Early Childhood Education and School Environment and Leadership Programme description

Se emneplan.

Målgruppen for emnet er styrere i barnehage og skoleledere som jobber i grunnskolen eller videregående opplæring, og som har gjennomført henholdsvis Nasjonal lederutdanning for styrere i barnehager (30 studiepoeng) eller Nasjonal rektorutdanning (30 studiepoeng) eller minimum 30 studiepoeng i ledelse eller tilsvarende.

Opptakskrav er fullført og bestått enten a) Nasjonal utdanning for styrere i barnehager (30 studiepoeng) eller b) Nasjonal rektorutdanning (30 studiepoeng) eller c) minimum 30 (eller 15+15) studiepoeng i ledelse eller tilsvarende. Med «tilsvarende» menes for eksempel emner i organisasjon og ledelse og/eller administrasjon og ledelse.

Kvalifiserte søkere må være ansatt som leder i barnehage eller skole. Ansettelsesforholdet skal dokumenters med oppdatert informasjon fra barnehage- eller skoleeier. Beskrivelsen «leder i barnehage eller skole» innebærer også assisterende ledere, avdelingsledere og inspektører i skolen. Stillinger med lederansvar.

Admission to this study program is processed in accordance with current Regulations Relating to Admission to Master’s Degree Programs at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent from an accredited university or university college. The Admissions office makes the decisions on applications for admission.

For more information, see Forskrift om opptak til studier ved OsloMet (in Norwegian) or Regulations related to Admission to Studies at OsloMet (in English).

Admission to individual courses

Many of the courses in the programme are available for students outside the programme and can be applied to individually. Applicants to freestanding courses in the master’s program must have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent from an accredited university or college. The grade C requirement does not apply to admission to individual courses. Applicants to freestanding courses do not have to document proficiency in the Norwegian language in order to be eligible for admission. For courses with progression requirements those have to be approved before admission to the course. More information about admission to individual courses can be found on the programme’s website.

A graduate of this program has acquired the following learning outcomes defined as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The graduate can

• demonstrate thorough familiarity with principles of behavior analysis
• discuss therelationship between theoretical knowledge, experimental analysis, and applied science
• understand the difference between description, prediction, and explanation
• demonstrate theoretical and working knowledge of the ethical principles that govern scientific research and interventions in applied settings

Skills

The graduate can

• analyze behavior using the principles of behavior both in research and in applied settings
• conduct experiments and demonstrate working knowledge of scientific methodology
• demonstrate appropriate strategies for evaluating the effects of independent variables and interventions by using different designs and inferential statistics
• critically assess the quality of scientific information
• conduct and report a supervised research project with a behavioral perspective in accordance with research ethical guidelines and regulations
• integrate behavioral principles with knowledge from other fields
• communicate with professionals in different fields

Competence

The graduate can

• contribute to the development of evidence-based methods for intervention and behavior change
• share knowledge and skills with the public and peers according to the standards of professional scientific communication, including the current APA standards
• justify his/her professional behavior with reference to relevant professional and ethical guidelines, general ethical considerations, and assessment of the situation.

Program Structure

The program constitutes a scientifically and pedagogically integrated whole; with compulsory and elective components (all comprising 10 ECTS), in addition to master’s theses of 40 ECTS.

Content of common compulsory courses

These courses provide basic insight and some practical skills in behavior analysis.The philosophy of science that is fundamental to behavior analysis is introduced and placed in a wider context of philosophy of science. The status of various scientific approaches in modern society is discussed. The courses place the study of human behavior in a natural science tradition and emphasize a selectionist understanding of change processes. Basic ontological and epistemological questions are discussed: unity of knowledge; the relationship between natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities; determining and defining analytical units in research; and methodological approaches suitable for promoting effective action. Behavior analysis – experimental, conceptual and applied – is introduced as a cumulative science of behavior.

Compulsory courses

• MALK4100 Science, Behavior, and Society
• MALK4000-403 Behavior Analysis and Radical Behaviorism
• MALKA211 Introduction to Behavior Analysis
• MALKA212 Refinement of Behavior Analytic Terms
• MALKA213 Laboratory Exercises – Experimental Analysis of Behavior
• MALKA214 Experimental Design and Functional Analysis

Content of elective courses

In the elective courses, various behaviorally based approaches to initiating, facilitating and managing change processes in individual behavior repertoire, organizations and systems are studied. Behavioral technology comprises everything from basic self-control techniques to sophisticated tools for initiating and managing complex processes in large organizations. Important features in this methodology are operational measures of change and continuous data collection.

Elective courses (a total of 20 ECTS)

Each student chooses two (2) of the following courses:

• MALKA215 Complex Human Behavior *
• MALKA217 Early Intervention for Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders
• MALKA218 Ethical Considerations in Applied Behavior Analysis
• MALKA219 Organizational Behavior Management (OBM)
• MALKA220 Behavioral Economics
• MALKA221 Complex Systems and Risk Management (Not offered in 2025)
• MALKA222 Clinical Behavior Analysis

Elective courses are normally offered every Fall term. Students enrol for courses bydeadlines each semester, and thedepartment reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrolment. Depending on the number of students enrolled, changes may be made in the way the courses are conducted.

