Accredit where accredit is due? Study into optional submission of assignments at Masters level in Scotland

This project between a single university and local authority aimed to develop a confidence and culture in Masters' level learning amongst teachers. This involved the teachers undertaking a module 30 credit in Reflecting upon Practice followed by a choice of either a module in Leadership or one in Mentoring. A unique element of this project was that the teachers engaged with the learning were not compelled to submit the assignment for formal accreditation at Masters level.

The study focussed on a cohort of 32 teachers from a range of educational settings (including primary and secondary schools plus support functions) from a single Local Authority in Scotland. All the participants were part of a wider Continuing Professional Development (CPD) group. They all followed the initial Master in Education module (Reflecting upon Practice).

The authors drew from the ‘triple lens framework’ for analysing CPD (Fraser et al., 2007) and the componential structure of professionalism (Evans, 2014). In particular this project set out to investigate the motivational factors that influenced the teacher’s decisions to submit at Masters level for accreditation or not. This was investigated through the use of an inductive, semi-structured focus group methodology.

The results from this small scale study have wider ranging implications for future Local Authority strategy relating to teacher development especially when working in partnership with Universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).