Course units

1. Models of educational leadership

• Explore conceptualising educational leadership practice as adjectival models
• Consider what this means in diverse international contexts
• Examine and evaluate a range of key models

2. Engaging with research in educational leadership

• What is educational leadership research?
• What topics can be researched in education?
• Why should research in education be taken seriously?

In this unit, you'll learn about the empirical literature base and develop the skills to review this literature purpose and practice as well as determine trustworthiness. You'll engage in theory and understand the impacts and uses of this research. You'll have the opportunity to reflect on your own practice and think about how your learning might influence your professional work.

3. Leading educational change

• Examine what is meant by ‘change’
• Counter-productive and productive motivators for and mechanisms for change
• Critical perspective on leading change

In this unit, you'll examine how notions of ‘change’ are located within ideological, political and epistemological contexts and structures and how the ‘school effectiveness and school improvement’ movement exemplifies this. You'll develop critical skills on how reform agendas require problematisation to evaluate how they may disrupt or reproduce inequities. In other words, who benefits from the proposed changes? Who loses? What can be done about that as a leader? What place do values have in the proposed changes? Whose values are they?

4. Educational policy and leadership

• What is policy and how is it ‘done’?
• Policy architecture
• Welfarism, social democracy and neoliberalism as policy architecture

This unit focusses on how international discourses variously enable or hinder certain policies and/or reform agendas. You'll examine the role of educational leadership in policy reform, welfarism and The Great Reform Movement (GERM). You'll demonstrate an understanding of education policy in and for understanding educational leadership and its relationship to wider changes at both national and international levels. You'll show an understanding of key ideas underpinning changes and developments in education policy and in education policy that concerns leaders.

5. Educational leadership as a social practice

• Educational leadership practice in a globalising education system
• Getting and doing the job
• Using research evidence

After completing this unit you'll be able to demonstrate an understanding of the literature sources and issues related to collaborative practice and have an enhanced appreciation of the opportunities of, and barriers to, collaboration. You'll develop links between your learning and practice. You'll contribute to debates about research in educational leadership in a range of different contexts and from different perspectives, with a specific focus on collaboration and conduct a small-scale investigation in a systematic manner. You'll reflect on your own practice and think about how your learning might influence their professional work.

6. Accreditation of applied learning/optional course units

Digital technologies and educational leadership

Leadership of International Schools unit is arranged into four themes:

Theme 1: Historical overview and Examining internationalism and Global Citizenship The birth and expansion of international schools. How notions of ‘internationalism and Global Citizenship’ are located within ideological, political and epistemological contexts and structures. How international schools and related bodies extoll and promote this.

Theme 2: A critical perspective on implementing emancipatory education How private school organisation requires problematisation to evaluate how they may disrupt or reproduce inequities. In other words, who benefits from the proposed changes? Who loses? What can be done about that as a leader? What place do values have in the proposed changes? Whose values are they? How state sector professional preparation fails to equip leaders with the critical tools for high-stakes independent leadership.

Theme 3: Problematic influencers of change in international settings Overarching responsibility. Permanent transformation. Balkanisation. Cultural considerations. How these impact teacher professionalism, motivation and retention.

Theme 4: Productive motivators for leading internationally Human rights and educational focus. Breaking down hierarchies – working to develop educational values. Global Citizenship Education as leadership discourse.

7. Independent Supervised Study/Project

• Research skills and application of research to professional practice
• Project-based enquiry

The above information is correct at time of publication (April 2020) but subject to change

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