EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327)

Master of Education - M.Ed. - Degree Course Regulations, 1998

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5) and 31 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated the following regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by sections 31 and 35 of the said Act:

Citation and interpretation

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Master of Education - M.Ed. - Degree Course Regulations, 1998.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Education;

"the Board of Studies" means the Board of Studies for the Degree;

"the Course" means the course leading to the Degree; and

"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Education - M.Ed.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall be applicable to courses starting in October 1997 or later.

Admission

3. (1) Candidates for admission to the Course shall be holders of:

(a) a degree with at least second class honours from the Faculty of Education or an equivalent qualification, and a minimum of two years' teaching experience or other relevant experience in a recognised educational setting; or

(b) a degree with at least second class honours together with a recognised teaching qualification, and a minimum of two years' teaching experience or other relevant experience in a recognised educational setting; or

(c) a recognised qualification, other than the qualifications mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (1) of this regulation, together with a diploma in Education, of this or another university recognised by the Senate for this purpose, and a minimum of five years' teaching experience or other relevant experience in a recognised educational setting, provided that, candidates admitted in terms of sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of this regulation:

(i) shall be required to attend an interview during which they shall be requested to provide evidence of prior experiential learning and to demonstrate that they are capable of completing the Course; and

(ii) may be required to successfully complete a qualifying programme consisting of a number of supplementary study-units as directed by the Board of Studies and/or submit a qualifying research paper prior to their registration as regular students in the Course; and

(iii) are expected to complete their studies, inclusive of the qualifying programme referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (1)(c) of this regulation, in not less than five semesters of full-time study, or eight semesters of part-time study.

(2) Depending on the availability of resources, the Board shall determine the number of candidates that may be allowed to register. The Board shall announce the number of available places at the time of the call for applications.

Course Duration

4. (1) A candidate admitted to the Course in terms of either sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (1) of regulation 3 shall be required to complete the Course in not less than three semesters and not more than six semesters, if on full-time study, and in not less than six semesters and not more than twelve semesters, if on part-time study.

(2) A candidate admitted to the Course in terms of sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of regulation 3 shall be required to complete the Course in not less than five semesters and not more than eight semesters, if on full-time study, and in not less than eight semesters and not more than fourteen semesters, if on part-time study.

(3) A candidate, whether registered on a full-time or a part-time basis, shall be required to re-register for the Course before the beginning of each academic year.

Course Programme

5. (1) A student shall be expected to specialise in an area of Educational Theory and/or Pedagogy.

(2) The Course shall consist of a number of study-units and a dissertation.

(3) There shall be eight study-units, each of which shall be assessed by an assignment and/or test.

(4) Each study-unit must be successfully completed, but failed study-units may be repeated once. Students who fail the same study-unit a second time shall not be allowed to continue the Course.

Dissertation

6. (1) A student shall be required to complete a dissertation under tutorial supervision. The supervisor may refer a student whose work is considered unsatisfactory to the Board, through the Board of Studies.

(2) The dissertation is expected to be around 20,000 words in length.

(3) The proposed title and outline of the dissertation shall be approved by the supervisor and submitted to the Board of Studies for final approval, by the end of the ninth month of full-time study, or of the twelfth month of part-time study, from the date of registration as a regular student in the Course. Any substantial modification in the title or content of the dissertation that is required by the progress of the student's study and research must be referred to the Board of Studies for approval.

(4) The dissertation shall be submitted in its final form by a prescribed date and within the period indicated in paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 4. In exceptional circumstances, Senate may grant a student a further year in which to complete the dissertation.

(5) Every dissertation presented for the Degree must:

(a) be either a record of original work or an ordered and critical expression of existing data with regard to a particular subject; and
(b) fulfil all specifications of the relevant guidelines as regards length, format and presentation.

(6) No dissertation shall be accepted which is identical in substance with a dissertation already submitted for a degree in this or any other university. A student shall not be precluded from incorporating such previous dissertation work as may be necessary to the presentation and fuller understanding of his exposition, provided that the nature and extent of such incorporation is clearly acknowledged in the dissertation itself.

(7) Three copies of the dissertation, presented in the approved style, must be submitted. If the student is awarded the Degree, he shall be required to submit two copies of the dissertation, one of which shall be retained in the University Library and another one in the custody of the department concerned.

(8) Every dissertation shall be examined by a Board of Examiners composed of at least three members appointed by Senate on the recommendation of the Board. One of the examiners shall normally be an external examiner from another university. The Board of Examiners shall pass, fail, or refer the dissertation on the basis of the reports of all the examiners, and on the strength of the viva voce defence of the dissertation.

(9) If the work submitted is considered unsatisfactory, the Board of Examiners may allow the student to re-submit the dissertation once, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 4. In exceptional circumstances, Senate may grant the student a further year.

Final Result

7. (1) The final result of students shall take into account their performance in the study-units and in the dissertation.

(2) Successful students shall qualify for the Degree and their names shall be published in alphabetical order classified as follows:

Passed with Distinction
Passed.