Postgraduate Diploma/Master of Arts

Degree in Comparative Higher Education


The course leads to the award of either Postgraduate Diploma or Degree of MA in Comparative Higher Education and can be taken through part-time or full-time study.


INTRODUCTION


The course aims to offer a comprehensive account of the development and present-day features of one of the most important social institutions, viz. the universities and other forms of higher education. While tracing its historical origins, its main emphasis will be on the structure of modern higher education, including recent processes of institutional differentiation, such as the emergence of new forms and tasks of higher education. It thus intends to enhance the students' knowledge about the central areas of advanced learning, their aims and purposes, organisational features as well as their relationship with state and society. A major distinguishing characteristic of the course will be its genuinely international orientation and its comparative nature. While developments and aspects of England and Britain will receive particular attention, most teaching will also focus on dominant features of other models in Europe and North America.


Students should normally be graduates or possess an equivalent qualification, and the course will be relevant not only to those teaching in or involved in the study of higher education, but also for present and future administrators in higher education. This MA can be seen as a first step towards a research specialisation, like an M.Phil. or Ph.D., in any area of higher education. Higher Degree by Research registration may also be undertaken in the Faculty on the basis of other suitable MA studies.



COURSE STRUCTURE


Candidates for the Postgraduate Diploma must complete four core modules plus two additional modules from the faculty's modular programme. There is a separate booklet describing all available modules. Students will be allowed up to four years to complete their six modules. These can be taken in any order (subject to availability) and it is expected that the four core modules will be available every year, with the optional modules running at least once during a two year cycle. Each module consists of thirty hours of tutor-directed time, comprising seminars, lectures, tutorials, presentations, and work-shops.


On successful completion of six modules, students will qualify for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Comparative Higher Education. They may then choose to proceed to the MA in Comparative Higher Education by preparing a dissertation of between 15,000-20,000 words.


Full-time students for the Postgraduate Diploma in Comparative Higher Education will be expected to complete the required six modules within one academic year (October-June), and full-time students for the MA in Comparative Higher Education will submit a dissertation within a further three months, i.e. will need twelve months altogether.


ASSESSMENT


5000 word assignment per module, plus contribution of prepared seminar papers. Candidates who fail a piece of assessed work will have the opportunity to resubmit on one occasion within three calendar months.


MA candidates: as above, plus a 15,000-20,000 word dissertation, on a topic to be agreed with the course tutors, to be submitted at the end of the twelve month registration period. Candidates who fail to reach the required standard may resubmit the dissertation on one occasion within three months (full-time students) or twelve months (part-time students).



COURSE CONTENT


Students will be required to do the following four core modules:


University Developments in Europe and America


In this module students are expected to acquire an understanding of the major models of higher education in Europe and the USA with respect to their respective historical developments and their mutual influences. In particular, developments since the early nineteenth century will be highlighted. A major emphasis will be on the functional dimensions of the emerging three main systems in Europe, i.e. England, Germany and France, with their primary orientations to character-formation (liberal education), research, and professional training, respectively. The functional segmentation "under one roof" of the American "research universities" will serve as an important frame of reference for the analysis of the European institutions. Finally, the possible consequences for the basic structure of those models of the rapid expansion of the tertiary education systems after World War II will be investigated.



Diversification of Higher Education in Advanced Industrial Societies


In this module, students will learn about processes of institutional and functional differentiation in European, American and other higher education systems after World War II, as they occurred in conjunction with and as a consequence of the massive expansion of the tertiary sector. While institutional differentiation refers to the emergence of new forms of higher education outside the university sector, functional differentiation implies the development of new roles, aims and purposes in higher education. The course provides possible explanations concerning technological, socio-economic and political determinants of these developments. Besides labour market and social demand expectations, a major explanation of institutional differentiation consists in the changed functional orientations of sectors of higher education in the respective systems. Among the social demand forces facilitating change, the gender issue, i.e. the expanding role of female participants on all levels of the higher education systems, gained a constantly increasing relevance, and will be dealt with. Hand in hand with these functional determinants, the role of higher education with regard to processes of status distribution and elite reproduction will have to be taken into consideration.



Higher Education Policy and Governance in International Comparison


In this module, on the one hand, an attempt will be made to provide students with an understanding of directions, meanings and outcomes of government and other policy processes which determine and to some extent are the result of the changing conditions of higher learning in Europe and North America. On the other hand, structures and processes of decision-making and governance within higher education organisations will be dealt with.


