ACCREDITATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES - PROGRAMME SUBMISSION DOCUMENT

Structured PhD in International Development Education and Practice

Full programme approvals:
Education Faculty Board
Arts Faculty Board / Date:22/10/15
Date: 29/10/15
APAC / Date: 05/11/15
Bord Acadúil / Date: 18/11/15

ACCREDITATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES - PROGRAMME SUBMISSION DOCUMENT

1.Academic Programme description.

1.1Award Title:PhD

1.2Award Level and ECTS Credits:

(UL normally accredits awards from Level 7 to Level 10 under the NFQ)

Level 10. 72 discipline-specific credits; 18 transferable/generic/research skills credits; and 270 research credits.

1.3Award Category:

(Indicate whether a Major Award, Minor Award, Supplemental, Special Purpose award is proposed)

Major Award

2.1.State if Inter-University/Inter-Faculty/Inter-Departmental/Inter-Disciplinary, specifying participating Colleges/Departments.

Offered by the Faculty of Arts (MIC), the Research and Graduate School, and the Department of Learning, Society and Religious Education (MIC).

2.2.State how programme accords with University/College/Department objectives and the University’s Strategic Plan.

As outlined in the University of Limerick’s strategic plan, Broadening Horizons 2015 – 2019, the university is committed to providing a highly engaged learning experience for students while concomitantly increasing postgraduate and doctoral enrolments (p.12). This programme aims to fulfils both of those aspirations while ‘developing further the UL structured doctoral model’ (p. 26) and attracting international students (p.12). Additionally, this programme accords with MIC’s Strategic Plan 2012-2016 and with the college’s overall objectives in the following ways. Firstly, this programme will help to ‘grow postgraduate learning and research community by expanding the range of opportunities for postgraduate study, with particular emphasis on increasing provision at doctoral level’ (Section, 5.3.2.2 Goal 1). Additionally, this programme’s aims are aligned with the Strategic Plan’s goal of significantly increasing the number of international students attending programmes at MIC and designing programmes with elements attractive to learners from abroad (Section, 5.5.2, Goal 2). The programme will also ‘cultivate an increased awareness of the role of research as an integral part of academic endeavour’ (Section, 5.3.6.2, Goal 1). Additionally, this programme will ‘foster research collaborations with HEIs, employers, commercial partners, local development stakeholders and public agencies’ (Section 5.3.6.2, Goal 6).

Moreover, this programme is aligned with the University’s aspirations of developing graduates to be responsible, articulate, proactive, creative, collaborative and knowledgeable. Furthermore, and in alignment with the objectives of the College’s Strategic Plan, this programme will lead to an increased number of research and knowledge transfer initiatives aimed at enhancing public policy and practice. Moreover, the programme will ‘increase awareness of the College as integral to the community and part of the shared economic, social, cultural and civic capital’ (5.6.2. Goal 3).

3.Programme

3.1Is the programme an existing programme or a new programme? New

3.2If a new programme, the academic year it is to be first offered (please also indicate the timescale for full implementation of the programme): AY 2016-17

4.Reason(s)/Rationale for introducing or continuing to offer this academic programme. (Include any market research, responses to Government initiatives, etc.) In relation to an existing programme, comment on employment uptake and type for graduates of the programme.

This Structured PhD in International Development Education and Practicebuilds on two postgraduate programmes that have been offered by Mary Immaculate College (MIC) in recent years: the Graduate Diploma/Master’s programme in International Development Practice (MIDP) that has been offered at MIC since the academic year 2012-13 and the Masters programme in Development Education which was first offered at MIC in the autumn of 2006.

This structured PhD programme will train generalist practitioners and educators by combining a range of teaching and learning approaches developed by a cohort of experts from academia, policy making and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The format of the programme will allow those in full-time employment to take the course on a part-time basis.

