Five weekend schools: Friday 24th February 2023 – Saturday 25th March 2023

Postgraduate Certificate in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0

Theme 1
Contemporary Debates in Education: Educating for the fourth and future
industrial revolutions
No. Action Point When
nd
1. Publish assessment brief on MS Team and via 22 March 2023
e-mail.
2. Students must send an email to the coordinator 24th March 2023
with their choice of title.
3. Tutors meet (F2F or online) their respective 27th March 2023 – 30th
students to discuss the assessment brief. March 2023
4. Student sends study draft plan/proposal (using 21st April 2023
DOC 181) to tutor via email keeping in copy the
MVEAR coordinator.
5. The tutor sends feedback to the student in the 28th April 2023
same e-mail thread.
6. Student submits first draft of assignment to 5th May 2023 by noon
tutor in the same e-mail thread.
7. The tutor sends feedback to the student on the 12th May 2023
first draft in the same e-mail thread.
8. Student submits final assignment to tutor in the 19th May 2023 by noon
same e-mail thread.
 Five weekend schools: Friday 24th February 2023 – Saturday 25th March 2023

Theme 1 specification for your final submission

Choose a topic directly related to your subject stream from the below
options and write a paper of publishable quality, approximately 6000
words (+/- 10% word allowance).

Option 1:

By considering your own VET subject, what teaching-learning

theories/strategies can be used to engage / motivate more the
students?
Option 2:
Summative and Formative assessment in VET can serve as a
learning experience to both students and educators. Discuss.
Option 3:

Philosophy is often described as a rational attempt to look at the

world as a whole. Choose one contemporary issue within
Maltese education (e.g. language evolution, multiculturalism,
change in curricula, etc), reflect on it from a system-wide
philosophical standpoint, elicit a research curiosity and engage
in data collection to answer your curiosity.
Option 4:

Different philosophers of education have debated about the

meaning of education, of teaching, of learning, of
schooling. Explore a topic from this list with reference to different
authors and also by conducting research among other educators
and/or learners on the matter.
Option 5:

A contemporary debate in the profession of a teacher is one's

own continuous professional development. Research may be
used as a tool for such professional development. Conduct
 Five weekend schools: Friday 24th February 2023 – Saturday 25th March 2023

research which focuses on the professional development of

teachers.
Option 6:

To teach and to learn are two integral elements of the VET

teaching profession. Research can help amalgamate the two
processes while shedding light on the needs of the industry.
Discuss.
Option 7:

You might wish to discuss variations to the above titles with your
tutor.
 Five weekend schools: Friday 24th February 2023 – Saturday 25th March 2023

Suggested assignment structure:

1. Title

Please make sure that the title adequately corresponds to what your paper
is about and what kind of information it provides.

2. Abstract

Please write an abstract of maximum 150 words. Make sure to mention

the research gap in the area you are talking about and what your argument
is. In addition, highlight the methodology that you adopted for this topic
and provide a brief overview of the findings and relevant implications.

3. Introduction

Please write about the background of your assignment topic: why it would
be interesting/relevant to the readers. Give a succinct overview of what
the literature says and identify the research gap. Conclude this sub-
section with your research objectives and pertaining research questions
where necessary. (Word count guide for this section: 750)

4. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework (the latter, where

necessary)

Please make sure that you critically engage with the literature and use
your academic voice. All claims should be backed up by references. Try
to identify the main theoretical concept/aspect that you can apply in your
paper where necessary. (Word count guide for this section: 1500)

5. Methodology

If you are going to conduct an empirical study, make sure to include the
following:

• Sampling strategy
• Participants’ information
 Five weekend schools: Friday 24th February 2023 – Saturday 25th March 2023

• Method
• Analytical approach
• Ethical concerns (if any)

(Word count guide for this section: 1000)

6. Findings (or Findings and Discussion)

Please present your findings (if any) in a coherent way and make sure to
draw comparisons with the reviewed literature. You may use tables and
figures to summarise your data. If these will be used, please label all
tables and figures. (Word count guide for this section: 2000)

7. Conclusion

This should emphasise the most important point(s) you want to make.
Thus, you may go back to your previous sub-sections and make sure that
the conclusion matches those. Pay attention that you emphasise how your
research question(s) (if any) was(were) successfully answered. Conclude
this section with a list of further actions and identify relevant implications.
(Word count guide for this section: 600)

To improve the reading experience of your submission, kindly use:

• Font Type: Times New Roman

• Font Size: 12
• Double line spacing