Cardiff School of Social Sciences

Further Information: Masters in Educational Practice (MEP)

Masters in Educational Practice – a new award for teachers in Wales

The Masters in Educational Practice (MEP) provides a unique and exciting opportunity for new teachers in Wales to extend and enhance their professional knowledge, skills and practice. From 2012-13 newly qualified teachers in post in a maintained school in Wales will have the opportunity to  apply to follow this Masters programme as part of their early professional development. Fully funded by the Welsh Government, the MEP will be highly practical, research informed and grounded in the best professional experiences.

The MEP places Wales at the forefront of teacher professional development within the UK and internationally. The MEP will equip teachers with the knowledge and skills required to mitigate the effects of socio-economic deprivation on educational achievement, improve learner outcomes and support a model of life-long improvement of professional practice.

The programme is designed to support teachers and schools in improving teaching practice and raising educational standards across schools in Wales. It will provide participants with high quality mentoring and support, access to high quality online resources and opportunities to share good practice. The content and assessment of the programme are designed to support and enhance teaching practice and professional development. The programme will cover key professional learning areas – including behaviour management, literacy, numeracy, reducing the impact of poverty on attainment, additional learning needs, child development, reflective practice, leading learning and action enquiry.

The MEP will enable participants to

• extend and enhance professional practice to improve educational outcomes for children and young people
• develop and extend understanding of current thinking in relation to key professional learning areas
• develop and extend ability to analyse, critique and develop their own and others’ professional practice
• develop and deepen intellectual, organisational, personal, communication  and professional skills
• engage in and learn to lead professional learning communities within and between schools
• plan and sustain professional development throughout their careers

The Masters in Educational Practice is  delivered regionally across Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government, by an alliance of Cardiff, Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities, and the Institute of Education, University of London. The programme is supported by a network of experienced teacher-mentors. The Masters in Educational Practice is a  Cardiff University award.

The MEP publicity booklet is available to download here.

MEP Eligibility Criteria

• have a recognised first degree
• have Qualified Teacher Status and be employed in their first year of teaching in a role that can be counted towards statutory induction
• be a newly qualified school teacher employed to teach in a maintained school in Wales 
• be registered with the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) and be approved by their initial selection as eligible for application to the MEP
• be employed for a period of at least one full term in one or more maintained schools in Wales equivalent to at least a 0.4 contract
• have an initial contract up to the end of the Spring term 2013
• have the agreement of their headteacher(s) to proceeding with University application.

If you have any queries regarding eligibility please contact WalesMEP@cardiff.ac.uk.

MEP Programme Structure

This exciting opportunity for all eligible Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT’s) in Wales will consist of nine core modules delivered over a three year period. The Masters in Educational Practice modules are designed to support and develop your professional practice as NQT’s.

This unique part-time, distance learning Masters programme will be delivered primarily by Cardiff University’s virtual learning environment, called Learning Central, and by one day module learning events (which require compulsory attendance) where modules will be launched by the module leaders. During the module learning events students will be introduced to their External Mentors who will help support students’ learning in schools and via Learning Central.

Students are required to engage in a number of core formative tasks and summative assessments via Learning Central which will support your learning and development through the programme. Discussion forums will be used to discuss core formative tasks and summative assessments via Learning Central with fellow students, External Mentors and module leaders.

We aim to offer varied methods of assessments and each module will have a specifically tailored assessment structure to fit the learning outcomes of that module.  All 15 credit module assessments will equate to no more than 3,000 words. For example, this could be in the form of a poster project equal to 1,000 words and a 2,000 word assignment.

 The 60 credit Action Based Inquiry Project module will be based on NQT’s classroom experience will equate to 15,000 words. This module will be launched at the end of the first year but not submitted until the end of the programme. As well as support from your External Mentor, students will be assigned a supervisor who will support you through your project.

The modules will be delivered in the following sequence which has been designed with pressure points for NQT’s in mind.

Students must successfully complete module SIT801 - Introduction to Teachers’ Professional Enquiry - (15 credits) before progressing to Year 2 of the programme. Students must also complete module SIT807 – Leadership in order to progress to module SIT808 - Action Inquiry Project.

Students will be provided with detailed module catalogues which will detail module learning outcomes and schedules of assessment.

Contact

Please read the Further Information and Frequently Asked Questions sections of the website before contacting the administrative office.

For general enquiries or for further information please contact the MEP administrative office:

Phone: +44 (0)29 208 70947
E-mail: WalesMEP@cardiff.ac.uk

How to Apply 2012-13

Please visit our "Apply" page.