This course will provide an introduction to research, policy and practice relating to leadership, management and improvement in contemporary educational settings. Participants will explore how educational leaders are positioned as key agents in driving change and improvement in educational organisations, including schools.

A blend of synchronous and asynchronous online components.

The following courses are excluded for students who have completed Into Headship PGCert:

■ Fundamentals of Leadership, Management and Improvement

■ Leading Professional Collaboration

■ Tackling Wicked Issues in Education.

N/A

Participants will be assessed through a portfolio of work developed in response to this course and Leading Professional Collaboration course.

Portfolio components will be personalised to the individual student's context but will include:

a) A reflective report that draws on organisational culture as reflective practice in which participants identify and critically reflect on cultural artifacts in their organisation (1,000 words)

b) A written assignment equivalent to 3,000 words in which participants demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, skills and application of the course through a critical analysis of a key educational leadership and change process that has, or is occurring, within their particular setting (department, school, educational organisation).

The portfolio assessment integrates learning from both Leading Professional Collaboration and Fundamentals of Leadership, Management and Improvement, allowing students to critically examine leadership and change through the lens of organisational culture and collaborative practice. By combining reflective analysis with a critical examination of a change process, the assessment supports a holistic understanding of how professional relationships and cultural dynamics shape improvement processes within educational settings.

The key aims of this course are:

■ To examine foundational theories and models of educational leadership and management, empowering learners to critically understand change and improvement processes.

■ Develop participants' knowledge and expertise in the leadership of change through:

■ critical engagement with relevant academic literature and

■ the application of this literature to identify and reflect critically on key educational leadership and change processes occurring in educational organisations or a wider policy context.

By the end of this course students will be able to: 

■ Apply theoretical and applied understandings of the concept of leading change to deliver improvements in learning and teaching.

■ Identify and justify an area for change and improvement, drawing from sources of data, research and other information relevant to their context.

■ Critically reflect upon and evaluate professional practice and the potential to lead sustainable change within their own setting.

■ Understand the nature of change in organisations and the development of theory concerned with the management of change.

■ Develop a mindset for managing and leading organisational change.