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About the course

The MSc Education (Child Development and Education) aims to promote a critical understanding of theories and research on child development and their relevance to the design and evaluation of educational programmes and policies in diverse contexts. It also aims to promote a critical understanding of the current challenges for a global and inclusive science of child development.

This is a full-time, one year master’s course. You will participate in lectures, seminars, and workshops. You will also complete either field work or conduct secondary data analysis for your master's dissertation. You will choose a topic for your master's project in discussions with your supervisor. Together, the course will provide opportunities for you to deepen your understanding of child development theories and their relevance to decisions about children’s education and well-being.

Teaching involves a combination of tutor and student input, including various group activities and students’ presentations. The pathway-specific core papers are integrated modules on theories of child development, applications and interventions. In addition, two core papers in research methods develop students’ understanding of key concepts and principles of educational research design and methodology. You will benefit from the expertise available through the Qualitative Methods Hub and the Quantitative Methods Hub at the Department of Education. You will also benefit from access to seminars across the wider university.

Assessment

The course is examined through six written assignments of 2,500-3,000 words. The submissions are staggered from the end of the first academic term to the start of the third term. A 15,000-20,000 word research dissertation, reporting on an empirical study, is assessed for critical analysis skills and the ability to write a clear, concise and well-argued academic report. The dissertation is submitted at the end of the third term.

Graduate destinations

The most recent Oxford University Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey made contact with 635 master's course students who graduated from the Department of Education between 2012 and 2014. Altogether, 90.2% of alumni were in work and 5.8% in further study with only 2.0% looking for work, ranking the department in the best 3 of the 20 departments in Oxford's Social Sciences Division.

Past alumni of the MSc Education (Child Development and Education) course have gone on to academic and research careers at universities. Many are employed across a wide range of other sectors including policy making, monitoring and evaluation, and programme development for government departments, the public sector, NGOs, charities and international organisations such as OECD. Some have gone on to open educational institutions and child development consultancies.