School of Education

The M.Ed. in Reading reflects the belief that reading is a complex linguistic achievement and that for learners to succeed in the path toward reading proficiency, the role of the highly qualified reading or literacy teacher is crucial. The M.Ed. in Reading also embraces the reading-writing connection and the new literacies with their associated unique skills. The programme thus emphasizes the broad scope of skills, processes and applications that compose literacy while it focuses at its core on training professionals to develop reading skills. Literacy educators today have responsibilities for oral language development, reading, writing, visual literacy, digital and multiple literacies, and the power of literacy learning to change lives. Also, much of what we know about the reading process, the development of reading skills proficiency and the teaching of reading have either changed substantially or have been refined.

The Master of Education in Reading reflects these responsibilities and insights that embrace a broader definition of literacy and it reflects the revised literacy standard published by the International Literacy Association (ILA) in 2017. The programme will provide insights into the historical, cognitive, sociocognitive, sociocultural and critical theoretical processes and models of literacy. It then draws on that understanding, to develop competencies in designing and implementing literacy curricula and instruction at the system, school and subject level-literacy specific or across the content areas. It will also develop competencies in the use of literacy assessments, evidence-based instruction and targeted interventions, and the integration of technology and digital literacies. The strong emphasis on evidence-based or best practice for literacy professionals coming out of the programme will be driven by required research courses and more specified research modules that participants will draw heavily on for designing and implementing their clinical practice. Individual courses in the programme will be accessible for persons wishing to develop proficiency in specific aspects of reading education that individual courses target.

Goals

The goals of the programme are to develop reading/literacy professionals who will:

• Contribute to the production of proficient readers in the educational system
• Confidently articulate scholarly information on reading/literacy to various publics, including Ministry of Education policy planners and other officials
• Develop policy recommendation and proposals for both individuals, schools, communities and the wider system of education
• Lead school efforts and initiatives in reading/literacy in the following areas: instruction, diagnosis and assessment, teaching reading/literacy across the content areas, integration of digital technologies, supervision and leadership, establishment and monitoring of reading/literacy programmes, and research.

General Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the foundations of reading/literacy, including word and text structure in English; contrasts between home / network language and school language; different writing genres; different kinds of readers; theories about reading/literacy; and approaches to, and strategies for, reading/literacy instruction.
• Demonstrate skills in the diagnosis and assessment of reading/literacy problems
• Design evidence-based interventions and targeted reading/literacy programmes to address identified reading/literacy problems
• Design reading/literacy instructions that are responsive to the affordances and challenges that English Creole speakers bring to reading text in Standard English
• Demonstrate skills in research in general and reading/literacy research in particular.
• Design school-based reading/literacy programmes.
• Demonstrate skills in the mentoring of teachers who are not specialists in reading/literacy instruction.
• Demonstrate skills in knowledge management, i.e. capturing, customizing, and using knowledge to develop a community of discourse around reading/literacy programmes.
• Demonstrate a professional attitude to reading/literacy problems/issues in general.

Target Population and Entry Requirements

The programme targets the following:

• In-service graduate teachers who have completed the Bachelor of Education and are desirous of enhancing their qualifications and skills in the area of teaching reading and language development
• Individuals (including administrators) who are working in any educational field- public or private- and who are graduates with a Bachelor’s or Postgraduate degree in related areas

Structure of the Programme

The M.Ed. in Reading Education programme has been structured to help participants assess students’ literacy development, strengths and weaknesses; diagnose reading challenges, design, develop, evaluate and implement literacy instruction at the subject, classroom and school level, as well as develop and deliver literacy-based professional learning opportunities. A key structure in the programme is a clinical component that involves working with students as part of a reading clinic setting and in a school classroom setting with the benefit of coaching and supervision from trained reading specialists.

This part-time blended programme will be delivered over the course of two academic years (two semesters and the summer of the first year and two semesters in the second year). Participants must successfully complete ten compulsory (10) courses and two (2) required modules to be awarded the degree: six 4-credit courses, two 3-credit courses, two 1-credit modules, one 10-credit course and one zero (0) credit pass/fail course.

Components

The programme comprises 42 credits. Individual courses within the programme account for three or four credits.

The 42-credit programme comprises the following major components: 

(I) Three compulsory core courses (12 credits)

• EDRL 6001: Theoretical Foundations of Reading Instruction (4 credits)
• EDRS 6208: Fundamentals of Educational Research I (4 credits)
• EDRS 6210: Fundamentals of Educational Research II (4 credits)

(II) Five compulsory specialization courses (20 credits)

• EDRL 6002: Reading Diagnosis, Intervention and Assessment (4 credits)
• EDRL 6010: Teaching Reading in the Content Areas (3 credits)
• EDRL 6009: Digital Literacy and Technology Integration (4 credits)
• EDRL 6005: Setting up School-based Reading programmes (4 credits)
• EDRL 6011: Supervision and Leadership in Reading (3 credits)

(III) Two required modules (2 credits)

• EDRL 6007: Action Research Module (1 credit)
• EDRL 6008: Single Subject Design Research Module (1 credit)

(IV) EDRS 6203: Graduate Research Seminars: These do not count for credits but are graded on a pass/fail basis. The requirement is that students must fulfill a 75% attendance requirement.

(IV) EDRL 6900: Clinical Research Project/Practicum (year-long) – 15,000 words (10 credits)

Programme Sequence

Contact Information:

Dr. Paulson Skerrit (Paulson.Skerrit@sta.uwi.edu) Extension: 83129 Fax; (868) 662-6615

Programme Support (TBD)