Bachelor of Education Honours

Purpose

The Bachelor of Education Honours (BEdHons) qualification will prepare students for research-based postgraduate studies in a field of education as per chosen specialisation. It serves to reinforce, expand and strengthen the student's expertise of the field in that specialisation, and to develop appropriate research capacity for that field. Moreover, this entry-level postgraduate qualification aims to capacitate the students to continue on the educational planning, research and/or policy development pathway in that field of education.

Rationale

Legacy education qualifications need to be replaced by Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) and Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications- (MRTEQ, 2015) aligned qualifications, against a broad set of standards. The Bachelor of Education Honours (BEdHons) has been developed in line with the MRTEQ as published by the Department of Higher Education in consultation with other key stakeholders inter alia the Departments of Basic Education and Higher Education and Training, the South African Council of Educators, teacher unions and the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA). It focuses on expanding and deepening knowledge and the building of research capacity as part of the educational planning, research and/or policy development pathway, as set out in the MRTEQ policy, yet includes theoretical and research foci on aspects related to teaching and learning as well as management and leadership.

This qualification responds to the need for disciplinary, pedagogical and professional ethics in an entry postgraduate graduate context that will enable further postgraduate studies. The BEdHons offers a core of compulsory generic components and electives from which students will be allowed to select with the view of being able to focus further studies on current critical challenges facing education in South Africa (MRTEQ) and beyond. The electives respond to identified fields of education: Education Policy Studies, Education Law, Education Management and Leadership, Philosophy of Education, Curriculum Studies, Comparative Education and International Studies, Psychology of Education, Community Psychology in Education and Advanced studies in Early Childhood Development and Learning. The subject focus areas in education such as Mathematics Education, Science Education, Language Education and Social Sciences Education will be offered complementary to Curriculum Studies. Mixtures of these electives allow for four specific specialisations, to inform further postgraduate studies.

Typical students who will enrol for this qualification comprise either education graduates or practicing educators who meet the minimum requirements to enter the qualification, or may be allowed access through Recognition of Prior Learning. The BEdHons is designed to prepare students for research, which will open the pathway to educational planning, research and/or policy development and thus strengthen research capacity in the school education sector. The BEdHons aims to consolidate and deepen students' expertise and theoretical engagement related to various fields of Education, and by doing that equip students for further postgraduate studies.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Where applicants do not meet the minimum admission requirements, access to the Bachelor of Education Honours (BEdHons) qualification from legacy teacher qualifications will be considered according to national RPL and institutional RPL policy.

Entry Requirements

The following minimum requirements apply

• A four-year professional teaching Degree, such as a Bachelor of Education at Level 7, with a minimum of 480 Credits.

Or

• An appropriate Bachelor's Degree at level 7, such as Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Commerce, plus a recognised professional teaching qualification (such as PGCE).

Or

• A four-year professional teaching qualification, as well as a cognate Advanced Diploma in Education at Level 7 with a minimum of 120 Credits.

This qualification consists of compulsory and elective modules at Level 8 totalling 144 Credits.

Compulsory Modules: 80 Credits

• Compulsory, Education research methodology, 32 Credits.
• Compulsory, Advanced Education Theory and Professional Ethics, 16 Credits.
• Compulsory, Research Project, 32 Credits.

Elective Modules: 64 Credits (Choose one Specialisation)

Specialisation: Education Management and Governance

• Compulsory for this specialisation, Education Management and Leadership, 16 Credits.
• Compulsory for this specialisation, Education Law, 16 Credits.
• Compulsory for this specialisation, Education Policy Studies, 16 Credits.
• Compulsory for this specialisation, Comparative Education and International Studies, 16 Credits.

Specialisation: Curriculum Studies

• Compulsory for this specialisation, Curriculum Studies, 16 Credits.
• Compulsory for this specialisation, Education Policy Studies, 16 Credits.

(Choose one from the following modules)

• Education Social Sciences, 16 Credits.
• Education Mathematics, 16 Credits.
• Education Languages (English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu, Sign Language), 16 Credits.
• Education Science and Technology (Physical Science, Life Science, Environmental Education, Technology), 16 Credits.

(Choose one from the following modules)

• Philosophy of Education, 16 Credits.
• Comparative Education and International Studies, 16 Credits.

