The Professional Master of Education Degree (PME) is a part-time, course-based graduate program and is part of the Faculty of Education’s laddered-credential online program. This degree is anchored in and extends from the widespread need for professionals to conduct quality systematic inquiry for evidence-informed decision-making. Students will be required to draw from their professional experience to engage with the research literature in their area of concentration.

Students may apply for direct entry into the PME or after completion of the Graduate Diploma in Professional Inquiry. Students who successfully complete this five-course diploma will be eligible to receive credit in the PME and will advance directly to the other requirements of the PME, notably to enrol in a PME concentration, choosing one from the list below:

1. Aboriginal Education (GDPI)/Indigenous Education (GDE)
2. Assessment and Evaluation,
3. Classroom Specialist,
4. Education Abroad (GDPI) /Global Education (GDE) 
5. Literacy Education
6. Educational Administration (GDE only, as of September 1, 2021) 

Each five-course concentration focuses on developing expertise and leadership through field-based, professional inquiry aimed at improving teaching and learning.

Admission Requirements: Direct Entry into the PME

Admission requirements for direct entry will include the following:

• A baccalaureate degree from a recognized university
• Graduation with a B- graduating average or higher (70% graduating average or a ranking in the top third of the graduating class where number grades are not available)
  • Under exceptional circumstances, consideration will be given to highly motivated individuals with relevant field experience who do not meet the B- requirement
• A statement of interest in the program will be required in order to ensure alignment of the applicant’s academic background, work experience, and career aspirations with the objectives of the program.
• Applicants whose native languages do not include English must obtain a passing score in one of the accepted tests of English language proficiency. Information can be found  in the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies here: International Students.

Admission Requirements: From the GDPI/GDE

Note: The GDPI has been renamed to the Graduate Diploma in Education (GDE) as of September 1, 2021.

• Admission requirements for students who have completed the GDPI or GDE at Queen's University are:
  • Successful completion of the GDPI or GDE at Queen’s University with a minimum of a B- graduating average or higher

Areas of Concentration

(Required Course for all concentrations)

Organizational Leadership

This course provides an overview of theories of leadership and an evolution of the practices of leadership within organizations in general and educational institutions in particular. Participants will examine the social and cultural construction of leadership, will gain an understanding of the range of roles and responsibilities that a leader has within an organization; will apply effectively selected leadership skills and processes; and will develop conceptual frameworks to understand behaviours within the organization.

Students will choose from one of the following concentrations:

Aboriginal Education/Indigenous Education

The Aboriginal Education concentration will focus on:

1. Ways of Knowing: Aboriginal Knowledge in the Classroom
2. Policy and Models in Canadian Aboriginal Education, and
3. Aboriginal Languages and Language Teaching. 

As a set these themes examine approaches to education, leadership, and knowledge from the perspective of culture-based education; the policies that have and continue to shape Aboriginal education in Canada; and, the diversity and current status of the Aboriginal Languages of the Americas. Understanding how a cultural lens contributes to an individual’s ‘coming to know’ is a relevant for teachers and leaders working in every school system and multi-cultural organization. In support of their learning, Ways of Knowing will be offered as an elective for students enrolled in other concentrations.

Assessment and Evaluation

The practices of assessment and evaluation lead to judgments about performance that ultimately inform decision-making. In assessment, these judgments are typically about learning and achievement; in evaluation they focus on program merit, worth, significance and value.  As a set, the themes structuring this concentration target three different contexts in which data must be collected, analyzed and acted upon. The focus across themes is how to optimize the accuracy, adequacy, and utility of these judgements and subsequent decisions. This concentration will focus on:

1. Planning and Implementing Effective Classroom Assessment,
2. Using Classroom and Large-Scale Assessment Data, and
3. Conducting Quality Program Evaluations.

Given the relevance of assessment and evaluation across school and organizational contexts, all of these themes will be offered as electives for students enrolled in other concentrations.

Classroom Specialist

Classroom specialists focus their attention on the decisions that foster quality teaching and learning processes. They assume that their own decisions about how, when, and where to learn, in large part, shape the meaning students take from planned educational experiences. This concentration will focus on:

1. Innovative Curriculum Planning,
2. The Connected Classroom, and
3. Critical and Creative Thinking.

As a set, these themes invite classroom teachers to reflect on their own practices and be proactive in continuously improving the frameworks, contexts and outcomes for learning. Given that each theme is relevant to teachers of all subjects and grade levels, all of these themes will be offered as electives for students enrolled in other concentrations.

Literacy Education

Literacy in its broadest sense is the foundation for learning. Literacy allows us to acquire and exchange knowledge and to make sense of and communicate our experiences and is thus at the heart of formal schooling. This concentration will examine three important dimensions of literacy:

1. Theoretical and Historical Foundations,
2. Component Skills, and
3. Effective Intervention.

As a set, these themes invite classroom teachers to examine perspectives on how learners become literate, the complex mental functioning required for literacy and how teachers can target and support the development of these functions. Because literacy underpins achievement across the curriculum and needs to be reinforced, at least informally, by all teachers, Theoretical and Historical Foundations has been designed to also be an elective in support of classroom teachers and instructional leaders.

Education Abroad/Global Education 

Education Abroad will examine three ways that individuals explore both place and space to build an effective and successful teaching career:

1. Culture, Curriculum and Pedagogy,
2. Approaches to Professional Learning, and
3. Professional Community Membership.

As a set, these themes invite current or prospective overseas teachers to understand and participate in the spectrum of learning opportunities available to them from their unique standpoint.  While Education Abroad implies the relocation of the teachers, more and more teachers in domestic settings are encountering students who themselves have been relocated. The study of Culture, Curriculum and Pedagogy has been designed as an appropriate elective for teachers interested in examining how their current orientations to teaching and learning may or may not be inviting to learners from diverse backgrounds.  
 
Applicants must apply for admission to the PME within five years after completing the GDPI or GDE although the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research may waive this requirement in exceptional circumstances.