Explore our Psychology and Education taught Master's degree.

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P-C8X3; P-C8X3 (2 years); TEQA-C8X4 (3 years)

MA

1 year full-time; 2 or 3 years part-time

30 September 2024

Education Studies

University of Warwick

Do you work in the education sector and hope to increase your knowledge of psychology to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to reach their potential? Are you interested in how applied psychological research translates into classroom practice? Perhaps your background is in social policy or education and you want to specialise in educational psychology issues? Whatever your goals are, enhance your knowledge and practical skills with this course.

This is a research-led course that sits at the crossroads of psychology and education. It offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective on important issues regarding child developmental and educational outcomes; notions of difference and disability; the role of early intervention in maximising children’s life chances; and what we mean by evidence based practice in the field of education.

The modules of this course are carefully chosen to help you to develop the intellectual and critical tools required to tackle some of these issues. If your outlook is wider than one academic discipline and you have the passion to explore and understand problems from a variety of perspectives, then you are ideally placed to benefit from our style of teaching and learning.

Our flexible modules offer you a wide range of teaching and learning experiences and the capacity to examine in depth topics about individual differences (e.g., emotions, personality and intelligence) and the role they play in children’s learning; how contextual factors such as poverty, social class and parenting, work together to shape children’s developmental outcomes; and how SEN and Disability policy translates into practice in schools.

Seminars and debates are at the heart of the way in which these issues are examined, so there will be a number of opportunities to work with your peers, collaborating, debating, and researching practical solutions. Your interdisciplinary skill set will be developed throughout this course, enabling you to pursue a diverse array of career pathways, including those directly relating to SEN and Disability and psychology in practice.

Skills from this degree

• Capacity for advancing evidence-based arguments and drawing conclusions that are supported by in depth data at a dissertation level
• Confidence in engaging in academic debates on the intersections between Psychology and Education
• Intellectual thoroughness required to review diverse bodies of research and analyse their findings
• Understand current theoretical and policy issues with regard to special educational needs and disability
• Undertake a research project that involves theoretical and methodological understandings. Create a well-defined topic with a view to advancing evidence-based arguments. Drawing implications for policy and practice.
• Reflect on your own potential as a learner

For full-time students, all of our modules are delivered in-person at our well-equipped university campus. Please note that if you wish to study on a part time basis you should be aware that most modules are taught during the normal working day and there is no out of hours provision. If this is a consideration for you please contact us prior to applying so that we can advise you further. Part-time students are able to complete some of their modules as asynchronous distance-learning modules.

Most modules include weekly teaching sessions, giving you the opportunity to join with your colleagues to discuss and debate the topics being explored. These sessions are delivered in a range of formats that suit the module (these may include lectures, seminars, group work and practical workshops, for example). In addition, you will be given various pre- and post- session tasks and readings to support your learning.

Class Size

Contact hours

Assessment types vary depending on modules selected but may include different types of assignments, of varying lengths, as well as oral presentations. You will also complete a dissertation based on an individual research project, with support from a research supervisor.

Additional course costs

You may wish to undertake some research with children or young people that may require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or a Certificate of Good Conduct for students from outside of the UK. A Certificate of Good Conduct can vary in price.

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Find out more about our additional course costs.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

• Band B
• IELTS score to 7 overall, no more than two components at 6.0/6.5 & rest 7.0+

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Special Educational Needs and Evidence-Based Practices

The module examines current policy and practice around special educational needs along with research around the academic and behavioural profiles of children with different types of need (e.g., autism, intellectual disability). In parallel, the module focuses on evidenced based approaches: i.e., approaches to intervention that have been shown effective for improving children’s outcomes. We review evidence-based interventions, but we also learn and practise behavioural skills (e.g., what is reinforcement and when to use it) as these are core components of effective methods for addressing the needs of students, including students with special educational needs.

Early Intervention

This module will provide an overview of early intervention as a means of improving the life chances of children, with particular reference to addressing the adverse effect of social disadvantage and special educational needs and disabilities, especially autism or intellectual disability.

Research Methods in Psychology and Education

This module will run through the Autumn and Spring terms. The aim of this module is to provide students with a foundation training in research methods in psychology and education. It is designed to meet the needs of home and international students who seek to enhance their learning experience with research methods. The module has two main ambitions. The first is concerned with enabling students to engage in understanding, designing and implementing research projects (i.e., dissertation). The second is concerned with equipping students with basic skills in a range of established research strategies and techniques. This is intended to enable students to frame and refine research questions, to design a research appropriate to their own research interests.

Dissertation  

The dissertation is an opportunity to explore, in depth, an area of academic and/or professional interest related to your degree. Building on the knowledge and skills developed during the Research Methods module, and your other modules, you will conduct an independent research project, developing a deeper understanding of your chosen topic. From your research project, you will produce a dissertation, with guidance from a supervisor who will be allocated to you. Through the dissertation, you will demonstrate the ability to analyse and synthesise relevant literature, produce coherent arguments supported by relevant evidence and logical discussion, and acknowledge sources of ideas and information.

Optional modules

This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.

Find the most up-to-date optional module list on the Education Studies website.Link opens in a new window

This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date. 

Find the most up-to-date optional module list on the Education Studies website.

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

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