External summary

School education in Scotland through the medium of Gaelic is central to planning the future of the language. The statutory National Gaelic Language Plan 2012-17 intends that the number of pupils entering Gaelic-medium education should at least double from 400 to 800 by 2017, after which it is expected that the size of the sector will continue to grow in response to parental choice. There will thus have to be a significant new stream of graduates able to teach through the medium of Gaelic.

The MA (Honours) programme in Primary Education with Gaelic (Fluent Speakers) contributes to meeting this need for Gaelic-medium teachers. It rests on three disciplinary bases, in each of which the University of Edinburgh has internationally recognised strengths in teaching and research:

• The base in Education comprises courses in Educational Studies, Primary Studies, Professional Experience and Practice and in Bilingual and immersion education. This combination provides students with the opportunity for in-depth study of Education and Educational practices leading to a teaching qualification, alongside specialist subject knowledge in Gaelic language and bilingual and immersion education. The Professional Experience and Practice strand includes the innovation of a year-long placement in a Gaelic-medium school setting during the third year of study, a model adopted in other professional UG degrees across the University. This allows the opportunity for students to experience the lived reality of teaching and understand the complex contexts of schools as centres of teaching and learning, and the longer-term dynamics of schools as work places.
• The base in Gaelic enables the graduate to build on their fluency in Gaelic and to acquire a knowledge of Gaelic culture, literature and history, setting these in an international comparative context.
• The base in Linguistics enables the graduate to understand how language operates, and how children learn bilingually.

The MA Honours in Primary Education with Gaelic (Fluent Speakers) is four years in duration, and is intended for students who are fluent in Gaelic, or who have an appropriate school-level qualification in the language when commencing the course. The MA Honours in Primary Education with Gaelic (Learners) programme is five years in duration, equivalent in length to the route into school teaching through an Honours degree and a PGDE, and is intended for ab initio learners, that is to say, students who start the degree with no or little Gaelic language competence. The latter programme is described in a separate document (Programme Specification for MA Honours in Primary Education with Gaelic (Learners)).

Educational aims of programme

The overall aim is to offer a degree in education which supports students to become educators who:

• Have an enquiring and critical disposition and who will develop professional values of trust, respect, integrity, and a commitment to the principles of social justice.
• Have an in-depth understanding and expertise in a discipline other than education, promoting the value of knowledge for its own sake and for its relevance in professional contexts.
• Have the capacity and disposition to engage in career-long professional learning.
• Have a deep knowledge and understanding of learning, and of children as individual learners, and the pedagogies associated with the primary curriculum.
• Participate productively in learning communities and professional communities across University and schools.
• Through extended and sustained professional practice, develop professional expertise and a deep knowledge of the complexities of school and community.

Additionally, the degree aims to develop students’ specialist knowledge and understanding by:

• developing the high level of linguistic competence and confidence necessary to teach Gaelic or teach through the medium of Gaelic;
• developing an understanding of Gaelic culture, literature and history, and of how the position of the language compares to that of other minority languages world-wide;
• developing high level Gaelic-language skills through content-based language learning: that is, students will take courses on a range of topics through the medium of Gaelic;
• understanding how children’s languages develop in a bilingual context;
• understanding the role of the expert teacher in aiding pupils’ learning across the school curriculum in a bilingual setting;
• understanding the place of Gaelic-medium education in Scottish education generally.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

The learning outcomes for the Programme are at level 8 in years 1 and 2 and at level 10 in years three and four. They are supplemented by the requirements of the Standard for Provisional Registration (SPR) created by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. The SPR specifies what is expected of a student teacher at the end of Initial Teacher Education (ITE). The SPR includes standards for Professional Values and Personal Commitments, Professional Knowledge and Understanding and Professional Skills and Abilities. In addition, students are expected to develop graduate attributes, which are transferable to other areas of study and employment. The Programme is designed to build research and workforce capacity in the field of Gaelic-medium Primary Education in Scotland.

• Graduates of this programme will have knowledge and critical awareness of:
• the principles, issues, theories and research that underpin and inform constructs of childhood and primary education policy and practice (3-12 years)
• the principles, issues, theories and research that underpin and inform teaching Gaelic as a language and the curriculum through a second language
• theories of curriculum development and how they relate to the current Scottish Curriculum , a Curriculum for Excellence (Early, First and Second levels), and to the political history and development of educational policy
• theories of second language acquisition, first language acquisition and the processes of language learning
• the principles of social justice and inclusive practices in the context of the primary school and strategies designed to tackle inequality
• observation and assessment strategies and procedures in the primary school context
• a variety of pedagogical approaches appropriate for children as learners 3-12
• the management and organisation of learning and teaching in primary school classroom
• themselves as professional learners and reflective practitioners
• research methods appropriate for educational and scientific enquiry

