Education is one of the central functions of a university. It is not
surprising, therefore, that one of Monash's first-established faculties should
have been the Faculty of Education. This faculty is concerned with both the
professional education of teachers (preservice and inservice) and related
professionals and with research into the many-faceted ways in which education
is conducted in society and in which education, society and individuals
interact with each other.
The faculty operates from the Clayton, Gippsland and Peninsula campuses.
Undergraduate preservice courses are offered on all three campuses. These
programs range from innovative double degree programs to stand-alone four-year
degrees. Pre-service graduate diploma in education courses are also offered on
each campus.
All campuses offer postgraduate diplomas and degrees, both by coursework and
research. Many courses are available by distance education. Postgraduate
courses cater mainly for students who have had some years of professional
experience. For these students the faculty offers a wide range of subjects,
many of which have a flexibility that encourages students to define their own
interests and to draw on their considerable professional and life experience.
These opportunities reflect a recognition that there is a mutuality and
reciprocity in the contributions to learning that are made by both staff and
students.
While the majority of students in the faculty are either intending to teach in
schools or in early childhood settings or are teachers already, there is an
increasing number of people who wish to study education for other reasons.
Education takes place in the community in many ways and institutions, other
than through schools, and the faculty's courses are increasingly attractive to
educators in the fields of health, business, nursing, social work, industrial
training, commerce, the law, public service, professional associations,
tertiary institutions and community fields generally.
The faculty's tradition of scholarly research, professional education and
community service is substantial, having been built up since the faculty's
foundation in 1964 and the faculty is constantly revising its courses and their
constituent subjects.
The professional doctorate (the Doctor of Education (EdD)) requires three years
full-time or up to six years of part-time study. This degree program offers
experienced and appropriately qualified educators the opportunity to upgrade
their professional qualifications by engaging in study at a level equivalent to
that of the PhD but involving a combination of coursework and research
culminating in the production of a thesis, the prime purpose of which is to use
novel research findings to improve professional practice.
The faculty's usual research degrees - the Master of Education and the Doctor
of Philosophy - are available to students who wish to engage in individually
supervised courses of research leading to the submission of a thesis, the prime
purpose of which is the extension of knowledge for its own sake.