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This board is for university-based professionals. Find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further education forum.

MA Education advice please

2 replies

Phineyj · 25/05/2018 10:23

Apologies for the length of this - I wanted to include the relevant details rather than drip feeding. If anyone can advise I'd be v grateful as I have apparently wasted a lot of my own money otherwise!

I trained as a teacher in 2012 and as part of the deal, was able to get credits towards an MA. I submitted the relevant pieces of work shortly afterwards, was awarded the credits and was informed I had the option to do a 60 credit research module in future and could then get the full MA. There was a 5 year time limit. The accrediting university was Edge Hill, distance learning - no choice in that as it was the organisation the training provider had the deal with. I live in London so no real possibility to travel to Liverpool anyway.

In late 2016, I suddenly realised I'd better crack on and do the 60 credit module or I'd be out of time. I signed up, got ethical approval, carried out some research and have written a draft of a 15,000 word dissertation about teaching my subject, sixth form Economics. The problem is I essentially fell out with them over the completion of the dissertation. I kept getting feedback from the tutor saying my work needed more 'support and challenge from the literature', that I 'wasn't working at level 7' and I should consider more 'ontological and epistomelogical issues'. I did some reading on the latter but the literature comment was problematic as while I had by then read a huge range of material, it was unclear to me what the appropriate 'literature' was, as there is very little written about the teaching of Economics in the UK especially at KS5 (that was why I thought it was of value to do the project).

Anyway, I couldn't get any sense out of them and I found it hard to believe I wasn't working at Master's level, as I already have an MA from Warwick (in a business/arts subject), and got a distinction for my dissertation there. I asked repeatedly for a reading list of the literature I ought to be citing, but got nothing. So I asked for a PGDE certificate instead and said I wouldn't be completing the MA.

What I want to know is whether it would be feasible to submit the dissertation elsewhere -- if I can find an MA Education that allows discussion of well, teaching (!), in the research module, rather than just the methodology of research, and if so, if there's any way of doing this that avoids having to fork out another £2k? I have recently re-read what I wrote and I really don't think there is anything wrong with it - it just doesn't meet the (rather opaque) criteria of this particular MA, which I would not have chosen if I had had any choice in the first place.

Sorry again for length.

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BorchesterTowers · 25/05/2018 12:10

So basically you wanted the qualification but were not prepared to be guided by expert supervisory advice? Odd.

And even if you could simply submit your dissertation somewhere else, I'm not sure about the ethics of that. I wouldn't be comfortable if it were me, and never as a supervisor. I'd be requiring any supervisee of mine to do the proper critical reading - which it sounds like your Edge Hill tutor has suggested.

The suggestion that you relate your field work research to broader theoretical & critical questions (ontology and epistemology) is a sound one, appropriate for a Masters degree.

Phineyj · 25/05/2018 15:02

Thanks, I thought there might be an ethical issue so that is useful to know. I did listen to and attempt to take the advice of the supervisor, but I could not for the life of me work out what she actually wanted. This surprised me as I have two degrees already (although not in Education, which is no doubt the problem).

I admit I was more motivated by getting the qualification than by the research itself, but it was interesting and I did do it.

May I ask, it is unreasonable at MA level to expect to be pointed in the direction of the correct 'critical reading'? e.g. a reading list or at least a few sources for particular aspects?

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