SAQA

All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Masters Certificate: Education

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
20476	Masters Certificate: Education
ORIGINATOR
SGB Educators Schooling
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Master's Degree	Field 05 - Education, Training and Development		Schooling
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	120	Level 8 and above	Level TBA:Pre-2009 was L8+	Regular-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 06120/18	2018-07-01	2018-12-31
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2019-12-31		2022-12-31

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

To provide a formal qualification at the exit point from a structured MEd degree.

To accredit advanced and specialised professional or academic knowledge of an aspect of education.

Rationale for the qualification

The Masters Certificate in Education is an exit qualification from the structured MEd degree, and provides a formal acknowledgement of achievement for candidates who successfully complete the component of coursework but not that of research. The Masters Certificate can also serve as a 'stand-alone' qualification, which provides advanced (usually continuing) development, upgrading and reflection for professionals, without requiring a sustained research project.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

It is assumed that the candidate:

is sufficiently competent in the language of learning and teaching to undertake study at NQF Level 8, and

has achieved NQF Level 7 competence in educational theory, research and in the area of specialisation.

Recognition of prior learning:

The qualification may be achieved in part through the recognition of relevant prior learning or experience. Providers are required to develop structured means for the assessment of individual candidates against the exit level outcomes of the qualification on a case-by-case basis. Such procedures, and the assessment of individual cases, are subject to moderation by independent assessors.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

Candidates will qualify for this degree only if they can demonstrate the competence described in the exit level outcomes that follow. The descriptors which follow the exit level outcomes should be regarded as ways of interpreting the exit level outcomes. Competence should be at the degree of complexity indicated in the NQF level descriptors for Level 8.

1. Candidates demonstrate that they have acquired a sound knowledge base and critical understanding of education in general, and of their area(s) of specialisation in particular.

2. Candidates demonstrate the ability to critically analyse and evaluate knowledge in their area(s) of specialisation, and to contribute to systematic and disciplined thinking about educational matters and issues, with particular reference to their area(s) of specialisation.

3. Candidates demonstrate the ability to conduct independent inquiry in a specialised field of education, training or development, and to report their findings in academically appropriate ways.

4. Candidates exhibit the potential to act as academic leaders and experts in the field of education, training and development.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

1. Competence is shown when candidates are able to:

demonstrate familiarity with major lines of debate in the relevant field of education;

critically evaluate literature within an area of educational specialisation;

demonstrate the ability to reconstruct knowledge creatively and imaginatively, with a degree of independence;

evaluate theories of education relevant to a specific area of study;

relate knowledge, skills and competences to specific educational contexts;

demonstrate an awareness of the constructed and provisional nature of educational knowledge;

demonstrate epistemological maturity by evaluating the foundations of educational thought and knowledge.

2. Competence is shown when candidates are able to:

display intellectual independence and critical/analytical skill in the development of well-grounded and systematically developed arguments;

justify claims and conclusions with appropriate evidence and argument;

provide and synthesise accounts of complex scholarly work in an area of study in education;

assess theoretical positions and proffered solutions to educational problems;

provide independent critical analyses of data and theories in the area of study.

3. Competence is shown when candidates are able to:

plan and conduct inquiry using appropriate research techniques;

collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate appropriate information and data from primary and secondary sources;

show evidence of engagement with the wider field of relevant educational literature;

evaluate appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks;

use relevant educational research designs, methods and data analysis in a responsible, reflective and adaptable manner;

report on research findings and communicate these in written and/or oral form.

4. Competence is shown when candidates are able to:

manage educational contradictions and make educational value commitments;

effectively interact and engage in debate with learning or professional groups in education;

contribute to others' understanding of educational issues through discourse and research;

facilitate discussion on complex educational issues in an informed and visionary manner;

critically evaluate their own and others' work in education;

demonstrate responsibility, self-reflexivity and adaptability as an educational leader;

reflect on values and responsibilities appropriate to academic and professional leadership.

Integrated assessment

Assessment in coursework should be focussed on candidates' applied competence, i.e. their ability to apply their advanced and specialised theoretical knowledge to discussions on, investigations of and the creation of solutions for educational problems in their area of specialisation. Evidence of candidates' competence should be collected by means of a range of strategies which are appropriate to the purpose, exit outcomes and NQF level of this qualification.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

International comparability

The qualifications structures and standards frameworks of a number of overseas countries were studied for the purposes of comparison, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand. While all these countries specify the requirements of initial teacher education/training in terms of standards/criteria only one - New Zealand - has developed level descriptors for post-graduate qualifications. All four countries specify required learning for initial teacher qualifications in terms of core curricula/components but not for post-graduate work.

MODERATION OPTIONS

Providers should establish or refine existing moderation procedures and systems at their institutions with a view to aligning them with the requirements of the relevant ETQA.

Candidates' results/performance should be externally moderated by one or more external moderators who are specialists in the candidates' area of specialisation. Moderators should report not only on the standard of candidates' work but also on the validity, reliability and transparency of the assessment criteria used by the provider.

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

Accredited providers may use their own qualified staff as assessors. They may also utilise the services of tutors, departmental advisory service staff and outside agencies in this regard provided that such assessors are registered as assessors and monitored by the accredited provider.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2012; 2015.

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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