socio-ecological crisis of the 21st century. Our scholarly work engages with geographical knowledge and change-oriented active learning pedagogical approaches. Our students include teachers, teacher educators, education development officers.

The focus of our research in the SARChI Mathematics Education Chair is on interrogating and understanding of the use of visualisation processes in the teaching and learning of mathematics in Southern Africa. The rationale for research in this field arises out of the identified need that quality mathematics classrooms and therefore good mathematics teaching is key to transforming mathematics education in Southern Africa. For more information on research and projects please visit the SARChI Mathematics Education Chair website.

Recent concerns about the quality of teaching and learning, in South Africa and internationally, has given rise to a new research interest in primary education. This research interest focuses specifically, but not exclusively, on Early Childhood Development. The significance of this niche area is to examine and ascertain the knowledge required of parents, teachers, government officials, pre-service teachers and teacher educators in order to promote quality primary education.

Research in this field will contribute to national and international research on quality pedagogy, curriculum, and national policy.

Research in this field can be conducted as either a full thesis or a coursework/half thesis option

Our current Science Education research supervision expertise revolves around the following: incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge into Science Education; building on learners’ prior knowledge in science; the use of practical activities to enhance science education; addressing the challenge of language/multiliteracy in science education; and exploring science discourse and curriculum knowledge. Some theories that we have drawn on in our recent science education research include Systemic functional Linguistics, Legitimation Code theory, Pedagogy of Multiliteracies, Sociocultural Theory, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy.

  • Inclusive Education and Special Needs (Contact person: Ms Bev Moore – b.moore@ru.ac.za)

Inclusive education acknowledges the right of all children to be supported in ordinary schools.  However, there are still many challenges to the implementation of Inclusive Education in South Africa, thus, leaving doors wide open for research in this multifaceted and complex area.  Research will be a contributing factor in capacitating teachers to provide quality education within the inclusive education domain. This will also enable teachers to be more meaningfully engaged with learners experiencing barriers to learning.

All our students participate in research projects related to various development projects that are inscribed within the South African Numeracy Chair project’s Research and Development brief. For example: after-school maths clubs, in-service teacher development programmes and in-service teaching, and pre-service teacher education.

This multi-disciplinary programme brings together theories, experiences and knowledge from a wide range of fields to explore the ways in which the use of ICT (computing)  support/ enhance/ transform  a wide variety of teaching and learning goals as well as administrative and schooling environment.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

 

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