BA Education, Leadership and Culture

Final year students are required to complete their studies by taking this unit as preparation, followed by undertaking an independent and supervised research-informed project in Education, Leadership and Culture. This is an opportunity for students to take what they have learned from the programme, and decide how they want to make a contribution in the broader education field. Allowing optionality, the FYP can culminate in 1) a traditional UG dissertation (10,000 words), (or) 2) a digital or audio-visual product/educational resource (e.g. website; digital App; e-book; audio-book; short film; podcast;) based on research, or 3) take an alternative format (e.g. educational community event; exhibition; performance;), also substantiated by research. Final Year Projects can be linked to Y2 and Y3 placement periods and experiences, if students wish to do so, to undertake further research in collaboration with placement hosts/partner institutions and organisations, provided they obtain consent. Besides the unit students will work with an assigned supervisor to receive individual support for conducting their FYP.  

The unit aims to:

Support students with producing an independent, substantial and original written, digital, or other appropriate piece of work relevant to the overall programme scope and content  

Foster students’ information and evidence gathering through primary and secondary research

Provide students with opportunities to critically engage with real-world educational questions and challenges and/or develop educational innovations  

Bolster students’ time and project-management skills

Augment students’ ability to communicate their work confidently to academic and non-academic audiences 

September/October: FYP topic and format selection, intro tutorial (in group) on planning and research design, ethics and access 
October/November: draft proposal and action plan; tutorial sessions, digital (refresher) session/assigning supervisor
November/December: Students must have selected and confirmed their FYP assessment option by early December; assessment of the suitability and manageability of assessment option 3) by staff panel; other tasks: desk research; proposal and action plan submission and feedback 
January/February: tutorials and digital refresher session; supervision meeting/s to support research and project planning
March – April: conduct FYP with supervision 
May: submission of FYP 

The unit offers 4x3 hours workshops (synchronous, in-person) bolstering the skills required to deliver a successful FYP. This includes, 
FYP topic selection and planning
Defining rationale, aims and objectives of the FYP
Research design, access and ethics 
Dissertation planning, structuring and writing
Project planning, workload- and time management 
4 hours of teaching and learning are dedicated to individual and group tutorials (synchronous, 2hrs individual, 2hrs group) where students can share their ideas, raise any questions or concerns they may have about the FYP
The unit also offers a 4-hour (2x2) digital skills (refresher) workshops (synchronous and a-synchronous/online), following up, or if needed, complementing skills acquired in the Digital Workshops offered in Year 1 (Digital Learning Cultures) and Year 2 (Digital Learning Design and Storytelling). Students who opt for the Dissertation assessment format and thus may not require the digital skills workshops, are offered the alternative of training provided by My Learning Essentials (Library support) to develop information, media and data literacy skills.  
Students are entitled to a minimum of 5 hours contact with their assigned FYP supervisors (in person or online)

Select a suitable project which corresponds with student’s interests, professional ambitions, and the overall scope of the BA ELC 

Identify the disciplinary knowledge base/s and professional context/s underpinning the chosen topic/project

Draw upon relevant ideas, theories and approaches in support of the project while appreciating any uncertainties, ambiguities and limits of such knowledge

Review and synthesise suitable theoretical ideas, concepts, and approaches

Make informed methodological, analytical, and ethical decisions

Make informed judgements about the ideas, theories and approaches documented in the academic literature, grey literature, and other reliable sources 
 

Pinpoint and utilise library, online, archival, and other resources for gathering trustworthy information and secondary data

Organise and structure a data and information

Communicate (online or in-person) clearly with supervisor/s, experts, gate-keepers, research participants, and other stakeholders who support the project   

Plan and manage time and workload of the project

Communicate information, ideas and problems to academic and non-academic audiences in a clear and inclusive manner

Reflect upon own digital capabilities and take action to improve these

Via Blackboard/Turnitin 20 days after submission

Burke, J. and Dempsey, M. (2021) Undertaking Capstone Projects in Education. A Practical Guide for Students. London: Routledge.

Cress, C.M., Collier, P.J. and Reitenauer, V.L. (2013), Learning through Serving: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement across Academic Disciplines and Cultural Communities, Stylus Publishing, Sterling, VT.

Fung, D. (2017). A connected curriculum for higher education. UCL Press: London

Gubrium, A., Harper, K., and Otañez, M. (2015), Ed., Participatory Visual and Digital Research in Action. London: Routledge

Healey, M., Lannin, L., Stibbe, A., & Derounian, J. (2013). Developing and enhancing undergraduate final-year projects and dissertations A National Teaching Fellowship Scheme project publication. (July)

Jacob, W.J., Sutin, S.E., Weidman, J.C. and Yeager, J.L. (2015), Community Engagement in Higher Education - Policy Reforms and Practice, Springer, 10.1007/978-94-6300-007-9. 
Vear, C. (2021), Ed., The Routledge International Handboodk of Practice-Based Research. London: Routledge.

Yin, R.K. (2018), Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 6th ed., SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks