MA Education (Muslim Societies and Civilisations)

Programme Specification

MA Education (Muslim Societies and Civilisations)

Awarding body: University College London

Teaching institution: UCL Institute of Education

Name of the final award:

Master of Arts in Education

Postgraduate Diploma in Education

Postgraduate Certificate in Education

Programme title:

MA Education (Muslim Societies and Civilisations)

UCAS/UKPASS code: N/A

Language of study

The UCL Institute of Education teaches and assesses students in English. Competence in English language is required of all applicants. Programme regulations may indicate the level of competence required of each applicant and may make its achievement a condition of admission.

Criteria for admission to the programme

Applicants from the UK are expected to have a good honours degree (2.2 or above) or equivalent. European and international applicants are expected to have qualifications at an equivalent level.

Applicants will normally have some relevant professional experience.

Applicants whose first language is a language other than English may be required to provide evidence of their English language proficiency.

The UCL Institute of Education is committed to admitting and supporting participants with disabilities and welcomes such applications. Participants do not need to be “registered disabled” to draw on these services. Disabilities Support can also support people who have a temporary mobility / dexterity impairment / other difficulty as a result of an accident, injury, illness or surgery. We aim to treat every person as an individual, with needs which may differ from those of other people with a superficially similar disability. We do not therefore have standard procedures for participants with dyslexia, nor standard procedures for visually impaired participants: each person's needs are considered individually

Aims of the programme

This MA programme includes a sequence of coursework and field experiences anchored to the knowledge and practice of teacher education. The MA aims to equip participants with scholarly skills, critical analysis, pedagogical understanding, methodological and research skills, and clear communications skills.

The MA coursework (supported by the concurrent MTeach and school experience) aims to prepare participants to become effective and informed practitioners by developing their skills so that they:

1) can integrate the many areas of contextually relevant subject matter knowledge with knowledge about adolescent learners and pedagogy;

2) gain an understanding of curriculum and teaching, built upon a subject matter knowledge base that allows them to organize content to scaffold effective student learning;

3) are engaged in research on teaching, learning, curriculum and assessment;

4) bring to bear modes of enquiry, reflection and pedagogical reasoning in teacher education and curriculum as they relate to their own particular social and cultural contexts.

Specifically the course aims to provide the IIS‘s Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP) teacher-educators with:

·  A grasp of issues, and reflective and critical insights in the teacher-educators‘ understanding of the philosophical and pedagogical framework of the IIS secondary curriculum (SC), and its civilisational and humanities content;

·  An insightful and critical review of relevant literature in the subject area, and creativity and independence of thought in the application of knowledge;

·  An understanding and evaluation of research methodologies in the teaching of Islamic humanities at the secondary level, and the SC framework and content;

·  Skills that contribute to (i) the critical evaluation of scholarship and research in religious education and the humanities at the secondary level; (ii) an understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge and how these apply to the teacher-educators‘ own research and/or practice; and (iii) the creative and critical handling, presenting and analysis of data;

·  A grasp of the structure, communication and presentation of this field of study, while fulfilling grade-level achievement that shows clarity, focus and cogency in organization and presentation of arguments and conclusions.

Programme outcomes:

The MA coursework (supported by the coursework of the concurrent MTeach) rests on the fundamental belief that the goal of the educational enterprise is the success of all students, and that this goal should organize the connected work of education researchers, subject-content providers and practitioners.

The overarching learning outcomes that the MA seeks to develop in participants are:

·  A professional and pedagogical practice based on their commitment to use content and research knowledge, and shared standards of practice to enable diverse Ismaili Muslim students at the secondary level to attain challenging learning goals and to actualize their individual potentials;

·  Acquisition of knowledge, skills and pedagogical attributes through study, practice, and reflection within the professional communities of educators. The Secondary Teacher Education Programme is committed to the idea that education is an ethical, moral, political, and democratic act underpinned by a robust sense of pedagogical praxis.

Through the MA coursework, participants are expected to:

·  Possess key subject-specific knowledge and understanding on Islam and the Ismaili Muslim tradition approached from broad humanistic, civilisational, and normative perspectives. This requires immersion in literature review, field-based research and clinical experiences to enhance and secure their understanding of the secondary curriculum content in classroom settings; acquire the practical skills to deliberate, debate, and interrogate a range of issues which the subject-matter of the secondary curriculum elicits; be equipped to identify problems and questions in areas of subject-matter interest and to design lesson and study plans or research strategies to deal with them.

·  Question, extend, adapt or challenge existing assumptions and intellectual frameworks in relation to the subject-matter, curriculum interventions, specific literature and/or teaching practice. By the end of this programme, participants should be able to reflect on practice, teaching and learning interventions, and the contribution of course work to continuing professional development.

·  Plan, manage, and structure curriculum and pedagogical activities through the efficient use of research libraries, their archives and their contents; use of specialist online databases and other online facilities for postgraduate level research; form arguments at postgraduate level (Level 7) and express those arguments in substantial pieces of writing using proper academic conventions; and work independently on an extended research project.

Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules, credits and awards

The UCL Institute of Education uses the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), as a guide to support periods of study undertaken abroad and to assist student mobility. Currently it is assumed that two UK credits equate to one ECTS. Therefore a module of 30 credits would typically equate to 15 ECTS credits. For a Master's degree to be awarded, successful completion of a minimum of 180 credits is required. Participants who for academic or personal reasons are unable to successfully complete the 180 credits required for the masters award may exit with the completion of 60 or 120 credits respectively and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma in the subject area.

