EDM007: Investigating Education

Module code: EDM007

Module provider: Institute of Education

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor Yota Dimitriadi, email: y.dimitriadi@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Alison Silby, email: a.silby@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

• To provide students with an overview of approaches to research in education
• To equip students to understand and evaluate research studies
• To enable students to develop a critical approach to research design and methods. 
• To facilitate students’ academic literacies and academic integrity in writing about education research design and methods

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Knowledge of different philosophical assumptions that underpin research and a critical analysis of the nature and purpose of educational research and the roles that research can play in appraising education systems.
2. A critical approach to the evaluation of research design and investigation of a range of approaches to research design and data collection 
3. An appreciation of ethical and practical issues in education research and practitioner enquiry
4. Competence in academic integrity and academic literacy to demonstrate critical and analytical thinking

Module content

• Academic literacies and academic integrity in writing about education research design and methods
• Philosophical values Underpinning Research
• Action Research Design
• Survey Design and Questionnaires
• Experimental Method and Intervention Studies
• Introduction to Statistics
• Working with Children
• Case Study Design
• Document Analysis
• Interviewing
• Narrative Design 
• Introduction to Qualitative DataAnalysis
• Observation

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module uses a mixture of lectures, seminars, group work and guided reading.

Study hours

At least 15 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Planning for assessment- this is marked and discussed during our tutorials.

Reassessment

Additional costs