Session Information
22 SES 11 B, Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Higher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Since the 1980s postgraduate education has changed. Student demographics have changed with an increase in the numbers of female students and part-time students (Taylor, 2002). By the end of the twentieth century there was also an increase in student numbers in both research and taught programmes offered at universities (Blackwell & Diez, 1998; Taylor, 2002).The reasons for the increase in numbers have been linked to the economy and a workplace that demands employees continue to retrain and re-skill (Taylor, 2002).
In New Zealand, the demographics of postgraduate students and reasons for study are similar to the rest of the world (Findsen, 2002). However, Findsen found that developing research competency was not a high priority for the majority of postgraduate students.
Coursework based Masters degrees have proved to be particularly attractive to the teaching fraternity. As a consequence, there has been a decline in enrolments in research orientated Masters of Education degrees. In contrast, studies eminating from Europe albeit few in number, have reported the benefits, from students' perspectives, of undertaking research as part of their programme of study (e.g. Ahlstrand & Bergqvist, 2005; Eklund-Myrskog, 2007).
Within the context of education, the reduction in the number of students completing masters degrees by research is proving problematic (Brown, 2007). From an academic perspective, students who wish to go onto doctoral study need to acquire the necessary research skill set and experience to undertake such study. Without these, a master's degree becomes a terminal qualification. From a professional perpsective, teachers need to be both consumers and generators of research if teaching is to reach the status of an evidence informed profession (Robinson, 2003).
Barnacle and Usher (2003) argued that students who wish to complete masters degrees by research should be encouraged. But to encourage students we must help them understand the research journey. In order to do this, University supervisors and students need to understand the experience of students at both an academic and emotional level.
The literature in the area of research masters, albeit limited, focuses on support for students either through improvements to the structure of the programme or improved supervision (Collins, Rickey and Bradley, 1998, Glazer, 1987). However, the voice of the postgraduate research student is often missing in this research. Bird, Ding, Hanson, Leontovitsch and McCartney (2005) focused on student perceptions of their programme in Education. However, the research did not focus on the specific journey of the participants. The use of a survey, in the main, did not allow the ‘rich thick’ descriptions of an emotional journey to be revealed. Some literature focused on the research journey itself and was more self reflective (e.g.; Wojecki, 2003). However, the emotional state of the student as they engaged with their thesis work was not discussed.
Given the limited literature around research masters, the authors wanted to find out:
What are the experiences, both academic and emotional, of students undertaking a research masters in education?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ahlstrand, E., & Bergqvist, K. (2005). Thesis in teacher education research orientation and professional relevance. Linköping: Linköping University, Department of Behavioural Science; Radet för Högre Utbildung - Council for the Renewal of Higher Education Barnacle & Usher (2003). Assessing the quality of research training: The case of part-time candidates in full-time professional work. Higher Education Research & Development, 22(3), 345-358. Bird, M., Ding, S., Hanson, A., Leontovitsch, A., & McCartney, R. (2005). There is nothing as practical as a good theory: an examination of the outcomes of a ‚traditional‘ MA in Education for educational professionals. Journal of In-service Education, 31(3), 427 – 453. Blackwell, P. & Diez, M. (1998). Towards a new vision of master’s education for teachers. Washington, DC: National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Brown, G. (2007). Research methods preparation in the Faculty of Education. Unpublished report to the Dean of Education, The University of Auckland. Collins, L., Rickey, M., & Bradley, D. (1998). Redesigning masters of education programs to meet the needs of classroom teachers: The place of action research. US Department of Education. Eklund-Myrskog, G. (2007). Student teachers' ideas of writing a scientific thesis within teacher education in Finland. Paper presented at the EARLI conference, 2007. Findsen, B. (2002). Mapping the Building of Capacity and Capability within the Educational Research Community. Wellington: Ministry of Education. Glazer, J. (1987). The Master’s Degree in higher education. Paper presented at the ASHE Annual meeting, Nov, 1987. Robinson, V. (2003). Teachers as researchers: A professional necessity? SET(1), 27-28. Taylor, J. (2002). Changes in teaching and learning in the period to 2005: the case of postgraduate higher education in the UK. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 24(1), 53-73. Wojecki, A. (2003). Reflections on the work of research: my experience of postgraduate research. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 43(2), 293-301.
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