עדודות הגמר בלימודי תואר שני לחינוך - מה הן משקפות?

Abstract

The graduate studies form a very important step in the professional
development of teachers. This pilot study presents a case study of an Israeli
teacher education college. The goal of this paper is to map the main topics
chosen by in-service teachers who study in the following M.Ed. programs: (a)
inclusive education, (b) educational and organizational systems, and (c)
instruction, learning and mentoring. The study focuses on the correlation
between these topics and the characteristics of the research and the paper final
grade.
The findings show that in spite of the fact that the students enjoy academic
freedom in their subject choice for the research topics, most of them chose
topics related to their department or to the type of job they plan for their future
career. The M.Ed. theses provide an opportunity for students' professional
development, since they gain theoretical and research-based professional
knowledge and skills. The study concludes that the flexibility of the M.Ed.
programs is essential in order to accommodate the diversity of the students in
terms of their career stage and their career path. The flexibility of the M.Ed.
programs contributes to the effective self-regulation of the teachers, the
relationship between the advisors and the advisees, and to the college itself.
Therefore, we recommend continuing this flexible approach, while dealing
with the challenges it involves.