MA in Education
Nurturing passionate professionals for Education, Evolving Indian Education System and its need for trained professionals.
The Azim Premji University’s MA in Education programme nurtures professionals with a deep understanding of all stages of School education – Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary. Students learn multiple disciplines (Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, History, Systems theory, to name a few), which are essential for practitioners of Education.
The programme will ensure that every student develops competence in curriculum and pedagogy of at least one school subject area. As a part of their study, students must choose from Early Childhood Education, Language Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education or Social Studies Education.
Who should join us?
At Azim Premji University, join us if you are looking for a programme that provides a deep understanding of the Indian education system and hands-on experience of working at the grassroots level. Over the years, we have nurtured a community of individuals, motivated by the values enshrined in the Indian constitution: a commitment to social justice, equity, humane values and sustainability.
The programme’s uniqueness is the opportunity to work closely with the government school system and our faculty members come with expertise and extensive experience in the field. It enables students to understand the domain of Education through various aspects that include teaching, curricular material development, curriculum planning, assessment, schools and the schooling system. A strong theory-practice connection is nurtured through the programme using field placements that provide students with opportunities to analyse and apply the theoretical learnings in the field.
Why study with us?
We help you understand educational theory
Several disciplines contribute to the theoretical and conceptual basis of understanding educational issues. Some of these are teaching, curricular material development, curriculum planning, assessment, schools and the schooling system.
Learn about education practices in the Indian context
You will learn and reflect on diverse learners, communities and systems in the Indian context.
We offer a theory and practice continuum
We help you evaluate theories in terms of ground realities and ensure that your practice is informed by an understanding of theory.
Plan and implement independent educational interventions
You will be able to plan independent interventions in various roles – for example, as a curriculum developer, textbook and resource developer, teacher educator, or researcher.
We nurture your professional development
We help you develop the capabilities for self-motivated professional development.
Programme Structure
Our broad-based programme includes theory, practice, research, policy and planning in the field of education. We help you make connections with the larger context of education in India in a programme that is informed by the principles and practices of Education Studies today.
Our course structure includes a strong foundation for research including a wide range of electives to choose from. You will have a strong field component in which you can practice what you study in the classroom.
You will learn and understand educational theory to address a range of issues across teaching, curricular material development, curriculum planning, assessment, schools and the education system as a whole.
We ensure that you are able to evaluate and critically probe theories while using them for practice. We encourage you to develop capabilities to plan independent educational interventions in various roles.
Course Structure
The teacher, the content and the learner are central to the practice of education. With these three actors at the core of our thinking, we ask: What is education? Why is there a need for it? How do we determine if learning objectives and educational aims are being attained?
Answering these questions involves looking at socio-political assumptions, philosophical assumptions, and psychological aspects of education. It includes a study of the concepts of justice and equality, and ideas of human nature and knowledge. It involves a close understanding of a child’s mind and development in language and emotions.
We contextualise these enquiries within history to ensure that you are able to develop a strong analytical and theoretical basis for educational judgement. These core courses will introduce you to key issues in educational thought, critique and practice.
Philosophy of Education
Core
A course going over the concepts, methodologies and interdisciplinary intersections that determine educational action in various contexts.
Sociology of Education
Core
How are the issues that surround education and its practices related to social processes?
Child Development and Learning
Core
Understanding developing children in school contexts.
Introduction to School System in India
Core
Understanding the factors that shape the school systems in India.
Schools as Organisations
Core
Studying schools as the most basic unit of a formal education system
Curriculum Studies
Core
The word ‘curriculum’ has its origin in the racing tracks of ancient Greece, to mean, quite literally, a course.
Field Research
Core
Identify research problems in education practice.
Teacher Professional Development
Core
A look at the profession of teaching and the role of the teacher across contexts and time.
Consolidation of Programme Experience
Core
This course aims to help students link, integrate and synthesise their experience across the programme.
An elective allows you to pursue an extended exploration in a subdomain of educational theory and practice, which will include a field internship in a related topic.
You can select courses from a broad area of theoretical, practical or procedural knowledge in particular fields of education and supplement your understanding developed through the core courses.
The five fields offered are Early Childhood Education, Language Education, Math Education, Science Education and Social Science Education. The electives form an interplay between school curricular knowledge, subject knowledge and pedagogy.
Early Childhood Education
You will learn about the appropriate experiences and practices necessary for young children that foster overall development. You will understand how to work with the age group of 3 – 8 years, mainly the preschool and early primary years of schooling. You can also choose to conduct an independent study in which you work with a faculty mentor to draw up a plan of study that is theoretical or field based. You will have to create a rigorous proposal and produce a scholarly article, a teaching learning material, a research report or project proposal.Language education
You will understand pedagogic approaches and perspectives to support language learning in Indian classrooms, by developing a sensitivity to the varied cultural and linguistic contexts in which children grow up.Mathematics Education
Mathematics is an abstract discipline with its particular ways of knowledge construction, definitive procedures, rules and symbols. These courses will help you understand the history and nature of the subject, its content, and curriculum and pedagogy in relation to elementary grade mathematics.Science Education
Scientific endeavours are full of a sense of wonder, curiosity, explorations beyond the obvious. But school science has been fraught with struggles to teach children and engage them through meaningful pedagogic practices. These courses are for an understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge and practices, the issues and ideas concerning the learning and teaching of science, and the study of the conceptual and practical demands of good science teaching. This will help you conceptualise pedagogic practices and learn how to plan to teach at school by developing curricular materials.Social Studies Education
You will explore the main features of history, geography, political science and economics. You will discuss and debate what to teach in school in the classroom in these subjects and how to teach them, and we focus on seeing social studies in an integrated manner. The key part of these courses is to establish connections between the nature of knowledge, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.
