There are three formal study elements available in English at Roskilde University for graduate-level students wishing to study within the fields of psychology and education. When combined, these enable the student to complete a 30 ECTS program aimed at exploring issues related to subjectivity and learning, and qualitative research methodology, in a broad context. In addition to the formal program of the course, students are encouraged to attend additional classes as advised by the Course Coordinators in order to consolidate and extend their learning. These classes are part of larger undergraduate courses in the humanities and details are given at the beginning of each semester.
The three major formal study elements are:
Traditionally pedagogical psychology was primarily concerned with initial qualifications of individuals (children, pupils, students, etc.) often measured or tested prior to, during or after teaching. The idea was that one could determine an individual’s ‘aptitude’, ‘motivation’, ‘intelligence’ etc. and, hence, their ‘learning ability’. During recent years, pedagogical psychology has realized the limits of these approaches (e.g. complex relations are reduced to isolated individual functions and capacities) and concepts are being developed which help to understand learning processes in their social, cultural and institutional contexts. The lectures of the course focus on these current discussions and present central theoretical traditions that attempt to conceptualize subjectivity and learning in its social context.
To assist with your preparation for the fieldwork that will be at the core of your Project, you will take part in a Course in methodology and methods, which will provide a thorough introduction to the construction, analysis and interpretation of empirical materials. The methods used might include qualitative interviews (individual, focus groups and biographical interviews), observations, document and discourse analysis and the Course will enable students to critique and utilize these in appropriate ways. A main aim will be to introduce students to qualitative research methodology and the theoretical background for methods that are often applied in education research. Examples from actual research projects will be included to discuss validity and representation in qualitative research.
This is the core of the RU learning experience. In the Project, students work as part of a self-directed group where they carry out a problem-oriented investigation of their own choice within the framework of the course in pedagogical psychology. The project group is formed early in the semester after a process of discussion and negotiation where ideas for projects are presented and considered amongst the entire group of students. Once project groups are formed, students meet in one of the group rooms at the Department. The group begins its work by formulating the problem that they want to explore. At the beginning of each semester there is a session where all project groups can present their project plans and discuss them with each other. Then the group plans its field work, decides what people, organizations and institutions to contact, and how to generate empirical material. In order to understand the results of this work, and to put them into perspective, students must decide on what theories to apply. Throughout this process, they have meetings with their supervisor who guides them through the stages of the project and the writing of the final, extended, report. Depending on the number of students in the group, this report can be of up to 50-60 pages in length.