What Makes This Course So Special?
This course is compatible with the TTA SENCo Standards and has been designed to provide for the continuous professional, academic and personal development of participants who are drawn from a range of backgrounds which are related to the field of Education. Course members include teachers and leaders in schools and the PcET sector, allied health professionals and parents of children with a range of special educational needs. There is a wide range of specialist modules to choose from, in order to best fit the particular professional requirements of individual students.
(A wide range of modules is available as part of the MA Education programme.)
Course Intro
This course is for you if you work with children or young people whose development is affected adversely by difficulties in learning or by behaviour. If you are a teacher from primary, secondary or special school; a lecturer from a further education or higher education setting; social worker; police officer; working with young offenders or other caring professions then this course will be highly beneficial.
On the course you will enhance your knowledge of a number of key issues related to Special Educational Needs and will develop your professional awareness of this area. You will experience a course that caters for both academic and practitioner-driven interest in special educational needs.
In addition, you will also learn from others in the group, and will have opportunities to share good practice and develop links with fellow students from other organisations.
What you study
You will study the specialist core module, Understanding Learning Difficulties/Disabilities. On completing this module, you will be expected to make a decision to specialise in a particular subject area. You will select two optional modules from the MA Education programme. Examples of modules include:
Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties
This specialist module relates
to the increasing numbers of children and adolescents with problems in
understanding (because of poor receptive skills) and in being understood (because of poor expressive skills).
Specific Learning Difficulties
Focuses not only upon specific difficulties in literacy and numeracy, but addresses the wider spectrum of potentially associated conditions eg Dyspraxia, Attention Deficit Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
This focuses on the causation, presentation and implications of mental health difficulties in children and young people.
Supporting Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
This is an introduction to ASD module in which you will examine a wide range of strategies that can be used to support children with ASD.
Additional specialist modules for SEN are described on the following pages. Specialist SEN modules are also described on the MA Autism and MA Child & Adolescent Mental Health pages.
In addition, in common with all of the MA Education programmes, students must take the core module Research Methodology.
Awards are available at Postgraduate Certificate level (after completion of two taught modules) and Postgraduate Diploma level (after completion of four taught modules).
To complete the full MA you will present a 17,000 word research dissertation and a 3,000 word research dissemination plan.
A programme specification for this course is available.
Where Next?
An MA award demonstrates that you have developed advanced level skills in analysis, evaluation and research. If you are interested in the possibility of gaining a higher degree by research, your tutors will be pleased to discuss the opportunities for doing so here at Newport.
Interview Required?
Yes. All candidates will be interviewed.
Assessment
Modules are normally assessed by a written assignment of 5,000 words.
Student Soundbite
“The course has given me the confidence to use my knowledge and experience. I found the lecture content both pertinent and enlightening and particularly enjoyed the interaction with people from other stages of education. Tutorial was very useful and helpful assignment writing guidance given.”