Perspectives on Inclusive and Special Education
Full time Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
Part time Master in Education (MEd)
The main aim of this Masters Route is to provide an in-depth and critical engagement with the development of, and current issues in, special education and inclusive education around the world. This will entail an examination of a range of different theoretical orientations, definitions, identification and assessment procedures.
The route is designed for people who hold, or seek to hold, positions of responsibility for the education of children and young people who experience difficulties in learning. It will be relevant to those who come from a range of backgrounds including SEN Co-ordinators, local authority officers and practitioners. Each student will carry out an individually negotiated investigation of a specialist topic, in addition to undertaking set assignments.
Route members' backgrounds are expected to be diverse, and conceptualisations of inclusion, special education and marginalisation will vary. The route will therefore seek to build on participants' understanding of the educational systems and approaches operating in their local and national regions and provide them with opportunities to compare and contrast these with developments from across the globe.
The main purposes of the Masters route will be to:
- develop members' understanding of the range of provision for children and young people who experience difficulties in learning;
- compare and contrast special education provision in a number of contexts and countries;
- enable students to understand issues related to meeting educational needs as they emerge from different theoretical, cultural and national perspectives;
- understand the relationships between equal opportunity, social justice and policy formulation, adoption, implementation and evaluation;
- enhance capacities for professional reflection, judgement, decision-making and action to make effective provision for all aspects of individual need
- develop ability to critically engage with the literature on special and inclusive education
- develop ability to use theory to critique, evaluate and understand practice
The Perspectives on Inclusive and Special Education Masters Route offers four core modules:
Module 1: Critical reflections on key terms: inclusion, disability and special educational needs
Module 2: Meeting special educational needs - curriculum, teaching and learning
Module 3: Engaging with key debates in special and inclusive education
Module 4: Promoting participation and inclusion
Two of these modules are taught each year. Part-time MEd students, therefore, normally take all four modules in the course of their two years of study. PGCE to MEd students take the two modules that are available in the year in which they choose to undertake their thesis studies. Full-time MPhil students take two Perspectives on Inclusive and Special Education modules during their year at the Faculty and are advised to combine these modules with two further modules from those offered in one of the following routes:
• Educational Leadership and School Improvement
• Educational Research
• Psychology and Education
• The Theory and Application of Counselling.
These routes offer planned synergies with the content of the Perspectives on Inclusive and Special Education modules. Further advice and guidance about the relationships between the modules in these routes can be offered by members of the course team. All students who wish to focus their studies primarily on inclusive and special education will be provided with supervision, support and guidance from staff working on the Perspectives on Inclusive and Special Education route. The content of the four Perspectives on Inclusive and Special Education modules is outlined below:
Module 1 Critical reflections on key terms: inclusion, disability and special educational needs
This module introduces key concepts, perspectives and theoretical models relating to inclusion, disability and special educational needs. The history and development of special and inclusive education is explored, including evolving notions of difference, changing classifications and processes of labelling.
Module 2 Meeting special educational needs - curriculum, teaching and learning
Module 2 provides an introduction to key concepts in the development of the curriculum for pupils and students with special educational needs. The nature and purpose of different models of curriculum are discussed in the context of an historical overview. Ideas about the curriculum both facilitating learning and presenting barriers to participation are explored. It examines the development of meaningful access to learning: through processes of curriculum adaptation and differentiation; through planning for individual learning; and through an examination of aspects of the assessment process.
Module 3 Engaging with key debates in special and inclusive education
This module provides an introduction to key concepts in the development of the curriculum for pupils and students with special educational needs. The nature and purpose of different models of curriculum are discussed in the context of an historical overview. Ideas about the curriculum both facilitating learning and presenting barriers to participation are explored. Three sessions are devoted to the development of meaningful access to learning: through processes of curriculum adaptation and differentiation; through planning for individual learning; and through an examination of aspects of the assessment process. Later sessions offer introductions to key learning theories and review the implications of these theories for teaching, learning, policy and practice.
Module 4 Promoting participation and inclusion
Module 4 examines issues of participation of children and young people who experience difficulties in learning and/or with disabilities within a range of settings - educational and social. Issues raised here will reflect on mechanisms, processes and institutions which enable (and or disable) the participation of those who are vulnerable to processes of marginalisation within mainstream society.
Research Methods Strand
All Masters students on this route are required to attend a generic research methods strand, taught across thematic routes. Methods sessions are essential for a research-based Masters degree and constitute about one-third of the whole programme. Through this strand students will develop their understanding of different research strategies, foster skills in appraising and synthesising published research studies and acquire the understanding and skills necessary for designing, conducting, analysing, interpreting and reporting a small-scale research study for thesis presentation.
The research strand covers a broad range of social science research methods and is essential for Masters level understanding and critical engagement with the research literature in many specialist areas and in education more generally. It offers opportunities and encouragement to apply the knowledge gained to your thematic area, and vice versa. Details of the MPhil and MEd Research Methods courses are provided in separate handbooks.
Application process and Fees
For more information on the application process, fees and entry requirements please see the MPhil pages if you are interested in full-time study or the MEd pages if you are interested in part-time study.
Masters Route Co-ordinators:
Nidhi Singal, and Richard Byers