A fruitful learning experience
PRIOR to pursuing her higher degree, Tharuka Prematillake Thibbotuwawa studied Mass Communication and worked full-time at the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre.
The job exposed her to various research projects, which made her realise that research is actually fun, if one is passionate about what is being researched on.
This in turn, inspired her to do a higher degree and eventually conducted a small-scale research on a topic that was close to her heart — health and population, as well as geography disciplines.
She was accepted to two different programmes from two different schools, before deciding to take up the Master of Arts in Humanities offered by the National Institute of Education, Singapore.
“The courses offered in the Humanities Education programme were very attractive to me. In addition to geography, this programme also offered courses in history and social studies focusing on both pedagogical (which was new to me!) and disciplinary content. The programme was an all-inone package, where I could gain a deeper understanding of humanities education.”
The Master of Arts in Humanities Education helps students develop a critical understanding of social studies, history and geography with a strong grounding in the philosophies and how these can be applied to studies of the social issues of our time.
While the programme is designed for those who have relevant background knowledge in one or more of the following disciplines and school courses, such as geography, history and social studies, it is tailored for those wishing to broaden their multidisciplinary perspectives on the development of our societies in space and time.
The programme can be completed within one to three years on a full-time basis and two to four years on a part-time basis.
Hailing from Sri Lanka, Tharuka was glad at where it had landed her — a job as a research associate at NIE.
“This is my first time working with teachers and students in Singapore’s secondary schools and I am learning exciting things about history and geography curricula, disciplines, and/or pedagogy everyday. The whole package is an absolute wonder!
“You get education by educators who teach education. That’s kind of unique. It adds another perspective to the disciplinary knowledge, especially the interplay between the academic disciplinary approach and the pedagogical approach in learning. All these resulted in a fruitful and a uniquely different learning experience, and that, itself, was the best part of being a student at NIE”.
The National Institute of Education, Singapore, is an autonomous institute under the Nanyang Technological University. It has been ranked as one of the top 20 education institutions in the world and top three in Asia by Quacquarelly
For more information on the range of higher degree programmes offered by NIE, visit www.nie.edu.sg/gpl/hd.