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MEDU114
Inquiry in Education
This module introduces course participants to the aims and purposes of research in education and seeks to propose an understanding of the research project as an authentic and self-motivated endeavour. The course will start with problematising the linguistic term ‘reading’ for a course and will then seek to position the notion of research as an identification of a gap in knowledge that is in some way not addressed in scholarly work. Course participants will then be presented with various ‘avenues of provocation’ which may inspire research questions including, their own encounter with life in schools or their practice in the field of education; academic literature, pop-culture and their own experience as students. The course will also briefly introduce the philosophy of research and the link with the practical perspective of a research inquiry.
By the end of this programme, participants should be able to:
a) Cultivate and practise ‘inquiry mindedness’;
b) Problematise one’s own practice and one’s own schooling experience;
c) Assess the theoretical and practical value of potential research inquiries;
d) Write, in both content and style, according to academic standards;
e) Channel and transform the research inquiry into a set of research questions;
f) Adopt novel and original positionalities within a given area of inquiry
g) Formulate research questions.
a) Widen one’s perspective on potential areas and approaches to educational inquiry
b) Think creatively when considering a potential area of inquiry
c) Describe how research inquiry can bring about real and necessary change in education
d) Explain the basic skills of academic writing, such as: logical sequence, substantiating an argument, paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, referencing style and developing an academic voice.
a) Appreciate the inter-relationship between the theoretical and practical aspects of inquiry in education;
b) Appreciate the philosophical, ethical, social and academic implications of potential research inquiries;
c) Appreciate and understand the conventions of academic writing;
d) Understand the contingent nature of the educational field;
e) Develop a heightened ability to be critical, analytic and inquisitive.
This module will be assessed through: Assignment
The Institute for Education is a Further and Higher Education Institution with Licence number 2016-006
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