Master's thesis

Students write an individual master’s thesis worth 40 ECTS (MALK5920/MALKD5920). The thesis is usually a work in progress during the elective courses, when students participate in research projects with faculty.

By the end of the final course at the latest, the student submits a thesis outline, including a research question, a plan for progress, and a plan for dissemination (see guidelines, Thesis outline). When faculty approves the thesis outline, the student is assigned a supervisor for his thesis work. See the course descriptions for MALK5920/MALKD5920 for a more detailed description of the master’s thesis worth 40 ECTS.

Two compulsory seminars in research ethics cover academic honesty; the work of Regional Ethics Committees; the guidelines of OsloMet on research ethics and research fraud; current publication manuals and APA style manuscript preparation, and the use of electronic reference management tools. The seminars are taken place digitally and are open forstudents from all stages of the program. One seminar is held every semester, and both seminars must be completed before the proposal for the thesis is submitted.

The master’s thesis can be written in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

The program complies with the quality assurance systems required by the university.

Progression Requirements

All coursework requirements must be approved to sit for the final course exam. Coursework requirements must be approved to participate and submit coursework requirements according to the following:

MALKA211: MALK4100 or equivalent

MALKA212: MALK4100, MALKA211, or equivalent

MALKA213: MALK4100, MALKA211, MALKA212, or equivalent

MALKA214: MALK4100, MALKA211, or equivalent

MALKA215: MALK4100, MALK4000-403, MALKA211, MALKA212, MALKA214, or equivalent

MALKD5920: All courses in the specialisation must be completed with pass grades and the coursework requirements, including seminars in research ethics, must be approved before the candidate may submit the master’s thesis.

Exemption from the provisions of progression requirements may in special cases and upon application by the student, be granted.

Se emneplan.

The increasing globalization of the labour market makes international experience and knowledge of languages and cultures increasingly important. Internationalization contributes to raising the quality of education and strengthens the academic community relating to the master’s program, at the same time as it strengthens the students as global citizens.

The Program for Behavioral Science has teaching and research collaboration projects and agreements with several foreign institutions of higher education. We encourage students to take a part of their master`s degree at one of our collaborating institutions, subject to the approval of the Head of Studies. A prerequisite for approval of the exchange is that the coursework is interchangeable with courses in our master’s program.

The recommended options for international exchange are the 3rd semester.

Courses open to exchange students

The following courses are open to exchange students and will be offered in English in case of participation of international exchange students:

• MALK4000-403 Behavior Analysis and Radical Behaviorism, 10 ECTS
• MALKA211 Introduction to Behavior Analysis, 10 ECTS
• MALKA212 Refinement of Behavior Analytic Terms, 10 ECTS
• MALKA213 Laboratory Exercises – Experimental Analysis of Behavior,10 ECTS
• MALKA215 Complex Human Behavior, 10 ECTS
• MALKA217 Early Intervention for Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders, 10 ECTS
• MALKA218 Ethical Considerations in Applied Behavior Analysis, 10 ECTS
• MALKA219 Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), 10 ECTS
• MALKA220 Behavioral Economics, 10 ECTS
• MALKA222 Clincal Behavior Analysis

Exchange students should have basic competence in behavior analysis.

Courses are taught in English when international students attend the course, otherwise they are mainly taught in Norwegian.

Required reading is primarily in English.

All courses except MALKA212, MALKA213, MALKA214 and MALKA218 have one or more coursework requirements. Each assignment is graded Approved/Not approved. All assignments must be approved before the student can sit for the exam in each course.

Written assignments

The assignments are submitted digitally, and written feedback is delivered in the same electronic platform. When the coursework requirement is delivered according to deadlines in the course schedule the student has the right to receive feedback on the assignment. Assignments not submitted within the set deadline will be considered failed.

A student may submit the same compulsory assignment a maximum of three times. Failed assignments must be reworked before resubmission. If the second submission fails, the student is not eligible for the regular examination. The student is entitled to a third attempt before new/deferred exam.

If one or more assignments are not approved after three attempts, the student must attend the course the next time it is arranged, usually the subsequent year. Application for a fourth and final attempt to complete the assignment to sit for the exam are decided on an individual basis by the study administration in cooperation with the person responsible for the course.

All coursework in writing, including master’s theses, undergoes automatic plagiarism control on submission.

Attendance requirementsWhile there is no attendance required for lectures, this is a demanding program, and steady work is required throughout the courses.

Two research ethics seminars are 100 % attendance required before the thesis outline can be submitted. The seminars are taken place digitally and held annually, one each semester. It is recommended to complete the seminars during the first year of studies.