OU Postgraduate advice?

J1

Hi
I have a degree in Psychology (recognised by the British and Irish Psychological Society). I also have a PGCE in Social Science. I currently work as a School Completion Co-ordinator in a DEIS 2 school. I am really interested in conducting some research into educational disadvantage and the client group we work with. To support this I am applying to do a masters in Psychological Rsearch Methods and would eventually like to do a PhD and pursue a career in lecturing somewhere down the line, preferrably in the fields of equality, educational disadvantage, marginalisation or really wherever my research ultimately takes me. The masters I have applied for is with the OU, it is not accredited by the Irish or English Psychology Society which is Ok as I do not intend to practice as a Psychologist. It is however listed on the Irish Societies site for Postgrads in research and study. So I'm happy enough with all of that, however could doing an OU postgrad be consider a lesser qualification. I work full time and have children so distance learning is ideal but in the academic field that I wish to pursue I am concerned that it may not be valued by universities however, on the other hand, is it the success of your research and experience that has higher value in terms of employment in the Humanties?
Before I embark on parting with large sums of money and energy I was just wondering if anyone has any on opinion on the best path for me to take. Thanks

niall3r

First of all, fair play to you. Your area of research seems really interesting and relevant.
The basic premise of your post is whether or not online academic awards are considered "lesser" qualifications, and the answer to that is fairly subjective. There are those who are fairly adamant that they are not in any way lesser. . . .but these tend to be the people who have done, or are doing one.
I have a friend who is a principal in a fairly large primary school who has never employed anyone with the hibernia qualification despite recieving numerous applicants. I have worked in a number of post-primary schools and have never come across anybody who has done their dip online either.
It may be an extremely unpopular thing to say, but in my opinion, if two candidates with the same qualifications were standing in front of me, one with an online qualification and one from a solid university, I would be more likely to trust the person from the solid university.

What I would say to you is that you should contact your nearest NUI (Galway, Dublin, Cork, Maynooth) and speak to their dept of education (or social sciences if that is more relevant) about the possibility of doing a post-grad part time. You might not need to be there physically very often. When I was doing my masters (not in education) there were a couple of people who came up once a fortnight in the first semester to the obligatory course and were never seen again until graduation.

You seem very passionate about this and I think you should look at all possible options before making your decision. Do not rule out the possibility of doing your research with an established college.

TheDriver

I have heard the same about Hibernia graduates and not being employed. However, the OU is considered to be extremely well recognised and was voted the 5th best Uni in UK, especially for education courses. I know a good few people who did MEds with them and would swear by it and you save a lot of time than going into college on cold evenings, finding parking etc.

J1

Thanks both of you for your replies. I contacted the Irish and British Psychological Society and they explained to me that MSc i'm interested in considered to be stepping stone to a PhD in terms of preparation for real research and that it is the PhD that would ultimately provide me with chartered Status (OU or otherwise), however as I said in my previous post it's the whole recognition issue for me. The local Universities in my area are not offering them part time which is a real shame as few people can give up their jobs. Anyway I thnk I will pursue it as it is the research I care about and hopefully one day it will make a difference for the kids and their familes I work with.
Thanks Again

Fergus08

J1, regardless of what people here have said about Hibernia qualifications and teaching, the OU is an entirely different beast altogether.

I've posted here several times about the OU as I've experienced just how brilliant they are in the courses they offer, and the exten to which it, as a university, is on a par with certainly Irish universities and is arguably a cut above most UK universities in terms of teaching quality and it's research capabilities.

For the research area you're interested in the OU will be perfect, and will not hinder your ability to progress to PhD study in the future. I've done OU undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as an NUI degree, and I'm currently a PhD student at a fairly selective university. Remember there are OU graduates who've gone on to do post-graduate research at Oxford and Cambridge as well as other elite universities. There are OU graduates lecturing in several Irish universities.

All I'm saying is to ignore the skeptics who are cool about the OU and don't go to your local university just because it's a bricks and mortar place. Often, sadly, Irish university post-graduate courses are delivered by academics long past their sell-by date, who haven't published a decent paper in years, and who are just counting down the years 'til retirement. While at the OU the course you'll take will have been a collaborative effort between external academic experts, research active OU academics and practitioners and will, in all likelihood, be at the cutting edge of pedagogical developments in your field. Go for it!