Master of Education (Early Childhood Education)

Programme Regulations

This qualification is offered through full-time or part-time study. It is worth a total of 51 (255) credits.The degree is a course-based MEd offered as coursework and Dissertation. Course work will be assessed by continuous assessment (CA) only. On satisfactory completion of coursework, students shall progress into the Dissertation route. This qualification is conferred only after completing the course work and the supervised research. There are internal university requirements that govern the supervision; examination of the supervised research; and the award of the qualification. Candidates qualify for the MEd-ECE degree only if they fulfil the regulations as follows:

Coursework and Dissertation

The MEd degree offered by Coursework and Dissertation shall consist of 8 core courses equivalent to 24 (120) credits, 1 optional course equivalent to27 (15) credits and a Dissertation equivalent to 24 (120) credits. The eight courses shall comprise of three core courses (EFFE640, EFF641 and EFF642) offered at faculty level; 4 ECE core courses (ECE640, ECE641, ECE642, ECE643, and ECE644); and 1 ECE optional course (from a bunch of 5 courses: ECE645, ECE646, ECE647, ECE648, ECE649 in the first year).
Students shall be required to satisfactorily complete 27 (135) credit hours before proceeding to the Dissertation. For full-time students, the Dissertation shall be submitted within twelve months of final approval of course work marks.
For part-time and distance education students, the Dissertation shall be submitted within twenty-four months of final approval of course work marks.
The Dissertation proposal must be approved by the Board of the Department offering the specialisation.
The subject of the Dissertation shall be within the general field of specialisation and must reveal independent and original investigation and knowledge of methods of scholarship. The Dissertation shall normally consist of 20,000 words (excluding footnotes, references and appendices) and should not exceed 40,000 words.
Where not otherwise indicated in the Faculty of Education Special Regulations, General Regulations 40.71, 40.73 and 40.74 of the General Academic Regulations for Master’s Degrees governing supervision, examination and submission of Dissertations shall apply to the Dissertation.

MEd-ECE Programme Structure

Semester 1 (15-18 CREDITS)

EFF640: Integrated Foundations of Education (3 Credits)
EFF641: Educational Research I (3 Credits)
ECE640: Learning Strategies in Early Childhood Education (3 Credits)
ECE641: Research Methods in Early Childhood Education (3 Credits)
ECE 644: Principles of Teaching Early Numeracy and Literacy (3 Credits)

Semester 2 (15-18 CREDITS)

EFF642: Educational Research II (3 Credits)
ECE642: Leadership, Management and Supervision of Early Childhood Programmes (3 Credits)
ECE643: Foundations in Early Childhood Special Education (3 Credits)

Optional Courses (choose any two):

ECE645: Global Citizenship Education and Early Childhood Education Curricula (3 Credits)
ECE646: Environmental Education for Sustainability in Early Childhood Education (3 Credits)
ECE647: Art and Design Pedagogies in Early Childhood (3 Credits)
ECE648: Music in Early Childhood Education (3 Credits)
ECE649: Seminars in Early Childhood Special Education (3 Credits)

Programmes