3 Review(s)

In the English-speaking world, taught master's degrees are booming. Increasing numbers of people are studying for master's degrees, while the nature of the degree itself is also changing, so that it is becoming a professional degree and a passport to career advancement. A variety of approaches to curriculum design, teaching, learning and assessment is proliferating. At the same time, there are growing concerns about standards and quality. This unique and fascinating book draws on evidence from the UK, South Africa, the USA and Australia in order to document and assess the rate of expansion and the range of diversity. The contributors, all of whom have been involved in planning and teaching master's programmes, create an overall picture of vibrant developments, as well as pointing to attendant problems. Wide-ranging and stimulating, Masterclass is a book of great value in an area of higher education that has been largely neglected until now. Peter T. Knight is in the Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University, UK.