The 21st century has become the world of complex challenges in development making ever greater demands to professionals working from policy planning to implementation level in development sector. Meeting these challenges demands for creative development professionals who can apply and integrate critical thinking and practical experiences from a wide range of perspectives and can be innovative in seeking meaningful solutions. The MPhil in Education (Specialization in Development Studies), henceforth MPhil in Development Studies is the outcome to cater the needs of this complex society in specific to development sector.
The MPhil in Development Studies began in 2005 which aims to prepare professionals who could contribute to development sector at local, national and global levels. The students in the program will have a deep understanding of development theories and acquire a wide knowledge of fundamental policy trends in education and development worldwide. The program aims to meet the demands of the local and national needs of development professionals as well as international market by training and educating individuals. The students will be able to work as an independent researchers, trainers and educators in international organizations, government agencies, NGOs, research institutions, higher education institutions, and related areas. The program aims to equip students with the analytical and practical skills they need to engage critically in development issues and debates from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to work across the intersections of development policy, research and practice.
The objective of the program thus is to enable students to engage in social transformation processes utilizing research-based knowledge and through critical and comparative analysis and interpretation of social, cultural, economic, and political contexts that influence development policy and practice at the local, national and global level. It is expected that such capability would give the students a unique strength to come up with an innovative approach to address the concerns of development and education.
Program Objectives and Attributes
After the completion of the course students will be able to develop the capability to explore the interplay among society, education and development to
- develop receiving and responding ability for the conceptualizing development in society.
- develop reflecting ability on the development activities in their socio-cultural context.
- apply abstractions, general principles, or methods to assess the development activities
- critique the existing grand theories of applying theories to study development practices.
- synthesize abstractions, general principles, or methods to specific concrete situations while critiquing development perception and practices.
- develop the valuing of the local ways of knowing and practicing of development.
- demonstrate sound understanding of research methodology and practices to prepare for PhD research.
- offer opportunities to students for getting them connected with local and global circles in the intellectual community, and
- enhance their abilities for conducting independent research.
Structure of the program
The program is of three semesters. There are courses for 33 credit hours comprising core courses (9 credit hours) and specialization courses (12 credit hours), electives courses (3 credit hours), dissertation (including others options) (9 credit hours). The description of each course is presented below:
Courses offered:
| Core Courses (9) |
EDUC 600 Educational Dimensions (3) EDUC 620 Research Methods (3) Educ 621 Advanced Qualitative Research Methods (3) or Educ 622 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (3) |
| Specialization Courses (12) |
DEVP 611 Sociology of Education and Development DEVP 621 Development Policy and Planning DEVP 631 Development Theory and Practise DEVP 641 Monitoring and Evaluation |
| Electives Courses (any one) (3) |
EDUC 640 Mixed Methods Research (3) EDUC 650 Transformative Education Research and Practice (3) EDUC 660 Participatory Action Research (3) EDUC 644 Statistical Methods in Education and Social Science Research (3) EDUC 611 Academic Writing and Research (3) |
| Research/Dissertation (9) |
EDUC 680 Dissertation Or EDUC 670: Research Papers: two papers, one of which should have been published in referred journals during the study period (9 Credit hours) – subject to the approval by the research committee. |
| Total Credits | – 33 Cr. Hrs. |
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Full Course Description Please View/Download: Development Studies M.Phil