Thanks to extensive research concerning the career paths of international development programme graduates undertaken by one of the Programme Design Team, Mr Frank Flood of Irish Aid, we have been able to identify specific areas from which students can be recruited onto the programme. We have also gained valuable insights into how possession of a PhD in this field has helped to transform the employment and career prospects of numerous development practitioners and educators, particularly those in managerial roles within their respective organisations. The popularity of development-oriented programmes in Ireland is evident in the increasing demand at postgraduate level for such courses. The Masters programme in International Development Practice at MIC has attracted excellent international candidates since its inception in the academic year 2012-13 and this programme’s potential for attracting candidates of equal standing, particularly from the international development sector, is particularly high.

This programme would be unique on the island of Ireland as it would meld together two disparate strands of international development into a single programme, namely development education and practice. There is a widespread recognition among international development agencies and organisations that awareness raising and education around development issues are fundamental to their overall objectives. Development education can best be represented ‘a distinctive and radical model of learning which encompasses an active, participative approach to learning that is intended to effect action toward social change’ (McCloskey, 2003, p.179). Development education as an educational response to issues pertaining to international development, justice and human rights is therefore integral to the concept of development practice as it provides opportunities for practitioners to reflect on their roles and responsibilities in promoting long-term sustainable development.

However, as Felipe Revello (2011) has highlighted, there is evidence of an underlying tension between practitioners who have empirically developed their own practice and understanding of what Development Education constitutes and academics who argue that practitioners act without any mandatory epistemological and scientific framework. Concomitantly, academics have intermittently been criticised by international development practitioners for ‘an excessive and abstract use of a scientific discourse which stands at a distance from real practice and everyday life experience’ (Revello, 2011: 1). This programme is intended to mitigate those tensions between international development practitioners and educators and to highlight how development education and practice are mutually constitutive of each other.

Mary Immaculate College, has a long-standing commitment to international development and acted as the institutional host of the Centre for Global Development through Education (CGDE), which was awarded over €1.4 million under the Irish Aid-HEA Programme for Strategic Cooperation. The project involved a consortium of 13 Irish partner institutions, working with two teacher education institutions and the ministries of education in Uganda and Lesotho to enhance the quality of basic education through capacity building in teacher education. Additionally, MIC created the Alternative Education Experience Africa (AEEA) in 1996 which provides students with the opportunity to work in African schools on self-funded placements. MIC is a supporting partner in other Irish Aid-funded initiatives such as the Irish-African Partnership for Research Capacity Building, the Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium and the Development and Intercultural Education (DICE) Project. Former minister of state Peter Power identified MIC as having a deserved reputation as ‘a hive of development activity’ and this programme would augment and enhance that reputation further.

For graduates of the Structured PhD in International Development Education and Practice at Mary Immaculate College a wide variety of career options exists in the area of development cooperation, particularly in the public and private sectors as well as within civil society, development consultancy, NGOs and international and European Union agencies such as Irish Aid, Oxfam, Trócaire, Concern and Action Aid. This programme will also help professionals currently working in development-related areas to strengthen their academic qualifications, engage in continuing professional development, and to deepen their understanding of development education and practice.

5.Programme Learning Outcomes (not more than two learning outcomes for each category, see appendix. University Sector Framework Implementation Network report).

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Knowledge- Breadth & Kind:
  • Demonstrate an advanced knowledge and systematic understanding of a substantial body of knowledge intrinsic to development education and practice;
  • Describe and critically evaluate development education and practice literature in a wide range of areas.
Know-how and Skills – range and selectivity:
  • Develop an advanced research design and undertake doctoral-level research by collecting and analysing data from a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods pertinent to the areas of development education and practice;
  • Demonstrate the capacity to create and interpret new substantial knowledge through original research.
Competence – context and role:
  • Demonstrate intellectual autonomy in developing and disseminating results of research and innovation to peers;
  • Develop skills in how to exercise personal responsibility and initiative in demanding and complex professional contexts.
Competence – learning to learn:
  • Demonstrate awareness of the strengths and limitations of a range of research methods appropriate to undertaking research at doctoral level in the areas of development education and practice;
  • Develop the capacity to engage in up-skilling and continuing professional development through analysis and reflection on pertinent social and professional norms, policies and relationships
Competence – insight:
  • Obtain professional insight regarding the wider social, political and scientific implications of original research in the areas of development education and practice;
  • Demonstrate knowledge of a substantial range of the foremost skills, techniques, tools and practices associated with development education and practice.

