Year
2024Credit points
20Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Prerequisites
EDRS550 Literature Reviews for Educational Research AND EDRS651 Educational Research Methods AND EDRS652 Practitioner-led Research for Social Change AND EDRS653 Conducting Ethical Education Research
Incompatible
EDCP650 Capstone Applied Project
Unit rationale, description and aim
Students wishing to prepare for potential doctoral research in Education need to be able to identify, respond to and solve complex and emerging professional problems in education. By engaging in original and methodologically sound research that draws on expert professional judgement, students will respond to issues and challenges relevant to their profession.
In this unit, students will develop and complete a Research Project that responds to a professional problem in Education and contributes new knowledge to the professional and/or disciplinary field. Students will work with their supervisor on their Research Project and, with their supervisors’ guidance, will develop advanced skills in locating, synthesising, and evaluating data that is relevant to their project. They will also be guided to engage with the literature in their area of research, including relevant theoretical scholarship, at an advanced level. They will learn data analysis skills, cogent argumentation, how to develop defensible research conclusions, and advanced writing skills.
This unit aims to support the development of autonomous, advanced theoretical and technical knowledge and skills through a process of self-directed and scholarly investigation that supports further study at doctoral level and/or professional practice in Education.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Critically analyse and evaluate an original research problem in Education (APST HA 6.1, 6.2, 6.3) | GC7, GC11 |
| LO2 | Apply knowledge of the methodological and ethical conventions of research in Education to the completion of a substantial Research Project (APST HA 6.1, 6.2, 6.3) | GC8, GC11 |
| LO3 | Apply expert discipline knowledge and advanced cognitive, technical and writing skills to the completion of the Research Project (APST HA 6.1, 6.2, 6.3) | GC7, GC11 |
| LO4 | Make an advanced scholarly, theoretical and/or technical contribution to knowledge in the form of a 12,000 to 15,000 word Research Project (APST HA 6.1, 6.2, 6.3) | GC7, GC8, GC11 |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED
On successful completion of this unit, students should have gained evidence towards the following standards:
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs Analyse the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to plan personal professional development goals, support colleagues to identify and achieve personal development goals and pre-service teachers to improve classroom practice. |
6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice Plan for professional learning by accessing and critiquing relevant research, engage in high-quality targeted opportunities to improve practice and offer quality placements for pre-service teachers where applicable. |
6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice Initiate and engage in professional discussions with colleagues in a range of forums to evaluate practice directed at improving professional knowledge and practice, and the educational outcomes of students. |
Content
Topics covered in Research Project supervision sessions will normally include:
- Goal setting, project and time management
- Advanced note-taking and information management skills for researchers
- Engagement with and integration of relevant literature, including theoretical scholarship
- Data analysis and defensible research conclusions
- Shaping the argument of a Research Project
- Academic referencing
- Writing, editing, and preparing the Research Project for examination
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
In this unit, students will work one on one with an appointed supervisor to develop the work they have begun in the research stream of the Master of Education, as well as participating in learning activities designed for the unit cohort as a whole. Students will be expected to work autonomously in developing and completing their Research Project by applying theories, concepts, data, and skills relevant to their research topic. The student’s supervisor will engage the student in regular cycles of feedback, reflection and revision on their research plans and written drafts to develop a sophisticated and scholarly thesis of 12,000-to-15,000 words. In addition, the supervisor will guide the student in developing techniques to find further resources available within ACU, and the relevant scholarly community and industry, to support their learning, the development of the Research Project, and their professional competence.
This is a 20-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 300 hours in total across the period of study.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessments for this unit are designed to culminate in the Research Project in Education, a 12,000-to-15,000 word original, written Research Project based on work carried out over the period of study that evidences advanced knowledge and skills necessary for further learning or professional practice in Education. Over this period of study, the student will be provided with formative feedback on their progress.
During the course of the 40cp Research stream of the Master of Education, the student will have developed a proposal and literature review for their Research Project, work that lays the foundation of the assessment tasks to be completed in this unit. The first hurdle task is a substantial section or component of the Research Project. Students will produce this work in consultation with their supervisor. The second hurdle task gives the student a chance to respond to feedback on that first section or component to assist in the development of a complete first draft of the Research Project.
The final assessment task, the Research Project in Education is the culmination of the unit and is designed to develop and demonstrate each of the unit learning outcomes. It carries 100% of the formal evaluation of the unit in recognition that students’ progress through the stages of their Research Project may not be uniform. The examination of the Research Project will involve an assessment of the student’s ability to formulate, analyse, evaluate, and apply knowledge in response to a significant original research problem. The examination of the Research Project will also assess the student’s application of cognitive and research skills through clear and precise scholarly writing. The lecturer in charge will oversee all assessments. The final project will be assessed by an academic who is external to the field.
The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome. In order to pass this unit, students are required to submit all assessment tasks, meet the Learning Outcomes of the unit and achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50%.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
Hurdle Task: Draft section of the Research Project Requires students to produce the draft of a substantial section or component of the Research Project. | Ungraded Hurdle Task | LO1, LO2, LO3 | GC7, GC8, GC11 |
Hurdle Task: First draft of the Research Project Requires students to produce a developed first draft of the Research Project. | Ungraded Hurdle Task | LO1, LO2, LO3 | GC7, GC8, GC11 |
Assessment Task 1: Research Project in Education (12,000 to 15,000 words) An original, significant, research project on a topic in Education developed in close consultation with a supervisor, and to be assessed by an academic staff member who is not the project supervisor. | 100% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 | GC7, GC8, GC11 |
Representative texts and references
Bernhardt, V. L. (2018). Data analysis for continuous school improvement (4th ed.). Routledge.
Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2021). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
Fink, A. (2020). Conducting research literature reviews: From the internet to paper (5th ed.). SAGE.
Jussim, L. J., Krosnick, J. A., & Stevens, S. T. (Eds.) (2022). Research integrity: Best practices for the social and behavioral sciences. Oxford University Press.
Mills, G. E. (2020). Action Research: A Guide for the teacher researcher. (6th ed.). Pearson.
Mertens, D. M. (2020). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods (5th ed.). SAGE.
Mertler, C. A. (2021). Introduction to educational research. (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Rankin, J. G. (2016). How to make data work. London: Routledge.
Thomas, G. (2023). How to do your research project: A guide for students (4th ed.). SAGE.
Wilson, E. (Ed.). (2017). School-based research: A guide for education students (3rd ed.). SAGE.