The aim of the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) program is to provide research training in a manner that fosters the development of independent research skills in candidates. On completion of the period of research, the student should possess the ability to formulate a significant problem, mastery of appropriate conceptual and methodological frameworks, and the capacity for articulate and critical analysis. The MPhil thesis provides evidence of significant research as the culmination of 1.5-2 years full-time equivalent study and research training. Education systems These projects are engaged in both analyses of policy and professional practice and analyses for policy and professional practice. Critique of policy has included work on refugees and asylum seekers, higher education, international education and gender. Analyses for policy and practice have included work on second language acquisition, leadership, counselling and that developing out of the productive pedagogies research. These projects have provided significant theoretical and methodological contributions to the fields of professional learning and education policy, and have an impact upon educational practice and policy both nationally and internationally. Curriculum and pedagogy Projects in this group are concerned with reforming educational practices in relation to pedagogy and curriculum. The research is guided by a commitment to social justice values and democratic processes, and the formation of students as engaged citizens with the knowledge and skills to participate actively and critically in society. It follows that much of the research has been concerned with inquiry-based teaching and learning, with collaborative learning processes in classrooms and with ways of enhancing students’ competencies in the key curriculum domains of mathematics, science and literacy. There is an ongoing focus on productive pedagogies and the relation between pedagogies and assessment practices in schools. Specialist studies in education Projects here focus on the area of special education, inclusion and diversity across the lifespan (children, adolescents, and adults) and the broad area of educational psychology, encompassing such fields as learning theory, assessment processes, self-regulation and motivation, instructional practices and intervention, peer-mediated learning and group processes, and the development of literacy and literacy knowledge and skills. Many of these projects aim to forge a research to practice link, such as the Latch-On reading program for young adults with disabilities and Mind fields, a program for young people to change their life direction through self-regulatory strategies.