EDUC 5061M PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
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Module EDUC 5061M
TITLE: PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Assessment and Feedback
You will be assessed on a written assignment of 3000 words based on either
(a) the formulation of an educational research problem and a philosophical framework/rationale for
its investigation, or
(b) a critical assessment of the contribution of one or two distinguished philosophers or educational
thinkers to an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of educational research.
You will have the opportunity to discuss your proposed assignment topic for the purpose of class
discussion and formative feedback in the Open Forum in the final session. You will be asked to submit
your written assignment outline in Weeks 4-5 with an opportunity to receive feedback as written
comments and/or in a tutorial with the module tutor as necessary.
The assignment submission deadline is 18 January 2022.
Assignment Outline
Your Outline will be no longer than 1 A4 page and will contain the following:
• Topic / research problem / objectives:
What is your assignment about? Which aspect of philosophical underpinnings of educational
research is your assignment going to address?
(e.g. Specific research paradigm? Focus on epistemology? Focus on axiology? Focus on ontology?
Focus on a specific philosopher? Study the lecture slides, esp. those that ask you to ‘reflect’ on
specific concepts. Your reflection on one of the themes can become the topic of your assignment).
Outline 1-2 questions/problems/objectives that your assignment aims to address – i.e. what do
you aim to illuminate/illustrate/understand/help the readers to understand by the end of your
assignment inquiry?
• Rationale and Context:
Why is this topic/question/problem important in relation to your inquiry? Here you need to link
the topic to your proposed research context, possible future research questions, possible topics of
future research investigation that are of interest to you. Regardless of the topic you choose, your
assignment must show clear links with your own educational context/research interests/future
research project. Assignments that do not show such links will be deemed as not addressing the
assignment brief. Such assignments therefore do not fulfil criteria for a pass. If you already have
a clear idea of your dissertation project, this is an opportunity to introduce its context/questions.
If you don’t yet know what your dissertation research will be about, you will still need to reflect
on an educational context which is likely to inform your future inquiry or a likely overarching
research focus of your future inquiry. Your initial reflection in the Introductory Padlet Task can be
a useful starting point.
• Literature Review and Key References:
Provide a brief indication of key literature that you will review in your assignment. It’s not
necessary to review this literature in the outline (you will need to do this in detail in the actual
assignment). Here, you should indicate key references/names of philosophers that you are
planning to base your assignment on.
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OUTLINE SUBMISSION DEADLINE will be negotiated in class.
THE FINAL ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION deadline is 18th January 2022 on Minerva.
Your Assignment Structure– 3,000 words
[see indicative word count suggestions for each section]
Title – clear and specific title signalling the focus/context of your assignment
Abstract (optional; does not count toward the final word count) – up to 150 words which provide a
concise summary of your assignment
Introduction (250-300 words)
Introduce topic, rationale, objectives and a brief overview of your assignment.
Research Context (500 words)
Provide a detailed explanation of your research context/research project.
Literature Review (800 words)
Introduce the key philosophical concepts that inform your inquiry. Provide a detailed overview of
relevant literature, explain in detail specific philosophical concepts, philosopher(s)’ ideas, etc.
drawing on multiple sources. Compare/contrast and critically examine these concepts.
Discussion (1,200 words)
Discuss the relevance of the concepts in relation to your specific research context/objectives. This
will be the core of your assignment. You will need to think about an appropriate way of structuring
your discussion around specific themes. Your discussion should be based on a thorough and critical
review of relevant literature in the previous section. You should structure this section in ways that
allow you to clearly address your research objectives/problems/questions. (In some assignments, it
might be possible to combine the Literature Review and Discussion sections. You will need to think
carefully about the way in which you want to structure your philosophical argument and use
appropriate sub-headings.]
Conclusion (250-300 words)
Briefly summarise the key ideas and outline your position in relation to your research problem.
References (these do not count toward the final word count). Provide a full list of references used in
your assignment.