Examination arrangement

Course content

The course comprises work with the master's thesis in social sciences education. The course has no regular teaching.

The master's thesis is an independent, academic research project which students complete as the final part of a master's degree. The work is supervised by an academic supervisor, and must be original, explicitly articulated and founded in the research field of social sciences education. The thesis' topic and research question is chosen by the student, but in agreement with the supervisor.

The student's work with the thesis corresponds to 1,5 semesters full-time effort.

All students are entitled to write an independent thesis. In specific cases, it can be practical to write the thesis as a joint effort between two students. This must, however, be decided in agreement with supervisor and academic coordinator, and should be justified in the thesis' project description.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

The candidate

• has advanced knowledge within central parts of social sciences education and specialized insights on a limited topic
• has advanced knowledge of learning- and educational theories in the social sciences
• has in-depth knowledge of central theories and relevant research in social sciences education

• has in-depth knowledge of exploration, creative processes and problem solving within social sciences education
• has in-depth knowledge of scientific ways of thinking, research methods and ethics, and specialized knowledge of selected research methods

Skills

The candidate

• is able to evaluate different research methods and master relevant methods for social science research and professional development work
• is able to critically analyze and relate to different sources of knowledge as a fundament for structuring and formulating scientific reasoning
• is able to carry out an autonomous, limited and relevant research project within social sciences education under supervision and in line with scientific traditions and current research ethical guidelines, and disseminate the results of the project
• can contribute to professional learning communities with an emphasis on social sciences education research anddevelopment
• can independently and critically apply theories and methods within social sciences education to analyze current issues

General competence

The candidate

• is able to analyze and address ethical dilemmas and issues within social sciences education
• can contribute to innovation, exploration and creative processes, and initiate development-and change processesin the subject or in the school profession

• is able to explore relevant issues and develope new knowledge in social sciences education
• can communicate experiences with and results from subjects and research in different genres and for different interest groups
• can contribute to a good cooperation culture between peers

Learning methods and activities

Seminars, individual work and supervision.

Supervision is obligatory and is carried out in agreement with the appointed academic supervisor.

Participation in seminars is obligatory.

In cases of co-writing of the thesis, students must in advance sign a written agreement about the nature of their cooperation (see a specific form). The two parts in the agreement are the two students and the supervisor. A process document describing the cooperative process must be attached to the MA-thesis, and must include an overview of how the responsibility and work has been distributed between the two students. The process document constitutes one part of the basis of assessment of the thesis.

Compulsory assignments

• Oral presentation of the master thesis
• Supervision
• Participation on seminar

Further on evaluation

The MA-thesis is a written work assessed individually by an A-F assessment scale, where the grades A-E are passed grades and F is a fail grade.

The MA-thesis is assessed both by an internal and an external examiner.

In a co-written MA-thesis, the process document constitutes a part of the basis of the assessment. In principle, there is a joint assessment of the written work for both students, but the grade is individual and students therefore have individual rights to submit a claim.

The scope of the thesis should be between 25,000 and 35,000 words. When co-writing the scope should be between 35,000 and 45,000 words. The front page, preface, summary, table of contents, bibliography, tables and appendices are in addition to the word counts noted.

All courses in the study programme must be approved before the MA-thesis can be submitted for assessment.

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Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

It is recommended that all courses from the first year of the study programme Master in education, specialization in social sciences education, have been passed before the student starts working on the MA-thesis.

Required previous knowledge

Emnet krever opptak til master i fagdidaktikk, studieretning samfunnsfagdidaktikk.

Course materials

Individual reading material.