Postgraduate
MA/Postgraduate Diploma/ Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Educational
Leadership and Management
Syllabus
Module
Outlines
In
all modules the specially written materials, activities, case studies
and additional readings are carefully integrated to prepare you for
participation in online activities and for the assessment of your work.
At all times the emphasis is on personal reflection and the application
of theory to practice.
Core
module 1: Leading and Managing Educational Change and Improvement
This
module introduces some of the basic theories relating to leadership
and management in educational settings and considers how they might
work in a range of situations and cultures - both national and institutional.
Students are alerted to the 'Western' nature of leadership and management
theory. The implications of the changing division and allocation of
power between national and regional government and the individual educational
institution are considered.
Educational
improvement and change along with institutional effectiveness are key
themes in this course and they are introduced in this module along with
the related concept of evaluation.
Core
module 2: Leadership for the Learning Community
This
module starts by asking the question: what do you meant by learning?
It then goes on to consider the implications for leaders and managers
if they are to promote effective learning and the role of the wider
community in supporting and enabling learning.
The
role of the staff within a school, college or educational system is
key to success, and this module considers two ways in which human resource
management links to learning and the implications of this for leaders
and managers. The importance of continuing professional development
for staff and the support and growth of learning communities is stressed.
Finally the module considers the importance of practitioners both using
available research evidence and data from outside and from inside the
institution and system.
Through
the first two modules, support is given for your own development as
practitioner researchers working towards the end of course outcome of
a research based dissertation which will promote change and improvement
in your work environment.
You
will then choose two out of the following four modules according to
your interests and professional needs.
Optional
module 3: Financial and Resource Management in Educational Contexts
First,
this module considers the educational organisation as an open system
and the role of financial and resource management within it. Key principles
that are considered include those of efficiency and equity, particularly
how they can be put into operation.
Attention
is given to sources of finance both private and public and the way in
which finance is administered in decentralised school systems. Theories
relating to costs and to funding are covered including the allocation
of resources.
Budget
planning is considered in relation to strategic management and budget
preparation including planning using spreadsheets is covered along with
financial control and monitoring. The module ends with an assessment
of the linkage between finance and educational outcomes - an overview
of key issues, methods and research evidence.
Optional
module 4: Developing Leadership and Management Skills and Insights
This
module develops in more detail the skills and insights arising from
the theories and practice presented in the core modules. In particular,
this includes development of leadership and management styles in relation
to teams, team building and leading teams; running and attending meetings;
decision-making in organizations; working with stakeholders; managing
conflict and communication styles.
Issues
of motivation and delegation first introduced in module 2 will be developed
further and some of the ideas relating to continuing professional development
will be re-visited and explored in more detail. The module investigates
the key issues for managers of stress and time management and ends with
an examination of action planning.
Optional
module 5: Exploring Education Policy
This
module helps to place the school and college in the context of education
policy, considering how policy is made at local, national and international
levels. It will consider trends and influences on policy-making and
implementation, including: globalisation and national economies, central-local
relations, relationships with ‘partners’, markets, bureaucracies and
networks as methods of co-ordinating policy and practice in education
systems.
Particular
attention will be paid to entitlement and access to education, including
issues of gender, race, religion and disability and the balance to be
struck between basic, vocational and ‘elite’ academic education and
links with economic development and workforce planning. Finally students
will be introduced to conducting a social justice audit.
Optional
module 6: Values, Vision and Moral Purpose in School Leadership
This
module focuses on values, vision and moral purpose in school leadership
and therefore examines the ethics of management and leadership in a
school context looking at the demands of competing ethical systems and
at how ethical leadership can be developed. Visions and missions of
educational leaders are related to strategy and management structures
and processes in the organisation.
Schools
are considered as moral communities and the ways in which moral integrity
can be monitored and evaluated are considered. The importance of organisational
culture, climate and ethos are examined and differentiated and related
to the role of leadership and to change and improvement.
Students
will be given guidance and further reading on basic research approaches
and tools, and will be expected, where possible to conduct a small research
project in their own work environment. The project is likely to be based
on the investigation of a leadership or management issue leading to
recommendations for improvement and action. The investigation could
take the form of empirical research or it could be based on desk research
making use of already available data.