Specialisation: Psychology of Education

• Psychology of Education, 16 Credits.
• Community Psychology in Education, 16 Credits.

(Choose two from the following modules)

• Philosophy of Education, 16 Credits.
• Comparative Education and International Studies, 16 Credits.
• Curriculum Studies, 16 Credits.
• Education Policy Studies, 16 Credits.

Specialisation: Early Childhood Development and Learning

• Advanced studies in Early childhood development and learning, 16 Credits.
• Psychology of Education, 16 Credits.
• Philosophy of Education, 16 Credits.

(Choose one from the following modules)

• Curriculum Studies, 16 Credits.
• Education Policy Studies, 16 Credits.

1. Engage at an advanced level with theories in education, pedagogy and both professional and research ethics.
2. Demonstrate research capacity in the methodology and techniques of the specific field of education.
3. Demonstrate consolidated and deepened knowledge of the particular field of education.
4. Reflect at an advanced level on current thinking, practice and research methods in such field of education.
5. Conduct and report on a research project in the chosen field of education.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Explain and deliberate on the nature of education, theory and educational theory and relate these to research and practice.
• Interpret and communicate the relationship between educational theory, research, ethics and education.
• Demonstrate knowledge of, and engagement in, the field of specialisation, and how to apply it in specific contexts.
• Identify and address ethical issues based on critical reflection on the suitability of different ethical value systems to specific contexts.
• Theorise education by deliberating concepts of discourse, knowledge, learning, pedagogy and curriculum.
• Interrogate multiple sources of knowledge of education, to trouble regimes of truth, and to evaluate knowledge and processes of knowledge production.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Explain and apply theory, methodology and research techniques related to education research in the area of specialisation through small scale research projects.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the complexities and uncertainties of selecting, applying procedures and processes to unfamiliar fields.
• Demonstrate the ability to gather, analyse, synthesise and critically evaluate information.
• Manage research processes in particular specialised contexts in order to develop creative responses to problems and issues.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Demonstrate an understanding of contemporary educational conditions and policies within a specialised field of study, against the backdrop of the socio-historical development in South Africa and beyond.
• Understand the principles and concepts underpinning education in general, and within the field of specialisation in particular, by analysing and responding to documented case studies, simulations and gobbets.
• Demonstrate the ability to use a range of specialised skills to identify, analyse and address complex or abstract problems, drawing systematically on the existing body of knowledge and methods appropriate to the field of specialisation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Display intellectual independence and critical thinking by constructing arguments on contemporary education issues relevant to his/her specialised field.
• Show the ability to apply, in a self-critical manner, learning strategies which effectively address his/her learning needs and the needs of others.
• Reflect, record and comment on their learning experiences as an Honours learner in a field of specialisation.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Prepare a basic research proposal.
• Conduct a full-fledged research study.
• Produce and defend a short research report, based on the selection and application of appropriate research methodologies, engagement with theories of knowledge, intellectual independence and ethical and scholarly research in the field of Education.
• Demonstrate the ability to take full responsibility for his/her own work, decision-making and the use of resources.

Integrated Assessment

Assessment in this qualification will comply with institutional assessment policy. Integrated continuous assessments will be included in the qualification, allowing demonstration of achieved competences as required by the outcomes of the qualification. All the modules in the Bachelor of Education Honours (BEdHons) qualification are non-examination modules.

The number of assessment tasks will vary according to the particular module, with a minimum of 4 assessment tasks per module. These could include tests, case studies, simulations, presentations, essays, gobbets, poster presentations and other assessment tasks that are appropriate at Level 8. In the case of the research methodology module, it will inter alia include a literature review, the design of research instruments, the writing of research reports and the drafting of a research proposal.

Formative and summative assessment: Learners will be required to attend class sessions and independently and in groups prepare presentations as well as written pieces for discussion, as part of formative assessment opportunities. Learners will furthermore be required to keep a reflective journal throughout the qualification, to inter alia reflect on their progress and performance in the qualification. At the end of the qualification, the learners will be required to submit a research report as a summative assessment for the research project. They will further have to compile a portfolio of evidence, collated from all the relevant modules, to demonstrate that the outcomes of the qualification have been reached.