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Education (Special and Inclusive Education) MEd

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Course Overview

The MEd (Special and Inclusive Education) offers teachers who have successfully completed the PDip (Special Educational Needs), and obtained a H2.1 award or higher, the opportunity to continue their study and conduct educational research that will assist them further in effectively supporting students with special educational needs in their schools. The course includes, complements, and develops learning that has taken place during the PDSEN, with an additional core focus being on the development of participants’ research literacy and personal research skills.

On completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Adopt a critical stance in their reading of existing research.
  • Critically discuss ontological and epistemological concerns in educational research.
  • Identify and justify appropriate methods for investigating a well-refined research question(s) in the context of their minor thesis.
  • Demonstrate a systematic understanding of current knowledge at the forefront of learning in special and inclusive education by conducting a literature review in a chosen area.
  • Design and plan small-scale quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods primary research or secondary research.
  • Understand, explain and demonstrate compliance with key ethical responsibilities associated with research involving human participants (especially vulnerable populations).
  • Gather, scrutinise and reflect upon data in the context of set research objectives.
  • Conduct basic descriptive and inferential analyses using IBM SPSS, and report and present findings appropriately.
  • Analyse qualitative data using appropriate techniques, and report and present findings in an aligned manner.
  • Synthesise research findings and critically evaluate them in the context of existing knowledge in the chosen area.
  • Reflect on the role of the researcher in the research process.
  • Demonstrate insight into the chosen research area by making recommendations that effectively communicate the outcomes and implications of the research.

Applications and Selections

Advanced entry into the Master of Education (Special and Inclusive Education) is restricted to candidates who have successfully completed the PGDSEN and obtained an award of H2.1 or higher within the past five years. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis so early application is advisable. Applications can be made online. For further information please contact the course director, Dr. Niamh Flynn, email: nflynn@universityofgalway.ie 

Find out about our Postgraduate Scholarships here.

There are limited places on each of these strands so early application is advisable. School Of Education Leadership Form 2022.23. Places are allocated on a first come basis and recruitment will end when all programme places are allocated. Please log onto the School website for additional details. 

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Entry is restricted to teachers who have recently completed the Postgraduate Diploma in SEN and obtained a H2.1 award or higher.


Additional Requirements

Duration

1 year, part-time

Next start date

September 2023

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

15

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

31 July 2023

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

CAO

Course code

MED-SIE

Course Outline

Students will complete a dissertation focused on special and inclusive education that will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to engage in primary research and consolidate the learning outcomes achieved in other modules on the PDSEN programme.

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits
You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module
An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Optional
A module you may choose to study.
Required
A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Semester
Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year.

Year 1 (90 Credits)

Required ED6174: Minor Thesis: Master in Education


Semester 1 and Semester 2 | Credits: 30

This is a minor thesis module
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the proposed research topic by providing a clear rationale for the research objectives and design.
  2. Demonstrate understanding of a range of standard and more specialised research or equivalent tools and techniques of enquiry appropriate to the chosen research field.
  3. Demonstrate compliance with recommended ethical guidelines in planning and conducting research.
  4. Demonstrate capacity to select from, scrutinise, reflect upon and critically evaluate data in the context of set research objectives.
  5. Synthesise research findings and critically evaluate in the context of existing knowledge in the chosen field.
  6. Demonstrated insight into the chosen research field by making recommendations that effectively communicate the outcomes and implications of the research.
  7. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of knowledge informed by the forefront of learning in their chosen research field by conducting a literature review in the area.
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Research (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Writing the Winning Thesis or Dissertation" by Randy L. Joyner,William A. Rouse,Allan A. Glatthorn
    ISBN: 9781544317205.
    Publisher: Corwin
    Chapters: All
  2. "Fieldwork in Educational Settings" by Sara Delamont
    ISBN: 9781317637363.
    Publisher: Routledge
The above information outlines module ED6174: "Minor Thesis: Master in Education " and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required ED6173: Research Methods


Semester 1 | Credits: 10

This module aims to encourage a systematic and critical approach to educational research, and to provide insight into the range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies available to the researcher so as to inspire and guide participants’ own research. The module explores the theoretical and methodological issues associated with research design, sampling, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of data/findings across quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies including case study, action research, design-based, and narrative approaches. The module also provides an introduction to statistical analysis of quantitative data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. Adopt a critical stance in their reading of quantitative and qualitative research papers.
  2. Identify and justify appropriate methods (quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods) for investigating a well refined research question(s) in the context of their thesis project.
  3. Refine research question/s and select appropriate methods.
  4. Design, plan and carry out small-scale quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research
  5. Conduct basic descriptive and inferential analyses using SPSS and report and present findings appropriately;
  6. Analyse qualitative data using appropriate techniques and report and present findings in an aligned manner;
  7. Reflect on the role of the researcher in the research process.
  8. Understand and explain the key ethical responsibilities they have as a researcher in research involving human participants (especially that involving vulnerable populations).
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Continuous Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
Reading List
  1. "Designing and doing survey research" by Andres, L.
    Publisher: Sage
  2. "On the theoretical breadth of design-based research in education" by Bell, P.L. / Educational Psychologist
  3. "Researching marginalised groups" by Bhopal, K. and Deuchar, R.
    Publisher: Rooutledge
  4. "Ethics and education research" by Brooks, R., Riele, K.T., & Maguire, M.
    Publisher: Sage
  5. "Research Methods in Education" by Cohen, L., Mannion, L., & Morrison, K.
    Publisher: Routledge
  6. "The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research" by Charmaz, K., Thornberg, R., Keane, E.
    Publisher: Sage
    Chapters: Evolving grounded theory and social justice inquiry
  7. "Designing and conducting mixed-methods research" by Creswell, J.W., & Plano Clark, V.L.
    Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd
The above information outlines module ED6173: "Research Methods" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Required ED6176: Completed Postgraduate Diploma Modules (RPL)


Semester 1 and Semester 2 | Credits: 50

Exemptions module for completed Postgraduate Diploma with 50 ECTS.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. tbc
Assessments

This module's usual assessment procedures, outlined below, may be affected by COVID-19 countermeasures. Current students should check Blackboard for up-to-date assessment information.

  • Department-based Assessment (100%)
Module Director
Lecturers / Tutors
The above information outlines module ED6176: "Completed Postgraduate Diploma Modules (RPL)" and is valid from 2019 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

For education professionals, it is vital that their practice is evidence-based; that is, informed by the latest high quality research. This MEd programme will enable participants to become research engaged and literate, as well as to conduct small-scale yet significant educational research to a high professional standard in the rapidly evolving area of special and inclusive education. The knowledge and skills acquired through the completion of this course will advance the professional development of teachers who currently work, or wish to work, in SEN teaching, co-ordination and leadership roles in primary and post-primary schools.

Further research opportunities also exist at PhD level. 

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€5,140 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Tuition

€5,000 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2023/24

Fees: Non EU

€


Student levy €140 - payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI.  Further detail here.

Downloads

  • Postgraduate Prospectus 2023

    Postgraduate Prospectus 2023 PDF (20.6MB)

  • School of Education brochure 2019

    School of Education brochure 2019 PDF (3mb)