6.Educational Principles of the academic programme

(Including any special or unique educational/pedagogical features of this programme Give details of the proposed mode(s) of delivery of the programme; (e.g. Full-Time, Distance Education, Evening, Part-time study, Open Learning, Adult and Continuing Education etc.)

The Structured PhD in International Development Education and Practice will be a four-year full-time programme. Candidates who wish to take this programme on a part-time basis may do so over a six-year period. Students on the programme will demonstrate their ability to use research methods and techniques by undertaking a substantial piece of original supervised research.

Each element of the ‘taught’ programme will entail face-to-face lectures and workshops as well as web-supported delivery designed to enhance student learning outcomes. The online aspect of the programme will feature online discussion groups, access to all course documents, e-books and relevant journal articles, student formative assessment tasks, synchronous and asynchronous communication and collaborative learning between staff and students. All materials relating to the programme such as the syllabus, course readings, assignments, videos, podcasts and recorded lectures will be uploaded to MIC’s virtual learning environment, Moodle.

Participation in the ‘taught’ element of the programme and attendance at lectures and workshops is a requirement for students. Students will be required to be on the MIC campus for the first year of their programme. Modules during that year will be also be delivered in a ‘blended learning’ format which will offer flexibility for learners through the use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Moodle. The VLE will offer additional content and eLearning activities to promote more wide-ranging engagement with course content and reading material.

Candidates on this programme will be required to submit research proposals at the application process stage in line with MIC’s admission requirements. The first two semesters of the programme will have significant taught components. At the end of Semester 1 students who intend to exit the programme at the master’s or graduate diploma stage may decide whether to take an MA or Graduate Diploma in Development Practice, or a Graduate Diploma or MA in Development Education. The programme has been designed to allow students exercise such flexibility, although it is desired that participants continue on to the doctoral elements of the programme in Years 2, 3, and 4.

Furthermore, the programme will deliver research skills in the following areas: research skills and awareness; ethics and social understanding; communication skills; personal effectiveness/development; team-working and leadership; career management; and entrepreneurship & innovation.

In summary, the course will be delivered on the following basis:

  • ‘Taught’ modules during which participants will take part in a series of face-to-face lectures, problem-based learning tasks, seminars and workshops based on discipline-specific modules and classes on generic, research and transferable skills;
  • A series of lectures and assignments to be delivered on a ‘blended learning’ basis;
  • A public lecture series on the themes of development education and practice;
  • A doctoral thesis to the value of 270 ECTS
  • Research Review Panels at the end of years 1, 2 and 3 to monitor student progress
  • Part-time study option (6-year programme) with review of student progress undertaken at the end of each academic year.

7.Academic Programme Structure

To include tabulated listing of all modules, including module codes, module title and ECTS credits for each semester - in accordance with Appendix 1 - and each year of the programme;

Include all elective or optional modules, and/or module streams, clearly indicating obligatory/core modules and all elective choices.

This four-year structured PhD programme consists of a combination of taught modules (both discipline-specific and generic/research/transferable skills) and individual research undertaken predominantly in years 2, 3 and 4 of the programme. The taught component will be undertaken in Semesters 1 and 2and is worth 60 ECTS. The principal component of the programme is the doctoral thesis which is worth 270 ECTS. Students will also undertake generic transferable skills modules worth 18 ECTS in Semesters 4 and 5 of the programme and will participate in a public lecture series on issues in international development (worth 12 ECTS in total) in Semesters 4 and 5 on a pass/fail basis.

