Dissertations
1. Writing a
Dissertation Research Proposal
In writing a dissertation research proposal, course
participants will first need to choose an area of education in which to conduct
their research. For this, they may wish to refer to the Institute for Education’s
list of potential areas of research and the list of supervisors found on the
IfE platform under the module Dissertation.
Each supervisor has a wealth of experience and knowledge in
their field to guide course participants towards a research area. Should a
course participant have difficulty in finding choosing one, they are advised
contact a potential supervisor in an area that interests them to discuss their
research title and the possibility of being supervised by them.
If a course participant is still finding difficulty in choosing
a research area in education that interests them, they are advised to get in
touch with their course coordinator by email to set up a meeting with a member
of the Institute for Education.
Once an area has been decided upon, course participants will need
to fill in the Dissertation Proposal Form and
submit a hard copy of it to their respective Course Coordinator by the last
Friday of March.
2. Review of Dissertation Proposals
Following the submission of a dissertation proposal, the
Dissertation Board will review the proposed research and provide feedback by mid-May
with approval or suggested amendments.
Research proposals with requested amendments need to be
submitted to the Institute for Education by the end of the first week of June.
Final confirmation on dissertation proposals will be sent to
course participants by end of June along with the assigned dissertation
supervisor.
3. Research Ethics and
Writing your Dissertation
Following approval of the dissertation proposal, course
participants are advised to establish contact with your supervisor to commence
working on the dissertation.
Before conducting research and analysis, course participants
will need to submit an Ethics Approval Form under
the guidance of your dissertation supervisor. This form needs to
be submitted to the Institute for Education by end of the second week of
September before their final academic year of study. Course participants will be able to commence fieldwork once they have
received clearance from the Ethics Board.
4. Feedback from
Supervisor
Course participants are entitled to at least six but not
exceeding ten meetings with their supervisor. They are advised to ensure that
these meetings are productive by providing their supervisor with updated work
in a timely manner to receive constructive feedback.
Course participants may submit each chapter for review and
feedback twice and a final time when the full dissertation draft is ready prior
to final submission.
It is the course participant’s responsibility to ensure that your
writing satisfies academic quality and rigour. For further information, you may
refer to the Institute for Education’s Dissertation Handbook.
5. Submission of Dissertation
Once their dissertation is finalised, course participants are
to submit four physical spiral-bound dissertations in accordance with the Dissertation Handbook and a
digital version submitted through Turnitin©. These are to be received by the
second Friday of May of the final academic year of study.
6. Viva Voce
Examinations
i. Bachelor Degrees
Following dissertation submission, the Institute for
Education may conduct viva voce examinations for a select number of
participants. These will be chosen and conducted at the discretion of the Board
of Examiners by the end of July of the final academic year of study.
ii. Master Degrees
Following dissertation submission, course participants will
be requested to attend a viva voce by the end of July of the final academic year
of study.
The Institute for Education may request the course
participant to take on board further suggestions for their final version and
will not issue a grade until they have been implemented. The course participant
will need to submit the dissertation by a stipulated date given by the Board of
Examiners. Once the amended version is received, the Board of Examiners will
review the dissertation and a final grade and classification will be issued.
7. Submission of a
final version to the Institute for Education
Once final grade is issued, course participants
are requested to submit one final hardbound copy and one digital copy for the
Institute for Education’s Library by the first week of September.