Master of Education in Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
Offered by the Faculty of Education in conjunction with the European Centre for Educational Resilience & Socio-Emotional Health
2009-2012 Part-time evening
The M.Ed. in SEBD is aimed at providing the requisite competencies for qualified teachers working with students experiencing social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD), namely to teach and support individual students/groups of students with SEBD, and to provide behaviour support and advice to staff, parents and others involved in the education of such students and in the promotion of social and emotional literacy in school. Participants will develop the knowledge and skills in understanding the nature of social, emotional and behaviour difficulties in school, in assessing and addressing the needs of students with SEBD at various levels and contexts, and in providing support and consultation to schools and parents in the prevention and management of such difficulties and the promotion of social and emotional literacy in school.
The whole course is spread over three years part-time, and students will follow 90 ECTS over six semesters. Sixty ECTS will be covered in the first two years of the course, while the third year will be focused on the dissertation (30 ECTS). The course consists of taught courses, observation and practice placements, and a dissertation. It covers the following major components: Understanding SEBD, Assessment of SEBD, Interventions at individual and systems levels, Teaching students with SEBD, Practice Placements, Research Methods, Dissertation.
M.Ed. course participants are expected to be qualified teachers who will be teaching during the course. During the second year of the course, students will have two practice placements where they will be expected to be teaching students with challenging behaviour in their classroom as part of their duties as practising teachers.
Coordinator: Dr Carmel Cefai
Maximum Number of Students: 15
RSH 1001 Building Social & Emotional Resilience in Early Years (2 ECTS)
This elective study-unit seeks to provide students with an understanding of social emotional health and resilience in young children and with practical strategies for creating social contexts promoting the healthy development of young children in this area. The students will gain an understanding of how experiences influence children’s behaviour and relationships and consequently their social and emotional health. They will examine the processes that contribute to young children’s social and emotional health and develop classroom strategies that will facilitate children’s healthy development and wellbeing. It is offered as an elective study unit in the B.Ed Early Years programme at the Faculty of Education.
RSH 1002 Challenging behaviour in young children (2 ECTS)
This elective study unit explores how to support the social and emotional development of young children, specifically focusing on young children who engage in challenging behaviours. It seeks to enable students to gain an understanding of the nature and causes of challenging behaviour in the early years and to develop strategies to prevent and respond effectively to such behaviour. It is offered as an elective study unit in the B.Ed Early Years programme at the Faculty of Education
RSH 3002 Promoting positive behaviour and emotional literacy in primary schools (4 ECTS)
This study unit seeks to provide primary classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills to promote the social and emotional literacy of pupils in their classroom and to develop strategies to prevent and respond effectively to such challenging pupil behaviour. The first part of the course is aimed at enabling teachers to develop children’s social and emotional skills both directly as well as through their own attitudes, behaviour, pedagogy and classroom management. The second part aims to help teachers gain an understanding of the nature and causes of challenging behaviour in the classroom from a holistic, biopsychosocial perspective and develop effective strategies in both preventing and dealing with challenging behaviour. This study unit is offered in the B.Ed (Hons) Primary programme at the Faculty of Education.
RSH3001 Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Working (2 ECTS)
This optional study unit focuses on children’s services and enables students to reflect on their professional knowledge and skills and to build on these within the context of children’s integrated working. By learning with students from other different professions they will be better placed to understand and respect the role of other professions and the teamwork skills required in an interprofessional environment. The study unit should be of particular interest to students taking undergraduate courses in psychology, education, youth studies, medicine, social work, and health care amongst others. It is offered as optional study unit and delivered by Dr Lesley Hughes from the University of Hull, UK.