Gaelic as a medium of teaching and learning contributes strongly to the agreement at the Barcelona meeting of the European Council in March 2002 that all pupils learn at least two modern languages from an early age and to the recommendations of the Scottish Government Modern Languages Working Group’s 2012 report which aims for mother tongue and two other languages. Thus students graduating from the programme have an excellent grounding in these wider curricular aspirations.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• identify, define and analyse complex professional challenges and create processes to address them
• search for, access, critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise relevant professional literature and information in order to develop their knowledge and understanding relating to primary school education and Gaelic
• plan and execute a significant research project in the area of Gaelic-medium education including undertaking data collection and analyzing data systematically
• critically question current primary education and Gaelic-medium education knowledge and policy and how these elements relate to wider issues within society nationally and globally (such as social justice and sustainability issues)
• have an informed and professional respect for the values, principles, methods, standards and boundaries of primary education and the capacity to question these
• recognize the importance of reflecting on their learning experiences

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Graduates of the programme will be able to:

• be open to, and critical of, new perspectives, methods and ways of thinking associated with Gaelic-medium and English-medium education
• be creative and imaginative thinkers in dealing with professional and pedagogical issues across the wider primary education sector and specifically in the Gaelic-medium primary education sector
• be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflections, self-evaluation and self-improvement
• exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in academic and professional activities, including decision making on the basis of independent thought
• reflect on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments in Primary Education and Gaelic
• use collaboration and debate with others to bring about change or develop new thinking in relation to educational issues
• deal with complex ethical and professional issues in accordance with current professional codes of practice

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates of the programme will be able to:

• seek and value open feedback to inform genuine self-reflection
• use professional communication (using oral, written and visual methods) as a means for collaborating and relating to others including university staff, fellow students, placement school staff, research participants and parents
• communicate and interact respectfully with children in ways that value their diversity and enhance learning conversations
• engage in critical discussion demonstrating listening skills, effective use of evidence and own experience to support assertions, and clear articulation of points

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Graduates of the programme will be able to:

• flexibly transfer their knowledge, learning and skills and abilities from one context to another (including within the University, between the disciplines of Education and Gaelic, and from University to school experiences)
• effectively work in collaboration with others in a variety of educational contexts (including University sites of learning and placement schools), recognising the diversity of contributions individuals can make whilst capitalizing on their different thinking, experience and skills
• plan, execute and critically evaluate a significant research and/or evaluation project in the area of Gaelic-medium primary education
• have the confidence to make informed decisions relating to challenges and issues in primary education
• identify and manage risks appropriately (e.g. during fieldwork, working with vulnerable groups)

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• gather and analyse a variety of data on an agreed practitioner enquiry research project, valuing children and other research participants
• manage and organize time, resources, records and information to support decision-making and inform planning for children’s learning
• read purposefully and record what is relevant from a range of academic and professional literature and resource material
• write accurately and clearly for academic purposes
• use ICT to enhance their own learning, and develop and use ICT skills in a school context
• participate effectively in communities of practice through multimodal communication

Programme structure and features

The Degree Structure and Degree Programme Tables below provide an overview of the compulsory courses and credit points in each year of study. Students will exit at the end of Year 4 with the award of MA (Hons) in Primary Education with Gaelic. Year 5 is the Induction year during which probationer teachers are placed in a Local Authority which provides Gaelic-medium education.

Exit awards:
On successful completion of the Programme students will be awarded with an MA (Hons) in Primary Education with Gaelic. Degree classification is based on the marks achieved on all third and fourth year courses. Successful completion of the Programme includes the achievement of a recognised teaching qualification which leads to Provisional Registration with GTCS. This will qualify students to teach in both the Gaelic-medium and English-medium sector.

Progression requirements:
Any student who is unable to continue on the Programme in the usual way may apply for Interruption of Studies. Students in this position are encouraged to re-join the Programme the following year.

To gain an M.A. in Primary Education with Gaelic, students are required to pass all courses within the School of Education and in the Linguistics strand at level 8 and 10 and all courses within the Celtic strand at level 8. Four resits per course are permitted for all level 8 courses across the Programme, and one for level 10 courses in Education. Where a student resits a level 10 course in Education, the original fail mark will be used for degree classification. A supporting document is provided by the professional body, GTCS to indicate the requirement to allow students resit opportunities for all courses in Education, rather than progression via an aggregated average grade. This allows students to evidence that they meet, not only the academic requirements of courses, but also the Standard for Provisional Registration, as required by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) in respect of courses within the School of Education. Achievement of the M.A. in Primary Education with Gaelic is considered at the final board of examiners.

The regulations relating to assessment for all students undertaking Years 3 and 4 of the M.A. in Primary Education with Gaelic are therefore as follows:
8) In each of Years 3 and 4 (i.e. the honours years), students must attain 80 credits and achieve an aggregate pass for the full 120 credits.
9) Subject to these conditions being met, one resit opportunity will be offered for a failed course assessment in courses within the school of Education but the first (failed) mark will be used for degree classification purposes with any successful resits recorded simply as ‘Pass’.

