The magic ingredient: masters students’ interest in their dissertation topics

ABSTRACT The concept of acknowledging students’ interests – both what they may be interested in and what is in their interest – is gaining increasing purchase in the new competitive economy of higher education. In addition to the obvious benefits of boosting student success in higher education institutions (HEIs), there are well-established educational advantages of foregrounding students’ interests. The philosophical and psychological literature abounds with justificatory explanations of why interest is so crucial to learning of all kinds. Apart from the clear motivational benefits, organising learning around interests helps educators to realise the goal of Bildung, the education of the whole person. However, notwithstanding the obvious value of utilising interest in teaching and learning, there is a dearth of relevant research on the topic of relevance to HEIs. This research aims to help redress the balance by investigating how the interests of learners may be utilised effectively in the guidance and supervision of postgraduate students undertaking masters’ dissertations in education.