REGULATIONS FOR THE MASTER OF EDUCATION DEGREE IN AGRICULTURE AND APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (EDU75)
Duration 11/2Years
Actual Credit Load 324
Minimum Credit Load 270
Maximum Credit Load 330
Total MBKS Load 234
ZNQF Level; 9
PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME
- To increase the students’ knowledge base in the area of agriculture education and equip practitioners with requisite practical, theoretical and creative skills.
- To prepare professionals who can teach Agriculture to the undergraduate level and produce highly qualified personnel for educational institutions, government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
2.0 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Normal Entry:
To be eligible for the programme, an applicant must normally have:
- a B.Ed degree in agriculture or approved equivalent from any recognised university in the appropriate subject area.
- a BSc degree in agriculture and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education or approved equivalent from any recognised university.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION
Employability:
- Graduates can be employed as teachers, lecturers, education inspectors, training officers in multiple agricultural disciplines, consultants/policy developers in environmental change research.
Further Studies:
Further education in PhD in area of specialization, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Wildlife and Environmental Management, Fisheries, Indigenous Agricultural Practices, Agricultural Climatology, Environmental Management & Agriculture and Applied Environmental Science.
MODULE SYNOPSES
MICT732: Advanced Information Communication Technology in Education
This module helps students acquire advanced specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of ICTs in educational environments. The topics covered include Models of ICT curriculum integration, educational ICT policy development, current and emerging issues in digital learning, contemporary learning design theories and frameworks, and framing assessment within 21st-century contexts, ICT in educational agricultural research, among others.
MED741: Advanced Research Methods and Statistics
The module seeks to develop postgraduate students’ knowledge in the following areas of educational research: the different philosophical orientations in research; research paradigms; theoretical and conceptual frameworks; research designs; data collection methodologies; advanced quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques; as well as discussion of findings and making conclusions. The module also introduces students to significant educational research problems whose resolution have the potential to contribute to knowledge in educational areas such as pedagogy and assessment, as well as in sustainable development issues such as health, poverty eradication, environmental awareness, etc.
MSEAG701: Climate Change and Land Use
The module explores specific issues relating to climate and how different land use systems can be managed to adapt to current and long-term climate change. This is considered together with an analysis of the potential for reducing GHG emissions in agriculture and forestry by carbon sequestration, fossil fuel substitution, circular production and food system transition. Global demand for arable land, drivers of land use change and land use governance are discussed in relation to climate change, food security and environmental sustainability.
MSEAG702: Sustainable Crop Production
The module is designed to enable students to understand and analyse modern cropping systems for purposes of increasing yields and resource efficiency in production. Students shall get to understand the main agronomic constraints for increasing crop production, the methods used to develop crops, crop management and cropping systems in order to increase crop yields and close the yield gap. Students shall also analyse complex, real-life problems within crop production. Aspects of mechanization must come out clearly.
MSEAG703: Land Reform and Agribusiness
The module looks at how land reform programmes were executed in different countries leading to gender, class and race empowerment/ disempowerment. It also focuses on land management in the agricultural sector. Students shall gain an insight into the relationship between land ownership, and the production and marketing side of the supply chain and also develop knowledge of the relationship between the suppliers, producers and consumers.
MED743: Gender Discourse in Agriculture Education
The module explores fundamental perspectives in Gender Studies to address historical gender inequalities in society and Agriculture Education in particular. It inculcates a critical analysis of the concept of gender, its historical development and ideologies that perpetuate gender differences. The module explores implications for sustainable development goals on gender, education and development. It also explores gender inequalities in STEM as one of the pillars of development. It’s very critical to link Gender studies to Agriculture where the majority (>70%) of farmers are women.
MSEAG704: Sustainable Animal Production
The module covers developments of scientific and technical knowledge in various areas of animal production by focusing on executing and implementing modern technologies associated with animal production, defining avenues leading to the best solutions to problems that the sector faces such as the epidemic surveillance in animal production and traceability of animal products. The importance of sustainability of animal production and respect for the environment and practical problem-solving capacity in the sector are considered.
MSEAG705: Food and Nutrition Security
The module addresses the role of agriculture towards the provision of adequate and nutritious food to consumers and how to achieve the desired individual, national and global nutrition impact. The dietary gap and policies to stimulate the agricultural production of nutritious foods are discussed.
MSEAG706: Water Management and Governance
The module provides knowledge, skills and competencies to help comprehensively analyze, critically reflect and effectively contribute to solving contemporary water problems. The question of how to balance objectives of social equity with those of ecological integrity and productivity is at the heart of societal efforts to deal and live with water. Institutional and policy aspects shall also be considered through an analysis of water policy in Zimbabwe and elsewhere.
FMED732 Financial Management in Educational Institutions
This module must just be on the Management of Educational Institutions, it should cover both financial and human/material resources. The module introduces financial management practices followed in schools and other educational institutions across Faculty disciplines. It considers basic accounting concepts and conventions, including the double entry system of recording business transactions, preparation of general-purpose financial statements, bank reconciliation statements, and skills of budgeting and budgetary control as well as accounting requirements of Treasury Instructions.
MSEAG707: Agroecology
The module focuses on the knowledge and skills related to the management of ecosystems, the impact of agricultural production on the environment etc. Initiatives on how Zimbabwean farmers practice agroecology to overcome the challenges of climate change are explored. Case studies such as the agroecological training on bio-fertilizers in Togo, the Shashe Agroecological School in Zimbabwe and Bio gardening innovations in Kenya are critiqued as viable techniques in ensuring thcreation of food security in the developing world.
MSEAG708: Trends in Agriculture Education
The module explores cross-cutting themes in the area of agriculture science and education in Zimbabwe, SADC and the world over. The production and use of GMOs and their ethical use in nutritional security are explored, and so is their threat to biodiversity and the future of agricultural research. The place of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, smart agricultural practices, e.g. Pfumvudza, mechanization and formal and informal agricultural education (agricultural extension), webinars and other online programmes.
MED744: Dissertation
The Dissertation is a research study carried out over two semesters by each postgraduate student under the guidance of a supervisor. Students are expected to apply their knowledge and skills in conducting research on contemporary educational and social issues in their area of specialisation. Students are encouraged to conduct research which has the potential to contribute to knowledge and policies in education, and in social issues such as poverty, disaster and risk management, environmental conservation, etc. Students are expected to produce and submit a dissertation that meets the standards of research work at the Master’s Level.