The programme is designed to allow for specialisation in Semester 2 into separate streams of development education and development practice. This provides participants with a number of options regarding specialisms and ‘exit routes’. All participants will take the same core modules in Semester 1. Prior to the commencement of Semester 2, all participants who have successfully completed the first semester of the programme decide to specialise in either development education or development practice. After successfully completing two semesters of the programme, participants may complete a dissertation (30 ECTS) in Semester 3 and, if successful, exit the programme with a Master ofArts (M.A) in International Development Education or a Master of Arts (M.A.) in International Development Practice after completing 90 ECTS of study. Those who do not fulfil the requirements of a Masters programme may be able to graduate with a Graduate Diploma in either Development Education or Practice, subject to satisfying the necessary requirements of the Graduate Diploma component of the programme (60 ECTS).

Where a student has already successfully completed any of the modules s/he will take an alternative elective in its place, subject to the approval of the programme coordinator and student supervisor(s).

Work on the research thesis component of the programme will begin from Semester 1, with full research proposals being finalised at the end of Semester 1.

Progression from Year 1 to Year2

UL academic regulations with regard to student progression apply.

A minimum threshold QCA of 2.9 is required for progression from Year 1 (taught modules) of the programme to Year 2.

Research Review Panels will be conducted in MIC at the end of academic years 1, 2 and 3 of the programme in order to monitor and evaluate student progress.

For a student specialising in International Development Education,the programme would consist of the following modules:

Table 1:Programme Structure- Development Education Specialism

Year 1
Semester 1 - Taught / Semester 2 – Taught / Summer -Semester 3
  • ID6711 - Development Theory and Practice (9 ECTS)
  • EN5671 - Introduction to Development and Development Education (9 ECTS)
  • ID6722 - Research Field Methods and Logistics(6 ECTS)
PLUS ONE MODULE FROM:
  • ID6732 - Political Economy of Development (6 ECTS)
  • EN7711 Epistemological and Ontological Foundations of Education 1: The Enlightenment’s Progress (6 ECTS)
  • EH5732 Postcolonial Literature and Theory (6 ECTS)
  • EN7792Teaching for Social Justice and Inclusion (6 ECTS)
TOTAL ECTS = 30 /
  • EN5714- Education Theories and Practice: Formal and Non-Formal Education (9 ECTS)
  • EN5752- Principles and Practices that Underpin Development Education (9 ECTS)
  • EN7722 Advanced Research Methods 2 (6 ECTS)
PLUS ONE MODULE FROM:
  • EN5782 Leadership and Learning (6 ECTS)
  • EN5771- Introduction to the Learning Process: Teachers’ Styles and Learners’ Needs (6 ECTS)
  • EN7712 Epistemological and Ontological Foundations of Education 2: Paradigms, Policies and Practices (6 ECTS)
  • EDE427 - Education for Sustainability (6 ECTS)
TOTAL ECTS = 30 / Research Project- Thesis (30 ECTS)
TOTAL ECTS = 30
Year 2
Semester 4 / Semester 5 / Summer – Semester 6
  • Public Lecture Series 1 (6 ECTS)
  • EN7772 Generic/Transferable Skills 1 (9 ECTS)
  • Research Project – Thesis (15 ECTS)
TOTAL ECTS = 30 /
  • Public Lecture Series 2 (6 ECTS)
  • EN7773 Generic/Transferable Skills 2 (9 ECTS)
  • Research Project - Thesis (15 ECTS)
TOTAL ECTS = 30 / Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS)
TOTAL ECTS = 30
Year 3
Semester 7 / Semester 8 / Summer – Semester 9
Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS) / Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS) / Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS)
Year 4
Semester 10 / Semester 11 / Summer – Semester 12
Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS) / Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS) / Research Project – Thesis (30 ECTS)

CREDITS BREAKDOWN (OVERALL)

•Discipline-specific: 72 ECTS

•Transferable/Generic/Research Skills: 18 ECTS

•Research thesis: 270 ECTS

•TOTAL: 360 ECTS

For a student specialising in International Development Practice, the programme would consist of the following modules: