Module EDUS2501: RESEARCH METHODS IN EDUCATION

Department: Education [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

EDUS2501: RESEARCH METHODS IN EDUCATION

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to develop a critical appreciation of the kinds of knowledge claims that can be made by educational research.

Content

• Philosophical: paradigm issues, meaning of causation, notions of validity and generalisability, Research Designs: ethnography, case study, survey, experiment, evaluation, Methods and Issues: measurement - what kinds of data are there?, methods of data collection, presenting and analysing data, interpretation and inference, literature searching.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module, the students will be able to understand and evaluate different views about the nature of educational research knowledge and the purposes of research, use and demonstrate knowledge about different kinds of educational research methods and designs, and the kinds of research questions for which they are appropriate, experience and appreciate the issues and complexities of collecting, analysing and interpreting educational research data in contexts relevant to their practice as primary teachers.

• think critically and independently;
• analyse, synthesise and evaluate primary and/or secondary data;
• critically analyse literature on a variety of contemporary education issues;
• construct and sustain a reasoned argument.

• communicate ideas, principles and theories effectively in a variety of ways;
• work effectively on given tasks and activities;
• apply basic numerical and statistical skills to the consideration and analysis of educational data;
• use Information and Communications Technology in a variety of ways; and
• manage time and work to deadlines.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• [a] Teaching will consist of a mixture of lectures and seminars.
• Lectures will introduce key ideas and knowledge.
• Seminars will provide opportunities for discussion and detailed exploration of key issues.
• [b] Much of the work in seminar sessions will be student-led, using a range of structured and supported activities.
• Students will have the opportunity to take part in, and receive feedback on, a range of research activities, including designing a study to address particular research questions, collecting data and analysing and interpreting it.
• [c] Students will be provided with a study guide which will contain some key readings, guidance of the activities to be undertaken throughout the module and provide links to further references and sources of information.
• [d] The module will lay the foundations for the work in year 3 on the specialist subject dissertation.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Undertaken as group activities (groups of 4 students), resulting in: 1) selected group tasks placed on Duo; 2) presentation to the seminar group on a given topic, with written and oral feedback from peers and tutor.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University