| Unit name | Leading & Managing Change |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EDUCM0018 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Professor. Trahar |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None. |
| Co-requisites |
All other mandatory units. |
| School/department | School of Education |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit will seek to enhance participants’ understanding of the nature of educational organisations at all levels and their leadership and management in the context of global, national and local change. Following a review of contemporary organisation theories, leadership theories and associated research, the unit will focus on issues such as organisational cultures, how leaders learn and what they do, decision-making, strategic management, issues of organisational power and politics, and the leadership and management of change. These topics will be considered in the context of local, national and global policy and participants will be invited to reflect on specific management and leadership issues in the organisations with which they are familiar.
Specific aims are:
To understand the key characteristics of contemporary educational organisations. To understand the complexities of leadership in contemporary educational organisations. To assess the significance of contemporary theory and research for understanding specific educational organisations and their cultures. To critically consider theory, research and professional knowledge about the management of educational change. To evaluate factors that impact on the management of change at institutional, local, national and global levels. To explore the extent to which concepts and ideas highlighted in the research and theoretical literature can be applied in different educational contexts and different political and cultural settings.
By the end of the unit each participant will • have acquired a firm conceptual grasp of contemporary theories of organisation, leadership, and the processes of strategic and change management; • possess the capacity to evaluate the scope and applicability of theories of organisation, management and leadership for understanding a wide range of educational organisations in the current policy context; • be able to draw upon relevant theories to analyse specific problems and issues in a particular organisation and to propose solutions; • be able to reflect critically on their own professional circumstances and apply theoretical perspectives and ideas within their own professional contexts.
The course will be delivered using a combination of teaching strategies, such as whole group lectures and seminars, case studies, critical analysis of key readings, group discussions and student presentations.
The needs of a wide range of students, including those with disabilities, international students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds have been considered. It is not anticipated that the teaching and assessment methods used will cause disadvantage to any person taking the unit. The Graduate School of Education is happy to address individual support requests as necessary
Summative assessment for the unit will be on the basis of a 4,000 word assignment which will assess students’ critical understanding of the literature and their ability to apply the concepts and theories explored to their own professional practice.
Bush, T. (2011) Theories of Educational Leadership and Management (4th Edition), London: Paul Chapman Gronn, P. (2002) The New Work of Educational Leaders, London: Paul Chapman Hargreaves, A. et al (eds.) (2010) Second International Handbook of Educational Change, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers Hoyle, E. and Wallace, M. (2005) Educational Leadership: Ambiguity, Professionals and Managerialism, London: Sage Morrison, K. (1998) Management Theories for Educational Change, London: Paul Chapman Shattock, M. (2003) Managing Successful Universities, Maidenhead: Open University Press
