About this course
- Entry year: 2012/13
- Course code: X90012
- Applications: University
- Level: Postgraduate
- Department: Education
- Campus: Frenchay
- Duration: Minimum four years part-time for students who already have a Master's degree.
- Delivery: Part-time
- Study Abroad: No
- Course director: Professor Ann-Marie Bathmaker
- Key fact: Please note that the next intake for this course is September 2013.
Introduction
The UWE EdD is aimed at professionals from many areas of action - teachers from all sectors, educational administrators, policy officers, professionals involved in education in their specialist field such as nurses, paramedics, social workers, occupational therapists, community workers and others.
Our goal is to better understand and improve programmes of training and education and, through this, to improve professional services and their role in a democracy.
The EdD is highly interactive. It is seminar and workshop-based and it has a supportive supervision framework. The taught element (Years 1 and 2) is driven by practical research tasks. Assessment throughout is designed to put professional learning to the forefront, and to derive from this the academic standards which will allow us, eventually, to confer the award of a Doctorate. This is, in all senses, a professional doctorate.
What is an EdD?
The EdD is a Professional Doctorate in Education, equivalent in status and challenge to a PhD. It comprises four to six years part-time study and allows you to use the title 'Dr'. Like other EdD programmes, the EdD study at the University of the West of England comprises a mix of taught and research elements. Taught elements happen mainly in seminars and workshops with a number of tutors; research elements are conducted under the supervision of one tutor.
What does 'doctoral level' mean?
Enquiry-based work at doctoral level is expected to lead to the generation of original knowledge, and this implies a greater intolerance of closure and resolution of issues and controversies; and a correspondingly higher level of tolerance for complexity. We would expect, for example:
- Compared to work at Master's level, a keener and more critical reading of research literature with the ability to differentiate between competing schools of thought
- The capacity to bring to bear multiple contexts for understanding an educational issue (political, ethical, personal, historical, methodological)
- A view of professional practice as the temporary resolution of competing social demands and needs
- A view of professional practice as personal and collegial enquiry
- A perspective on change
Structure
Content
The style and format of the programme
A central feature of this programme is that you will be studying with the same group of people over the study period. This means we can sustain research questions and interests, maintain a continuous conversation about research and use the group as a self-help resource.
Why have this format?
- For you to study at the highest academic level within a supportive group framework and within a programme of schedule activities. The group experience provides opportunities to learn about your work through close comparison with others.
- To provide you with intellectual, policy and methodological contexts in which to take a critical look at your practice and at the organisation in which you work.
- To allow us to learn enough about your work to design challenging research-based learning experiences for you.
Modules in Part 1 (Years 1 and 2)
Introduction to Professional Enquiry (30 credits)
This module introduces the theory and practice of professional enquiry. It is based on the critical review of case-based materials and also draws on methodological writings on professional enquiry. The module takes a thematic, issues-based approach to the subject, identifying and exploring issues such as the construction of professional research methodology, and validity and ethics in professional enquiry.
Researching Social Policy (30 credits)
This module introduces the field of educational and related social policy research and develops critical understanding and engagement with the methodological and epistemological issues related to such research. It considers methods of data collection and analysis that may be used when researching policy. It develops a critical awareness of the location of education and related social policy within their broader economic, social, cultural and political context.
Researching Assessment in Professional Contexts (30 credits)
This module focuses on the theory and practices of assessment processes and critically considers the impact of assessment events on groups and on individuals. It draws on various perspectives on assessment, including technical, sociological, psychological and philosophical. It explores the relationship between assessment and curriculum in different learning contexts and critically engages with the production and consumption of judgements, and contextualises these historically, socially and politically.
Theoretical Perspectives on Teaching and Learning (30 credits)
This module draws on psychological and sociological perspectives on learning and learning contexts and considers their relationship to epistemological and ontological positions. It provides the opportunity to critically reflect on theories of learning in organisational, curricular and assessment contexts. It develops a critical approach to a range of learning and teaching.
Advanced Preparation for Research (30 credits)
This module pulls together all the strands of Part 1 to develop a full research proposal that will form the basis of the individually supervised research project in Part 2. It provides the critical framework for the development of the research design, the proposed methodological approach and ethical considerations in relation to the study.
Part 2
There are two main aspects to this part of the Programme:
- Individually supervised research project - examined by thesis (60,000 words)
- Postgraduate Research Seminar Programme
Throughout this part of the programme you are supported by both your allocated supervisory team and the Postgraduate Research Seminar Programme.
What is distinctive about this EdD compared with others?
- You will not be just a member of a School of Education, but also of a university which - as a whole institution - is committed to lifelong learning and an inclusivity agenda. Social justice and democracy as an area for professional enquiry is the values base of this programme.
- This EdD is designed as a professional award - which is to say that its principal orientation is to the understanding and improvement of professional policy and practice in a democracy.
- Since it is aimed at experienced professionals we offer accreditation of prior learning and, therefore, multiple routes into the doctoral programme. While maintaining the commitment to doctoral standards we seek to recruit on an inclusive basis, but also on a basis which values professional as well as academic knowledge.
Teaching and learning
Who teaches on the EdD?
The EdD has a core team of staff. In addition, there are contributions from researchers drawn from within and beyond the university.
Course Director: Professor Ann-Marie Bathmaker
Core Team:
Professor David James
Dr Richard Waller
Dr Jane Andrews
Professor Jacky Brine
Professor Saville Kushner
Will I have specialist support for my research?
Yes. There are two aspects to research supervision:
- support for the substantive theme of your research (eg. management styles, nursing practice, policy training, social bases for pupil disaffection)
- support for the methodological challenges you face (eg. is it appropriate to use a survey? How do I handle the ethics of observing the work of my colleagues?)
We will always provide the latter, support for methodological challenges. If you want it, we will provide support for the substantive theme of your research, however, some people prefer to cope with the substantive challenge themselves and to use supervision to advance their methodological understanding. We can offer supervision across a wide range of substantive and methodological fields, some examples of which include: case study; statistical procedures; quasi-experimental design; grounded theory; discourse analysis; social theory (eg. Bourdieu); action research; interpretative sociology; life history research; feminist approaches; questionnaire design; narrative research; focus group work.
Study time
What will my time commitment be?
Each component has a specified number of hours 'contact time'. In addition you should plan to spend between 20 to 30 hours each month engaged in personal and directed study.
The EdD programme consists of two parts:
Part 1 (Years 1 and 2):
Five assessed modules (total 150 credits)
Each module consists of two study blocks:
Thursday 17.30 - 19.00
Friday 9.30 - 17.00
Saturday 9.30 - 12.30
Part 2 (Years 3 to 6):
Individual supervised research study (minimum two years, maximum four years)
Entry
Entry requirements
Participants will normally hold a Master's degree and will have a minimum of four years' experience in a relevant professional area.
Fees
All fees are available on request. Apart from that you will almost certainly need a small budget to purchase your own books - which we will advise on. There will be additional costs to support your field research - these might include reprographics, cassette tapes/tape recorder, travel and subsistence if your field site is some distance away - and the printing and binding of your research thesis. The course will make extensive use of e-mail and web based sources so access to suitable IT facilities will be a necessity.
How to apply
Please complete an online application form.
If you have any queries please contact the School of Education, Research and Knowledge Exchange Projects Office, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, telephone +44 (0)117 32 84223, e-mail SSHresearch@uwe.ac.uk.
For further information
Page last updated 14 December 2011