Master's Programme in Adult Learning and Global Change, 60 credits

Introduction

This programme is designed to enhance practitioners´ ability to work in the globalising world and to challenge the traditional perspectives of globalisation.  It will do this by developing a critical perspective on globalisation and a reflective and strategic practice.  The characteristic feature of the programme will be a dialectic between students' personal experience and the conceptual resources of the programme. This means that the bodies of perspectives and theories, including many areas including the field of adult education, with which students will be brought into contact. 

There is an emergent field of practice which concerns a global phenomenon; the learning dimension of practitioners and the way practitioners act on and construct their different contexts. This diverse group of practitioners faces new challenges, which accompany the accelerating globalisation of economy, society and culture. The impact of globalisation could be described in terms of economic shifts, in terms of new forms for communications and networking, the use of new technologies, working across differences etc. These challenges also include demands for greater effectiveness and productivity, and the complexities of furthering social justice and equity.

The contexts of learning are changing in response to globalisation and practitioners in different areas will face the impact of this. The learning dimension will become an important feature of many practitioners.  Instability and change will be characteristic and constitute the incentives to look for new perspectives in order to cope with the unknown. The skills and qualities needed will be networking skills, the ability to work with people from other cultures. Another dimension is also to be able to work from a distance, to handle new communication forms and to promote virtual communities.

Adults learn in a diverse field of practice, with many specialisms; human resource development, health care education, community based adult education, vocational education, basic education, etc. Practitioners also perform a variety of roles, they are teachers, administrators, policy makers, facilitators of organisational learning and so forth. Other practitioners, e.g. managers, lawyers and engineers, also have a learning dimension to their work. They learn and teach in their daily practice, often informally and incidentally. 

Purpose

The aim is to provide a high quality Master’s degree in Adult Learning, which in both content and process gives students an insight into globalisation and cross-cultural collaboration. The programme should also enhance the understanding of different contexts and provide experience of working in a variety of study modes.

Aim

Knowledge and understanding

• to encourage understanding of commonalities and differences across different contexts for adult learning
• to understand knowledge based societies and the implications for learning
• to develop understanding of the globalisation discourses
• to appreciate the historical context of present developments and link these to one’s own sites of practice
• to challenge orthodoxies in adult learning theory and practice

Skills and abilities

• to learn to use teaching and learning technologies globally
• to learn how to learn and work globally

Values and attitudes

• to develop cultural sensibilities and sensitivities
• to adopt a multifaceted equity perspective on all issues of learning
• to engage in reframing of one’s own professional practice
• to create networks of relationships across countries and help establish a global community of adult learning practitioners

Content

The programme comprises eight course modules, each comprising 7,5 credit points. The introductory module deals with integration of the course and leads up to the development of a capability envelope, which continues over the two years. Four of the modules focus on different content themes or ‘perspectives’, designed to be applicable to students with interest or background in any context. One module focuses on research methods and is followed by a research project in those universities where this is required for a Master's degree. If this is not applicable, the research project is replaced by local optional courses, relevant to the programme.

The name and sequence of course modules over the programme is shown below:

• Locating oneself in Global Learning, part 1, 4,5 ECTS
• Adult Learning: Perspectives and Contexts, 7, 5 ECTS
• Work and Learning, 7,5 ECTS
• Fostering Learning in Practice, 7, 5 ECTS
• Understanding Research, 7,5 ECTS
• Global/Local Learning, 7, 5 ECTS
• Locating oneself in Global Learning, Part II, 3 ECTS
• Researching Adult Learning: Project work, 15 ECTS
   

Content, modes of presentation, learning objectives, and examination for each course module are described in more detail in separate course outlines.

Teaching and working methods

The programme is a distance learning programme in collaboration between Linköping University, Sweden, the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and the University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.

A team of academics teach the programme from the institutions working collaboratively. All universities accredit the programme. The basic idea is that students are admitted to each of the collaborating universities, but that they together make up a common body of students who collaborate in distance learning. The dominating working forms and forms for contact between the collaborating teachers and students are electronic communications via flexible, and primarily asynchronous, web-based distance learning tools and e-mail. 

The Master’s programme is equivalent to one-year full-time studies, but will typically be taken part-time over two years. 

Entry requirements

• Bachelor´s degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, with a major in adult education, adult learning or other subject relevant to the field of adult learning 
  or 
  Bachelor´s degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, and additional academic studies relevant to the field of adult learning of at least 60 credits
  or 
  Teacher´s degree for Upper-Secondary School
  or
  Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, and additional clearly documented work experience of at least one year, full time, in adult education and/or adult learning.
• English corresponding to the level of English in Swedish upper secondary education (Engelska 6)
  Exemption from Swedish

Degree requirements

Completed studies will lead to a Master’s degree; Master of Arts and Social Science with a major in Adult´s Learning.  A diploma certificate will be issued on request after the reported completion of all prescribed courses and the concluding Master’s thesis provided that the student meets with the general and specific admission requirements. Students who do not fulfil all requirements to receive a Master of Arts and Social Science will receive a Transcript of Record of courses completed satisfactorily. 

Degree in Swedish

Filosofie magisterexamen med huvudområde Vuxnas lärande

Degree in English

Degree of Master of Arts and Social Science (60 credits)  with a major in Adult Learning

Specific information

Credit System

Credits are given for each course in terms of credit points (hp). 1,5 hp/1,5 ECTS credits corresponds to one week of full-time studies, and full-time studies require at least 40 hours per week.  A full academic year is thus 60 credits/60 ECTS credits.

Accreditation of previous studies

The Faculty Programme Director decides whether previous studies could be accredited as a part of the Master’s programme or not.

Examination and grading

The requirements for examination for each course are specified in the course descriptions.

The Grades used in the programme as described in each syllabus respectively. The students also a given grades according to the ECTS grading scale    A-F.

Diploma Certificate

Completed studies will lead to a Master’s degree; Master of Arts and Social Science with a major in Adult´s Learning.  A diploma certificate will be issued on request after the reported completion of all prescribed courses and the concluding Master’s thesis provided that the student meets with the general and specific admission requirements. Students who do not fulfil all requirements to receive a Master of Arts and Social Science  will receive a Transcript of Record of courses completed satisfactorily. 

Deviations from programme syllabus.

If special circumstances prevail, the vice-chancellor may in a special decision specify the preconditions for temporary deviations from this programme syllabus, and delegate the right to take such decisions.