Barriers and motivators to attaining a school-based MA in Education: a case study

A school-based master’s programme was provided for teachers at a comprehensive in the East End of London, UK. Two traditional barriers to doing an MA (cost and travelling time) were removed. The study explores the extent to which teachers’ workload, family commitments and other external factors impact on the retention of MA participants. It was found that heavy job and family obligations were not necessarily predictors of failure to complete the course, and that personal values and aspirations had a greater bearing on attaining the award than work/life balance. It emerged that the minority ethnic backgrounds of the teachers interviewed might well be a significant factor in their determination to attain a master’s degree.