Master of Arts in Education (Elementary)

Description

Summary of the Programme:

MA Education (Elementary) is a unique programme which allows students, especially practitioners to study full-time in a blended mode ( face to face & on-line pedagogy ). Twice a year (May-June and Oct-Nov), face to face classes are held in Mumbai campus for approximately a month each and rest of the curriculum gets transacted on-line through a Learning Management System devised for the same.

The Master of Arts in Education (Elementary) programme aims to enhance knowledge, capacities and orientations that are relevant to strengthening elementary education in the country. Students completing this programme develop a critical and reflective understanding of the core and foundational areas of education, including theory and research, with special reference to India. The programme is designed to include thematic, issue-based courses that are of current significance in the Indian context.  Students also develop special expertise in chosen areas of study relating more directly to professional needs: for example, curriculum, pedagogy, teacher development, material development, education of children with special needs, leadership and management issues, gender issues in education, etc.

This programme has two distinctive features: It is conducted in dual mode, involving 10-12 days of contact classes and 14 weeks of distance learning every Semester. This model has been chosen as a way to facilitate participants to combine work with study. The contact classes are held at the Mumbai campus of TISS. Teaching–learning during the rest of the semester is carried out based on planned weekly classes with readings, self-study and regular assignments shared through the TISS Learning Management System - TISSOL.

The MA Education (Elementary) programme was collaboratively conceived by TISS; Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai; Vidya Bhawan Society, Udaipur; Digantar, Jaipur; Eklavya, Bhopal and National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. These organisations have contributed significantly to research and innovative practices in the field of education. This gets reflected in the vibrant course curriculum of the programme. Professionals from these organisations and other experts in the field contribute to teaching in the programme. The programme is located in TISS, Mumbai and the degree is awarded by TISS.

Programme Objectives :

A.  To develop a critical and reflective understanding of the following:

• the historical and current context of elementary education, with regards philosophical aims and the perspective of development: economic, socio-cultural and political.
• the Indian education from a 8 historical, sociological and comparative perspective, including policy and planning (national interest, international aid and lobbying, globalisation and privatisation).
• The school as a system, the classroom and the curriculum, and their macro and micro relationships to society, local society, childhood and children.

B.  To understand, develop expertise in and relate to curriculum and pedagogy:

• the nature of children’s development/human development, socialisation (identity formation), cognition and learning.
• the nature of knowledge, culture and language (academic disciplines, local knowledge, and creative expression and culture)
• testing and evaluation
• the school and the classroom, teachers and teaching.

C.  To develop a perspective on and the skills to design, plan and organise for:

• professional development of teachers (in and pre service).
• curriculum design, textbooks and material development.
• academic and administrative management systems (including organisation theory).
• programme monitoring (bureaucratic system of supervision and local accountability).

D.  To develop analytical, research and writing skills 

• to read and evaluate the worth of secondary literature, and extract relevant information from the same.
• Handle data.
• to pose relevant questions and plan for their investigation through appropriate methodological tools.
• To report to and communicate effectively with different audiences concerned with education—reviews, short reports, detailed reports, research papers of original findings.

Programme Outcomes :

• These objectives are located within a commitment to promoting the values of democracy, equality and equity, to look for and employ evidence based practice, to develop and connect one's work with the theoretical body of knowledge and sites of practice, and draw on, develop theory and practice and to communicate.
• Students completing this programme of study would all have knowledge in core and foundational areas of education in the Indian context, with a knowledge of theory, issues, and research. They would also have specialised in some areas, developing specific expertise. They would be able to relate the theory to their professional and/or research interests.

Semesterwise Courses:

Note:

1. The total number of credits and semester-wise listing of courses is provisional, and may undergo some changes.
2. Every semester the classes will be held for 10 days during on-campus Contact period and subsequently 14 weeks during the Distance period (online).
3. Basic Courses: The basic courses are compulsory and draw on the foundational areas of philosophy, sociology, economics, history and psychology. These address the need for an understanding of education in relation to areas such as metaphysics and the nature of knowledge, human nature, human development, learning and cognition, language and thought, the nature of Indian society and culture, education as a means of social transformation and social reproduction, etc. Basic courses introduce students to important theories, concepts and debates in these areas.
4. Optional Courses: There are two groups of optional courses. Group I relates to pedagogy areas and includes courses which relate to the school subjects/academic disciplines and examine curricular and pedagogic issues in these areas. The courses in this Group aim towards comprehending the nature of school knowledge and how children learn. It also includes organisation of learning processes covering curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation. Group II relates to thematic areas of contemporary significance. The courses in this Group provide opportunities to examine specific issues of particular relevance to Indian education.
5. Flexi options: Normally a student would be able to complete the programme in two years.  There is also a flexible option of taking fewer courses in a semester and completing the programme over three years (up to four years).  This is based on the prerequisites defined for each course.

**  Students will select three optional courses one each from Group I (Pedagogic stream) and Group II (Thematic stream) and the third from either Group I or Group II as given in the following Table.

Fee Structure:

*Institute reserves the rights to revise the Fees Structure of programme if necessary.

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