An Analysis Of The Study Situation Of Cross-disciplinary M.Ed Students

In recent years,with the increasing need of comprehensive human resources and the continuous expansion of the postgraduate enrollment,cross-disciplinary graduate team becomes larger.There are more and more cross-disciplinary M.Ed students,and they have become a special group which can not be ignored among M.Ed students.Compared to non cross-disciplinary M.Ed students,cross-disciplinary M.Ed students have learned another major for four years,but they did not learn English teaching systematically.Understanding the study situation of cross-disciplinary M.Ed students during their postgraduate stage,concluding their strengths and weaknesses,and analyzing the reasons as well as influencing factors of those strengths and weaknesses have important theoretical and practical significance.In order to help cross-disciplinary M.Ed students to study smoothly during the postgraduate time and make full use of their strengths while overcoming their weaknesses,this study intends to investigate cross-disciplinary M.Ed students’ strengths and weaknesses which they have in the process of their study.This research is involved in a four-month study and it is a qualitative research.The participants consist of five cross-disciplinary M.Ed students from a normal university in central China,and their majors are different in the college.This study explores these five cross-disciplinary M.Ed students’ strengths and weaknesses from three aspects,including course study,teaching practice and research.This study uses the related theory of education and psychology,and analyzes the reasons and influences of those strengths and weaknesses so as to provide advice to cross-disciplinary M.Ed students and the education of cross-disciplinary M.Ed students.The data of the study comes from interviews to the five cross-disciplinary M.Ed students,classroom observation,their teaching journals and daily journals on the internet.The findings of this study are as follow.On one hand,cross-disciplinary M.Ed students have proper study attitude and reasonable plans.On the other hand,they lack knowledge basis and have relatively-low English professional quality.By trying hard on their own and with the help of educators of cross-disciplinary M.Ed students,they gradually adapt to the new major and prepare for being English teachers.