Literature/Practice-based Enquiry DL

EDUC61761 Literature/Practice-based Enquiry DL 30 Full year Postgraduate Taught Level 6 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 15.0 In this unit, students will identify and investigate a research problem located in or inspired by their professional practice: this must be explicitly related to educational leadership. Beginning with one or more research questions, they will explore a workable solution to that defined issue or problem ideally combining the practical with the theoretical, supported by empirical evidence. Students will be encouraged to pursue an action or practice-based research project within their own organisations.Students may choose to undertake a desk-based (literature) study, in which the emphasis is on the exploration of theoretical concepts and models rather than the generation of empirical data. Similarly, students may choose to undertake a secondary data analysis with an existing dataset or source to explore and address the specific issue or problem they have identified. Throughout the process, students will be supported through supervision. In this unit, students will identify and investigate a research problem located in or inspired by their professional practice: this must be explicitly related to educational leadership. Beginning with one or more research questions, they will explore a workable solution to that defined issue or problem ideally combining the practical with the theoretical, supported by empirical evidence. Students will be encouraged to pursue an action or practice-based research project within their own organisations.Students may choose to undertake a desk-based (literature) study, in which the emphasis is on the exploration of theoretical concepts and models rather than the generation of empirical data. Similarly, students may choose to undertake a secondary data analysis with an existing dataset or source to explore and address the specific issue or problem they have identified. Throughout the process, students will be supported through supervision. <ul> <li> provide students with an opportunity to plan, manage and conduct practice-based research on a topic related to their programme of studies and their learning from the MA Educational Leadership in Practice;</li> <li> further students’ knowledge of a relevant body of literature, and develop powers of critical reasoning;</li> <li> encourage students to seek new research findings which add to the existing body of knowledge on a particular subject area (noting that dissertations may not involve primary data collection, but may review or re-interpret materials already available);</li> <li> develop students’ knowledge of, and competence in, an appropriate range of research methods, including the development of a focal question or hypothesis, an appreciation of the research methodology and analytical techniques to be utilised, the undertaking of a specific research study, the synthesis and evaluation of findings, and a clear statement of conclusions and recommendations;</li> <li> develop students’ writing, presentation and bibliographic skills; and</li> <li> develop students’ experience of developing and managing a specific research project through to final submission.</li> <li> develop students’ understanding of how impact may be disseminated in different forms to suit different audiences.</li> </ul> <ul> <li> Demonstrate their broadening and deepening subject, professional and/or leadership knowledge</li> <li> Demonstrate an increasing and critical engagement with research and scholarship</li> <li> Make recommendations for improvements in professional practice and for the research agenda, including their own studies.</li> <li> Demonstrate an understanding of the different means by which impact can be achieved, and engage with at least some of these means, in order to attend to the impact of their work  </li> </ul> <ul> <li> Critically evaluate relevant bodies of literature</li> <li> Demonstrate critical reasoning through generating research findings that add to the existing body of knowledge on a particular subject area</li> <li> Identify an appropriate range of research methods, including the development of a focal question or hypothesis, an appreciation of the research methodology and analytical techniques to be utilised, the undertaking of a specific research study, the synthesis and evaluation of findings, and a clear statement of conclusions and recommendations</li> <li> Appraise different theoretical perspectives and assessment of their relevance to a problem  </li> </ul> <ul> <li> Conduct literature reviews and secondary research using a range of bibliographic techniques and sources including those available through the world wide web</li> <li> Analyse and synthesise relevant concepts and methods, and apply these to a relevant problem</li> <li> Design and conduct small-scale primary research activities (where appropriate and feasible)</li> <li> Manage own work and learning in relation to a research project and write in an appropriately academic manner.</li> <li> An ability to plan for wider positive educational and leadership impact</li> <li> Disseminating research findings using a range of formats  </li> </ul> <ul> <li> Demonstrate analytical and evaluative skills to appraise</li> <li> educational literature and other sources of evidence.</li> <li> Use problem-solving skills: identifying problems, researching or creating a range of options to resolve them and carry out the most appropriate. Also problematising taken-for-granted social phenomena and recommending the most appropriate solution following research</li> <li> Exemplify high quality written skills: describing, explaining and synthesizing sophisticated arguments; constructing own arguments</li> <li> Use Information Technology: using ICT to search databases and other internet resources for literature and producing documents using word processing and presentation programs  </li> </ul> One-to-one supervision; self-directed study, including e-learning. Engagement with peer support through the MA ELiP online community via Blackboard.The course unit will comprise online support through webinars and discussion boards and also regular supervisory meetings in small focus groups and individually.Each student will be entitled to submit one draft of their research proposal and one draft of two chapters from their dissertation project for comment and feedback from one of the course tutors (typically their designated supervisor).   0 Other 100% Each student’s project will be split into two interconnected phases, each of which will be assessed separately. Final marks will be an accumulation of these two assessment points outlined below:1. Project report (80%) - submitted at the end of the course unit 5,000 word account of their project/inquiry.2.  Presentation of report to peers and essay on its impact (20%) Students will be expected to: 1. Present briefly their research and its findings to peers/colleagues in the project’s practice setting. This could take the form of an oral presentation, video, podcast or other methods appropriate for the setting: the intention being to report findings to a practitioner audience, not an academic one. If the presentation is done face-to-face then a record of this needs keeping (e.g. a video), to prove it has taken place. Note, the presentation is not itself assessed. 2. This should be followed by a 1,000-word supplement to the project report that: a) Describes the influence and impact of their project inquiry. This might be the impact on themselves as individuals, as practitioners or as citizens or the impact on wider policy and/or practice within their schools and organisations or the impact on the communities in which they are situated (or a combination of some or all of these.) b) Identifies next steps and recommendations.    Feedback will be provided via Turnitin (Blackboard) EDUC62711 Engaging with Research in Educational Leadership Pre-Requisite Compulsory EDUC62721 Models of Educational Leadership Pre-Requisite Compulsory EDUC62731 Leading Educational Change Pre-Requisite Compulsory EDUC61741 Education Policy and Leadership Pre-Requisite Compulsory EDUC61761 online conditions 09685, 10026, 10154, 10394, 10438 MA Ed Leadership in Practice MA Ed Leadership in Practice PGDT Taught Component Mandatory MA ELiP MA ELiP PGDT Taught Component Mandatory N The following research methods texts are recommended to all students:Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First Time Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences (4th edition). Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Bryman, A. (2012) Social research methods (4th edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2011) Research Methods in Education (7th edition). Abingdon: Routledge. Denscombe, M. (2014) The Good Research Guide: For small-scale social research projects (5th edition). New York : McGraw-Hill Education/ Open University Press. Grix, J. (2010) The Foundations of Research. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kellett, M. (2005) How to Develop Children as Researchers. London: SAGE. Maxwell, J.A. (2013) Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (3rd edition). London: SAGE. Robson, C. (2011) Real World Research (3rd edition). Chichester: Wiley. Specific reading will depend on the theme that students choose. Extensive thematic reading lists will be made available to students through Blackboard.   eAssessment 20 0 280 Learning Hours:Contact Hours: 20Self-directed study and e-learning (Blackboard): 280 hours