MA Literacy and Education

UCL (University College London)

The Literacy and Education MA is a broad based, generalist course, appropriate for all those who have a serious interest in literacy education, practice, policy and research. This course gives students an opportunity to explore how literacy operates in a diverse and changing world. Our modules focus on the various ways in which literacy is perceived, valued, used and appraised, across a range of life domains and cultural contexts. As a result, this MA explores how literacy links with constructions of power, agency and gender and considers the implications of this for all. Students who take this course learn with world-leading experts in the field of literacy and leave with key skills that can be used in a range of workplace contexts or to take on to further study at doctoral level. This course will provide students with an opportunity to study literacy as a broad and diverse social phenomenon, defined, understood and researched in multiple and shifting ways. It will encourage students to engage with key concepts in the study of literacy as a social practice, while also learning about a variety of theoretical approaches. It explores literacy use and learning, life-long (that is, of adults of all ages as well as children) and life-wide (across a range of life domains and cultural contexts). Students will be enabled to explore how the changing world within which we live has shaped literacy events and practices, as well as the ways in which literacy is viewed, valued and conceptualized. The course also demonstrates how constructions of power and value are embedded in different literacy practices, by drawing attention to the impact of factors such as gender, home-school discourse and literacy policy. It explores the relationship between text, identity and voice and the implications for the identity and voice of those engaging with text in different settings. Students will look at whether text appropriately represents all identities and voices and consider the ways in which identity and voice is embedded within particular texts. This course includes a module on research methods in literacy research which introduces students to a variety of approaches to research in literacy, exploring the relationship between literacy theory and literacy research methodologies. Students will have opportunities to develop an enquiring, reflective and critical reading and writing style, to evaluate existing literacy research and develop research skills. Having engaged with a range of different theoretical approaches in the study of literacy, this course gives students an opportunity to conduct a small-scale study of their own into an aspect of literacy that is relevant to the student. This course suits those aiming to work in education policy, development, research or leadership, as well as educators who are looking to develop their careers in a wide variety of contexts. As such the course will appeal to those who have recently completed a first degree in a related field, as well as others such as teachers, health care professionals, librarians, early childhood practitioners and family support workers. The MA Literacy and Education is not a teacher training course and, since it does not include a practice component, is unlikely to satisfy teacher certification requirements.