The Objectives of the Programme are:

• To advance knowledge and understandings of educational theories, principles and practices

• To develop critical and enquiring skills through conversation-building and high quality writing

• To foster confident researchers and educational leaders on the cusp of renewal and reform in education

The programme covers theories, principles and practices in contemporary educational settings and is designed for all those interested in enhancing their professional knowledge, understandings and skills. The programme is comprised of the following modules:

• Theory to Practice in Education: This module aims to enable students to critically explore the teleology of contemporary educational policy and, using the foundation disciplines as analytical tools, to enable students to isolate and to analyse the theoretical, conceptual and methodological underpinnings that lie at the core of the contemporary vision of education. This module will assist students to critique and to question contemporary education practices.

• Applied Research Project: This module enables students to devise and complete an independent academic research project based on a question of their choice. This module aims to prepare students to structure, develop and interrogate a research question following critical exploration of contemporary research methods in education.

• Principles and Practice of Research in Education: The purpose of the module is to facilitate postgraduate student's acquisition of the skills of literature search and review and the skills of research design and proposal writing. Students will be introduced to how, and in what ways to do a literature search and write a literature review and conceptualise/write a research design.

• Ensuring Criticality and Reflexivity in Educational Research Design: This module aims to enable students critically and reflexively examine their initial research design and to justify the effectiveness of the chosen research paradigm, research methodology and selected methods of data collection for probing the research question.

• Curriculum Design, Development and Evaluation: This module will introduce various frameworks for studying curriculum as a socio-cultural construct and as a site of conflict and compromise between values, ideologies and cultures. The module introduces various models of curriculum planning and evaluation and also examines the theories of knowledge and of learning which inform these models. These models include a rational model of curriculum planning which can be traced to the use of taxonomies of educational objectives. Variants of this rational approach are examined including understanding by design and contrasted with an approach based more on curriculum as 'process.' The module explores curriculum change and innovation in schools and examines the role of the teacher as a researcher, engaged in on-going curriculum development and evaluation.

• National and International Rends in Education: This module aims to enable students to analyse, discuss and debate policy-making, policy implementation and policy impact at all levels of education nationally and internationally. The module will be delivered by various staff members of MIC who will explore national and international trends and current issues in education in their area of expertise.

• Dissertation: This module will facilitate students' design and implementation of a piece of education research within a particular paradigm, their evaluation of the data and the production of an academic dissertation. Students will work under the close supervision of a member of the Faculty of Education who will encourage and monitor the research process and provide feedback when necessary.

Teaching and learning methods include lectures, workshops and presentations, visiting speakers and supervised research. Modules are assessed through a combination of continuous assessment and end-of-term assessment. The programme includes innovative techniques for mapping the research process; these techniques are folded into the modes of assessment. A cumulative grade point average system is used to recognise and reward work throughout the programme. The programme is predominantly delivered face-to-face with some lectures conducted on-line. Each module is strongly supported by an extremely active virtual learning environment.