The 180 masters credit programme comprises of the following core modules:

Muslim History in Secondary Education (30 credits)

This module examines Muslim history from the dawn of Islam to the fall of the Ottoman Empire through the exploration of crucial episodes, conceptual underpinnings and narratives of the Islamic past. It includes a chronological outline of the main dynasties that ruled the Muslim lands through the institution of the Caliphate, such as the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, Seljuqs, Mughuls and Ottomans. This module will introduce Students to Muslim civilisations through a broad, interdisciplinary range of topics, including the myriad political, social, religious, cultural and intellectual transformations. Students will have the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, as well as explore how the content covered in the module connects with the Muslim Societies and Civilisations curriculum to make history meaningful to Ismaili Muslim adolescents.

Revelation, Hermeneutics, Pluralism and Practice (30 credits)

The core module Revelation, Hermeneutics, Pluralism and Practice engages participants with core aspects of religious traditions: revelation, its hermeneutics, the inherent pluralism that results, and its expression in community practice. The module aims to introduce participants to some of the fundamental features of religion through humanistic and normative perspectives on ritual, belief and doctrine. It also seeks to examine the question ‘What constitutes the Muslim understanding of Islam?’ through engagement with selected facets of Qur'anic studies and expressions of faith and practice in Muslim communities. Finally, it aims to provide students with an understanding of pluralism in the different conceptual underpinnings and hermeneutical practices of Muslim communities. This will prepare them as STEP teachers to inculcate into their students an awareness of the strength that the diversity and plurality of historical interpretations has provided for the development of Islam in different cultural, geographical and temporal contexts.

Literature of Muslim Societies (30 credits)

The core module of Literature of Muslim Societies aims to provide students with an understanding of the subject matter expertise of shared genres, themes and topoi of the literary expressions of Muslim societies and civilisations. Since the regional or language-based literary histories of the Muslim societies and civilisations that are to be studied in this module have their own dynamic and historical trajectories, this module will approach the examination of its subject matter thematically rather than chronologically. It will allow students to appreciate the inventiveness of authors of literary texts. The module aims to enable students to relate these texts to specific contexts within Muslim societies and civilisations, and examine how they have been, and continue to be, appropriated and (re)interpreted in new contexts. It also aims to enable students to engage critically with academic literature and research evidence related to the topics and themes of this module.

Traditions of Enquiry (30 credits)

All major world civilisations have engaged in the pursuit of knowledge whether for practical purposes, improving the world, or for attaining personal self-fulfilment. Such a pursuit underlies the fundamental mission of education and the establishment of its institutions. This module will examine the knowledge enterprise in Muslim societies and civilisations by investigating the historical factors that facilitated the appropriation of knowledge from other civilisations. Furthermore, it will analyse the intellectual influence of Muslim societies and civilisations in world history and examine key questions in historical Muslim civilisations on various topics, including epistemology, theology, ethics, science and mysticism.

Report (30 credits)

The MA Research Report is a mandatory component of STEP. As part of the programme, students are required to undertake a research study and submit a 10,000 word research report (amounting to 30 credits).The engagement of students in the design, application and evaluation of the research study is aimed at equipping them with core proficiencies that can be used as the basis for further professional development. They mainly adopt an empirical field research approach within a qualitative research paradigm. Undertaking an empirical study provides students with a valuable opportunity to develop research skills, underpinned by a discovery approach to learning, and through the generation and analysis of primary data in the field. The research study for the MA is largely based on investigating aspects of the IIS Secondary Curriculum including its implementation and effectiveness in different contexts across the globe.

To complete the remaining 30 credits, students choose one of the following modules:

Modernity and Muslim Societies (30 credits optional module)

Through discussions of various episodes, personalities, and movements from the late-eighteenth century to the present, this module will survey a period of rapid political, economic, social and intellectual change in Muslim societies that continues to this day. With the use of case studies of Muslim societies in various global contexts, including, South Asia, East Africa, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, and Europe, the module aims to provide students with contemporary subject matter content that will be relevant to their classroom teaching. Students will be provided with key aspects of modernisation movements, focusing on the issues faced by Muslim communities and the diverse responses they have formulated, which are expressed through various mediums, such as narrative fiction, television, print media, music and the internet.

Cultural Encounters, Material Culture and Narratives (30 credits optional module)

Like all major world religions, Islam is neither monolithic nor monocultural, but rather is dynamic, shaping and being shaped by the local contexts in which it is found. This module undertakes the study of Muslim civilisations from the vantage point of the local contexts of past and present Muslim societies, seeking to understand Islam as embedded in the threads of historical and cultural encounters. The module will briefly examine some theoretical perspectives before using case studies to examine transformations resulting from the encounters. Students will be able to view the plurality within Islam in a new light, learn about development of diversity within Muslim cultures and understand the historical roots of the contemporary phenomenon of globalization.

Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Teaching and learning strategies include lectures, small group seminars, readings, and individual tasks associated with the readings. Assessment has been designed to evaluate progression of understanding as follows: formative assessment through class presentation and seminars, for example, and a final summative written assignment.

Information about assessment regulations

We offer a range of types of coursework to support programme and module aims. They include research proposal writing, critical evaluation of empirical and theoretical research, discursive essay, empirical research and extended writing via the report on a topic negotiated and planned with the tutor. This is an opportunity to produce a piece of sustained writing, constituting critical theoretical/conceptual analysis as well as (in most cases) related empirical work, on a topic of direct interest.

Once an assignment has been handed in, two programme tutors will assess an assignment and standards are cross-checked across the programme. Internal moderation of written work is undertaken by programme tutors. The External Examiner plays an important role in monitoring the quality of the programme and evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching and support provided for the students and the reliability of judgments in assessments.

Support for learning

Support for learners on the programme includes:

•  An induction day held at the commencement of the programme to inform participants of the programme content, methods and expectations.