The main emphasis of the module will be on topical aspects of government intervention with higher education matters. Thus, the module addresses the extent to which universities and other tertiary institutions are increasingly subjected, mostly for reasons of efficiency and quality assurance in times of financial stringency, to outside steering mechanisms. Therefore, notions like accountability, funding, labour market planning, accreditation and quality assurance will receive particular attention. With regard to aspects of authority and governance in higher education, the module deals with issues such as institutional autonomy, differences between autocratic and democratic forms of decision-making within faculties and departments, the relationship between central administration and academic departments, the impact of state interventionism on tradional modes of self-governance, and the like.


From Policy to Practice: Teaching, Learning and Research in Higher Education


This module will consider the evolving roles and responsibilities of academics, administrators and students as they seek to engage in the learning community and address the constraints and opportunities offered by current demands in higher education. The abolition of the binary line in Britain, changes in student population, in teaching and learning processes, and in funding for teaching and research pose particular challenges for staff. Pressure for vocationalism, increased access and participation, together with technological innovations, have a substantial impact on the nature of student experience. The research process is fundamentally affected by aspects such as increased specialisation or the involvement of the private sector and governments. The module, thus, will consider the impact of the ongoing transformation of the tertiary system on the professional life of staff in higher education as well as students and administrators, by exploring the practical implications for teaching, learning and research. The module will in particular look at such areas as teaching methods and staff development, methodological implications of the research process, patterns of student learning, the curriculum and its organisation, and evaluation in higher education.


Besides these four core modules, two must be chosen from a selection of existing modules to complement the core course. The following modules contained in the "Optional Modules Booklet" are of particular relevance:


- Comparative Educational Administration


- Educational Policy Making and Planning from a Comparative

Perspective

- Issues of Equity

- Evaluation, Quality and Users


- Research Methods.


Guest lectureres and experts are regularly invited to give presentations on the course.



COURSE TEAM (core modules)



Julia Boorman - BA, PhD, PGCE (Reading), Senior Lecturer. Her subject specialism is history, and she has been involved in Higher Education both as a member of academic staff and as an administrator. Her experience includes having been Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Education and Community Studies, Head of the Department of Arts and Humanities in Education, and Director of BAEd. She has taught extensively on BEd, PGCE and BA courses.



Pam Denicolo - BA (Open), PhD (Surrey), Reader in Community Studies and Education at University of Reading. She is a Chartered Psychologist and has previously taught at the University of Surrey. Her research is underpinned by Personal Construct Theory and focuses on the development of learning, particularly in the professional context, and of research approaches and techniques which enhance understanding of learning/teaching.


Claudius Gellert - MA (Munich) PhD (Cambridge), Habilitation (sociology) Humboldt University Berlin. Course convenor. Professor of Education at Reading University. Previous appointments at Cambridge, Harvard, Munich, Klagenfurt, Humboldt Universities, and at the European University Institute, Florence. Specialism: comparative higher education.


John Gilbert - BSc (Leics.), DPhil (Sussex), PGCE (London), Professor of Education at the University of Reading. Previous appointments at Surrey and Keele Universities. Particularly interested in the construction of knowledge in science education as well as in 'models and modelling in science education'.



Maureen Pope - BTech, PhD (Brunel), Professor of Community Studies and Education at the University of Reading. Dean of the Faculty of Education and Community Studies at the University. She is a Chartered Psychologist and taught previously at Brunel and Surrey Universities. Particular interests in research methods, teacher thinking, student learning and staff development informed by Personal Construct Psychology.



FURTHER INFORMATION AND APPLICATION FORMS


These are available from Mrs. D. Brewis,

School of Education,

The University of Reading,

Bulmershe Court,

Reading, RG6 1HY, UK

Tel.: +44 (0)118 987 5123 ext. 4885

Fax: +44 (0)118 935 2080

e-mail: D.Brewis@reading.ac.uk


For an informal discussion about the course, please contact Prof. Claudius Gellert

Tel: +44 (0)118 931 8835

e-mail: c.e.gellert@reading.ac.uk


Further MA courses offered by the Department of Arts and Humanities in Education:


MA in English and Language in Education

MA Information Technology in Education

MA in Music Education