Empowering education professionals with twenty-first century skills through Master’s of Education dissertation/thesis work

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to explore the potential role of Master’s of Education dissertation/thesis work in developing twenty-first century skills. A total of 600 education professionals studying Master’s of Education programmes in five countries – Poland, Portugal, England, Latvia, and Romania – were surveyed. The findings have revealed that participants recognise the usefulness of twenty-first century skills for their (future) professional practice, and perceive dissertation/thesis work as a valuable foundation for developing these skills. This study offers practical implications for designers of Master’s of Education programmes and contributes to our understanding that this assignment is not only a formal requirement for obtaining a degree, but that it also serves as a pathway towards deepening students’ professional learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Twenty-first century skills
• master’s dissertation/thesis
• master’s studies
• education professionals
• professional learning

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marta Kowalczuk-Walędziak

Marta Kowalczuk-Walędziak (Ph.D.) is Assistant Professor and Vice Dean for International Co-operation at the Faculty of Education, University of Białystok, Poland. Her research interests include the policy and practice of teacher education and development, practitioner research, and research utilisation.

Amélia Lopes

Amélia Lopes is Full Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal. Her research interests are teacher education, teaching and learning in higher education, doctoral education, professional development, diversity, and professional identity formation.

James M. Underwood

James M. Underwood (Ph.D.) is Principal Lecturer in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society at the University of Northampton, England. His research interests include: professional communities, non-positional leadership, practitioner research, methodologies for teacher research, and teaching approaches in higher education.

Linda Daniela

Linda Daniela is Full Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art at the University of Latvia, Latvia. Her expertise spans a range of fields: smart pedagogy, virtual education, digital learning materials, educational technologies for learning, educational robotics, and solutions for reducing social exclusion from educational processes.

Otilia Clipa

Otilia Clipa (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the ‘Stefan cel Mare’ University of Suceava, Romania. Her areas of interest include: preschool and primary education, assessment in education, teacher education, and didactics for university teachers.

Tomasz Prymak

Tomasz Prymak (Ph.D.) is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Białystok, Poland. His research areas cover quantitative research methods in education, youth studies, and legal education.