Articulation of learning Outcomes and Assessment Practices
Details of the assessment practices relate directly to the learning outcomes for each course within the Programme can be found in the Programme and Course descriptors.

Modes of study:
The MA in Primary Education with Gaelic is a full-time taught programme. Students are expected to attend all university classes and all placements. It is taken as an indication of emerging professionalism that students attend all classes and placement commitments unless there are medical or personal reasons that make this impossible or inadvisable. Professional experience and practice placements are also an integral part of the Programme. Students will have serial days placement experiences in years 1, 2 and 4. In Year 3 they will spend one full year in a placement school. This satisfies the GTCS minimum requirements for school experience.

Social responsibility, sustainability, equality and diversity
Through the provision of this professional programme, the MA in Primary Education with Gaelic contributes to the realisation of the strategic goals and themes of the School of Education as outlined in the Moray House School of Education Strategic Plan 2013/14:

Enhancing the student experience in learning and teaching
Engaging with our wider community
Building strategic partnerships and collaborations
Promoting equality, diversity, sustainability and social responsibility

One of the core aims of the Programme is to develop the professional values of trust, respect, integrity, and a commitment to the principles of social justice. The Professional Values and Personal Commitments that underpin the SPR are embedded in the design of the Programme. Where appropriate, across the Primary Studies, Educational Studies, Education and Gaelic in Scotland and Professional Experience and Practice courses, course content will foreground issues of equality, inequality and diversity, and will equip students with the conceptual tools to identify and address issues of accessibility and inclusion in their personal and professional lives, in their studies and in their future practice as teachers. Also underpinned within the Professional Standards is Learning for sustainability and this is embedded within the MA curriculum to ensure students have the opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills, values and practices necessary to understand and promote principles of sustainability in practice. The Programme design also ensures that assessment practices enable students to demonstrate achievement in a number of ways, taking account of diverse learning preferences.

Student diversity is considered as a positive strength. Within the Programme an inclusive and enabling environment will be promoted. Unnecessary barriers to entry and progression on the programme will be identified and removed. The Programme will continue to seek to widen access to University. For example, our relationship with the Scottish Widening Access Programme will continue, and College admissions procedures will continue to give concession to students from areas of social deprivation.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

All courses within the programme contain a combination of lectures, workshops, seminars, peer learning, collaborative and problem-based learning, supported and independent study. Some courses emphasise collaborative learning.

Year 3 offers a distinctive approach to teaching and learning. Students are placed in a school for one full year as part of the Professional Experience and Practice courses. The school is the primary context and site for teaching and learning. Students will be supported by university tutors through a blend of ‘outreach’ curriculum sessions, formative observations and professional discussions, supported peer and group activities within cluster school groupings, and attendance at university ‘recall’ session. Students will work alongside and under the guidance of teachers and other educational professionals in school contexts engaging in professional dialogues, observing practices and developing practical experience.

The programme is supported by the use of online learning environments. Each course is supported by a dedicated resource website. These communicate key information and act as a repository for resources such as lecture outlines, videos, e-reserve articles, course documentation and School, College and University Policies. They also provide an interactive space for academic discussion and digital learning opportunities.

Assessment methods and strategies

A wide range of assessment strategies are proposed across courses within the programme. These include exams, essays, reports, projects, presentations, online portfolios, journals, research reports etc. Assessments are designed to support the learning outcomes of individual courses by requiring students to develop and demonstrate the skills and knowledge specified. Assessments are transparent, with all assessed activities appearing in course descriptors and the CCAMMs entries. All courses maximise opportunity for formative and summative feedback.

Professional Learning Portfolio (PLP)
Students will be required to maintain an online professional learning portfolio (PLP) as part of their studies, throughout the duration of the M.A. in Primary Education Programme to develop the dispositions and capacity to act in critically reflective and reflexive ways. The PLP will provide a space for students to reflect critically on their academic and professional development. It will focus on the development of and reflection on:

• academic subject knowledge (within and outwith education focused courses)
  making explicit connections between ‘with’ subject and education
• academic literacies
• professional knowledge and skills
• professional learning beyond the core taught courses
• pedagogical understandings and skills
• interplay between theory, practice, policy and research
  

The PLP as a whole document will not be assessed, however, extracts within it will be summatively assessed according to specific course requirements. The PLP will also serve as a tool for formative feedback and self-evaluation.

Career opportunities

Career prospects for graduates of this programme are very favourable. As discussed above, there has been a long-standing shortage of Gaelic teachers in Scotland, especially primary teachers working in Gaelic medium. The statutory National Gaelic Language Plan 2012-17 intends that the number of pupils entering Gaelic-medium education should at least double from 400 to 800 by 2017, so that there will have to be a significant new stream of graduates able to teach through the medium of Gaelic.

Graduates of the programme will also be qualified to work in English-medium education and thus may avail of opportunities in all Scottish primary schools. Careers guidance is also available to students through the University Careers Service. This service provides advice to students on employment opportunities outwith Scotland and alternative career pathways.

Other items