Master of Education (Educational Management)

The Master of Education (Educational Management) is a one-year course designed to prepare leaders in educational organisations to work in an international environment in the twenty-first century. The program is designed to fill a need for a specialist qualification for those who aspire to senior positions or seek further advancement in education and training in the public and private sectors. It is intended to be inclusive of those who work in fields variously described as early childhood, school, vocational, adult, further,higher, tertiary, university and in workplace training in other fields. The course aims to provide a blend of practical knowledge, conceptual frameworks and state-of-the-art research, and distinguishes itself from other Australian educational management courses by emphasising a global perspective. This is a research classified course.

Students who have completed the Master of Education (Educational Management) should be able to demonstrate:

• an advanced knowledge and understanding of current management issues and challenges in relation to education;
• an in-depth knowledge and understanding of various conceptual frameworks and theoretical perspectives presented in the course;
• an understanding and application of the latest research findings in the aspects of Educational Management studied;
• the capacity to understand and analyze advanced case studies of significant problems and issues experienced at senior levels in educational settings;
• a global perspective in tackling management issues in education;
• an appreciation of professional responsibilities and ethical principles associated with leading educational organizations.

Candidates are required to undertake 100 points of study, consisting of a core subject of 25 points and a thesis of 20,000 words which includes a methodology component. Students must publicly present a research paper in the last six months of their candidature.

Candidates enrolled in Master of Education (Educational Management) 960EB are required to attain an average of at least H2A in their coursework component before commencing their thesis. Students achieving a grade of less than H2A may not be permitted to commence the thesis and would instead be required to convert to a coursework only degree.

Core Subject

Methodology Component

Thesis

An applicant may be eligible for entry into the Master of Education (Educational Management), if the applicant has:

• an appropriate honours degree in Education; or
• a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in the field of Education; or
• an appropriate four-year degree, or equivalent, and at least two years of documented relevant professional experience and a record of research activity and/or publications equivalent to 50 points of year five study.

• Applicants are normally required to have completed a research project, component, subject or group of subjects that accounts for at least 25% of their work (i.e. Honours year), or 25% of one year accumulated over the length of a Masters course, and which has, or have, been conducted, and assessed, individually. Research carried out in groups should at least have been graded individually. This project, component, or subject(s) may include:

  (a) any obviously research oriented project, subject or sustained piece of scholarly writing conducted for assessment, such as small theses, research essays, long essays, or studios; AND/OR

  (b) any less-obviously research subjects, including practice-based subjects such as performance or fieldwork, where there is also scholastic rigor as documented in a sustained piece of writing analogous to (a); AND/OR

  (c) any subjects directed at the formation of research skills, such as methodology and reasoning, such as scientific reasoning, or legal reasoning, where a sustained piece of writing has also been produced.

The Melbourne Graduate School of Education welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Graduate School policy to take reasonable steps to enable the participation of students with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the Graduate School’s programs.
The core participation requirements for study in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education are:

In all courses

1. The ability to comprehend complex information related to education and the disciplines in which the student is teaching.
2. The ability to communicate clearly and independently in assessment tasks a knowledge of the content, principles and practices relating to education and other relevant disciplines.
3. Behavioural and social attributes that enable a student to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.
   
   In courses requiring students to undertake practicum placements
   
4. The ability to undertake professional practice placements independently, including:
   a. the ability based on personal maturity to establish a professional relationship with students and interact with them appropriately;
   b. the ability to communicate to students the subject matter being taught with clarity and in a way that is age-sensitive;
   c. the ability to model literacy and numeracy skills independently for students and in all their interactions meet community expectations of the literacy and numeracy skills teachers should have;
   d. the ability to demonstrate skilfully and safely activities required in particular discipline areas being taught (e.g. physical education activities, science laboratory techniques);
   e. the ability to create, monitor and maintain a safe physical environment, a stable and supportive psychological environment, and a productive learning environment in their classroom;
   f. the ability to establish effective relationships with all members of the school community, including colleagues, students, and caregivers;
   g. the ability based on mental and physical health to exercise sound judgment and respond promptly to the demands of classroom situations, and the personal resilience to cope and maintain their wellbeing under stress.

Students who feel a disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit.

Graduates from this program are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program or a PhD provided they meet the entry requirements and subject to achievement of an H2A GPA. Please note also that graduates of an undergraduate Honours degree may already be eligible for doctoral studies, subject to the same entry and achievement requirements.

The University’s general graduate attributes are located on the Office of the Provost’s website: http://www.unimelb.edu.au/about/attributes.html

Thesis

See the Melbourne School of Graduate Research's website for Master of Education (Educational Management) policy guidelines and for further information on the thesis: http://gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/handbooks/mres/index.html