MA Ed dissertation: inclusive practice
The dissertation or professional project builds on your previous learning from Stages 1 and 2 by extending your repertoire of skills in empirical research design. It offers you the opportunity to carry out a professional project in your workplace (or approved setting) that contributes to organisational development and/or effectiveness or conduct a small scale empirical study in an area of interest to you. The topic is chosen in consultation with your tutor, and must be within the practical scope of the degree programme. On completion, you will be in a position to progress to the EdD programmes.
What you will study
You will be given the opportunity to explore the full repertoire of a small-scale investigation at your workplace or a relevant setting. Therefore you will need access to an educational setting that can be linked to your study in order to collect data for your dissertation.
The nature of the final dissertation will either involve;
- Planning, conducting and reporting on a small-scale investigation within a professional setting to develop, or enhance the understanding of, practice within that setting.
or
- Focusing on the critical analysis of an extended project that contributes to personal and organisation development. This will require generating and analysing data as well as critically reflecting on what evidence means.
In both cases you will be expected to provide a thorough and critical review of literature relating to the area under investigation. Full ethics clearance will be required as well.
Entry
You must have passed or be waiting for your result from Understanding literacy: social justice and inclusive practice (EE815).
You need to be able to spend approximately 12-15 hours per week on studying for this module.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser.
Qualifications
EE816 is a compulsory module in our:
If you have a disability
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future.
Study materials
What's included
All study materials are provided on the module website.
Computing requirements
You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.
Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.
To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).
Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.
Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.
It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. You and your tutor will primarily communicate with each other through email and tutorials. Tutorials are offered via online meeting rooms and support is also facilitated asynchronously in tutor group forums.
Contact us if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs).
Future availability
MA Ed dissertation: inclusive practice (EE816) starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2020.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2020.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations which are available on our
Student Policies and Regulations website.