We believe that spending time in the field will help you develop a deeper understanding of the theoretical and conceptual ideas that you encounter in the course of your study.
We ensure that you are able to engage with a variety of field settings in the Indian educational context. We think this will help you address and understand dimensions of educational realities and tasks. You will be able to understand educational contexts and organisations, including work culture and ethics, and subject area knowledge.
Weekly practicums
You will have weekly practicums that relate to course work that will help you hone your communication and negotiation skills as well as conceptualise and plan some educational practice. You will visit public and private schools, preschools and anganwadis or NGOs that work with children.
Field practice
You will also have longer, sustained field engagements of two to three weeks in the first and second semesters. You will visit schools and NGOs to understand different aspects of the government education system. You will interact with teachers and children in the classroom setting and in teacher professional development centres in field offices of the Azim Premji Foundation.
In the third semester, you will participate in a 12 week field internship at Azim Premji Foundation field institutes, experiencing and understanding different aspects of school education. During this time, you will engage in field research. Know more here.
Field Practice
Field
Field practice aims to provide students with opportunities to engage in a variety of field settings in Indian educational contexts.
Why did Esperanto emerge as a language? What goes into the making of a documentary film? And have you ever wondered whether bamboo is a grass, food, or a tool for furniture?
Learn the history and evolution of cinema as art forms, watch film noir, or appreciate the music of Indian films. Walk through the city to experience it with a new lens or understand the built world around us in a class on architecture for non-architects to. Talk about Indian classical dance in dialogue with a dancer. What wrought Carnatic music into the form it exists in today? Listen to music, read science fiction, star gaze, write poetry, or explore the city in which you live.
In our open courses, you can explore one or two courses outside of your main programme. You will work with visiting faculty who are artists, writers and experts in the field spanning literature, the fine arts, cinema, science, and history. Apart from this, students have to take an open course (mandatory), offered by the School broadly in an area pertaining to Art and Aesthetics in Education.
We offer creative courses for you to choose from every semester. Courses are updated each year.
Classroom Practices
With the primary objective of understanding Education the courses in the programme are organised around themes, such as, policy, curriculum, school, knowledge, teaching and learning. They draw upon relevant theoretical and practical insights and methods from different disciplines.
The classroom practices provide opportunities to construct students’ understanding of key ideas based on reading, direct observation, critical reflection, theoretical and practical insights. A close integration of the taught courses and field practice is maintained across the courses.
Listen to our Faculty members speaking about our practices here.
Publications
Bardapurkar, A. (2022). What is Good? A Study of Educational Insights in Nicomachean Ethics (Book I, II and III). Journal of Human Values, 28(1), 11 – 19. https://doi.org/10.1177/09716858211058778
Rajan, V. (2023). Migrant childhoods and temporalities in India: A reflective engagement with dominant discourses. Journal of Childhood Studies, 48(1), 30 – 43. https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs202320499
Mathai, S. (2021). The good, the popular and the bad: different shades of‘theory’ use in educational research. Contemporary Education Dialogue 18(2), pp: 250 – 258. CED. This was based on the conference presentation at the Tenth Annual International Conference of the Comparative Education Society of India, 9 – 11 December 2019. New Delhi: Zakhir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Srinivasan, R (2021). Listening to the voices of teachers through Dewey’s ideas. In JuliAnna Ávila, AG Rud, Leonard Waks and Emer Ring (Eds). The Contemporary Relevance of John Dewey’s Theories on Teaching and Learning: Deweyan Perspectives on Standardization, Accountability, and Assessment in Education. Routledge International Studies in the Philosophy of Education.
Our Graduates
There is a widespread perception that becoming a teacher is the only way to contribute to the education system. While the education system does need teachers, there are many other aspects that need trained professionals. We encourage you to become social entrepreneurs to implement path-breaking solutions to social problems.
Some of the other roles that are taken by our graduates are —
- School leaders
- Teacher Educators
- Textbook developers
- Subject matter experts
- Curriculum designers
- Programme managers of educational interventions
- Researchers in education
Resources
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Navigating the Educational Landscape
MA Education students share their Field Practice experiences
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Geography Laboratory
Discover Earth anew through a hands-on experience, by connecting natural science with social science
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Magazines for School Education
Quality learning resources for teachers, teacher educators, functionaries and those interested in the area of education.
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KathaVana: Annual Bilingual Children’s Literature Festival
An exciting collective journey of promoting children’s literature
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Understanding Theories through Practices
We should work with the people, not for the people, says Varun Sharma, MA in Education (2014−16).