The Masters of Education in Educational Leadership and Management course is administered by the University of Buckingham. It is distance-learning with the expectation that the students will complete a total of 8 trainee study days, also online, over the course of the 18 months. These will be followed by an online discussion as well as an essay.

Every master’s student is allocated a supervisor. You will regularly communicate for example, via Teams, Zoom, email or another online meeting platform with your supervisor at times that are suitable for you both, to support each module. You will also have access to regular online study sessions throughout the course. There is an induction session early on to introduce you to how the course will run, then there are twilight sessions UK time, during the year to support you with each module and with additional sessions to aid with the completion of the dissertation. The majority of these are optional in terms of attendance as we know that many people struggle to be available at certain times. However, all these sessions are recorded and can be watched after the live event. This means that as you progress through the course you end up having access to a library of videos that you can re-visit, to support you to a successful outcome. It is important to understand that you, as a master’s student, will be expected to work independently and to use the guidance provided to complete the required modules.

What is the point of doing a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Management when I have a PGCE or am an experienced teacher?

1. Professionals do not stop learning at any stage in their working lives.  Doctors and lawyers, for example, have to have regular refresher courses.  In the same way teachers are primarily trained to teach and so to move onto Middle and Senior Leadership positions brings a whole new set of responsibilities and challenges to navigate.  This programme will enable you to take on those challenges with confidence.
2. Not only will you learn about recent research in education, but you will also learn how to research yourself.
3. Having taken the trouble to gain this qualification will show your employer and future employers that you are a serious, professional employee.  The course will equip you with the ability to talk about particular areas of leadership with acquired knowledge and experience.
4. You will find the course intellectually stimulating as a whole new area of study will be opened up to you.

Course content

The course is distance-learning with the expectation that you will attend a total of 8 trainee study days over the course of the 18 months. These will be followed by further online discussions as well as an essay. Throughout the programme, each student will be assigned a supervisor who will support them through the assignments and with the final dissertation.  The course covers the following topics:

Module 1 The Leadership Landscape: Role, Responsibilities and Relationships. This module sets the MEd in the broader context of the range of theory that currently exists relating to Educational Leadership and Management.  We will consider how this is reflected in different forms of leadership within schools.  We will look at what it means to want to be a leader and how leadership is often portrayed in conflict with management.  The course will also look at your role as a reflective practitioner and how this can enhance your understanding of the course.

Module 2 Leadership in Action: Making Changes. This module introduces the concept of change management and its place within educational leadership. This is linked to the challenges facing schools today and ways in which the educational landscape has changed over the last fifty years.  This module looks at the different ways in which leaders can bring change about in their institutions and how this links to the different kinds of contexts that you can find in modern schools. An understanding of these processes includes practical applications to modern leadership challenges, for example with regard to finance and funding concerns.

Module 3 Developing Strategy. The module begins with a focus on different styles of leadership and the effect that this would have on decision-making in schools.  This is then linked to a unit on managing people, whether this is working with staff or with the parental community.  The module looks at managing underperformance and connects this back to work on change management.  Strategic thinking is looked at and how this links to organisational structures and whether there are alternative ways of this being organised. The module links all of this to teaching and learning issues and how leadership is linked to pedagogy.  The research project is introduced in more detail at this point.

Module 4 Researching Leadership and Management. The focus of this module is the development of the research project in relation to each student’s educational context.  This looks at research topics such as finding your critical voice, exploring research paradigms and methodologies, how data can be analysed and confidence in relation to ethics and validity.  The project is set in the context of the educational leadership academic community and the implications for the immediate and wider settings.  These issues are linked to educational research and the organisations that exist looking at these topics.

Module 5 Dissertation. This is the culmination of the programme and the production of a 12,000-15,000-word dissertation.  The students will work independently on this whilst also being supported by their supervisor and with the option of attending online webinars.

Course delivery

Fully online including online live meetings with the tutor.

Entry requirements

To apply for this course, you must:

-have a degree from a UK University (2.2 or above) or equivalent
-be working in a school or educational environment

To enroll on the course you are likely to be an experienced graduate teacher who is either currently aspiring to leadership or is already in a leadership role.

All international applicants, who do not hold a GCSE grade C/4 or above in English Language, must have IELTS or TOEFL certificate with scores accepted by the University as per the link below:

English Language Requirements

Fees

Tuition Fee: £5,500
Registration Fee: £300 (non-refundable)

How to apply

Please visit here to submit an application.  The closing date for applications is 12 July 2024.