Education (Educational Leadership and Improvement) MPhil

This route provides a broad-based view of educational leadership and improvement firstly through the explicit and focused study of specific concepts and issues; and secondly through their exploration and application in the conduct of individual, often change-oriented, research projects. The teaching team draws on its members research and experience to illustrate ideas, and occasionally welcomes visiting academics and alumni from around the world to enrich the route still further. Because participants come from the UK and overseas the course combines UK and international perspectives. Students are encouraged to share their diverse experiences and to learn from each other as well as from the course content while also relating new knowledge, principles and insights to their own contexts. You will also receive extensive training in educational research methods.<br/><br/>The educational aims of this course are to:<br/><br/><br/>- examine the theoretical frameworks used in the study of education and its constituent disciplines;<br/><br/><br/>- provide training in research methods appropriate to education and educational change;<br/><br/><br/>- advance the capacity of students for professional reflection and judgment;<br/><br/><br/>- cater to a range of specialists interested within the field of education or one of its constituent disciplines.<br/><br/><br/>The route content is delivered through a number of interrelated themes which may include: <br/><br/><br/>- Leadership for Learning<br/><br/><br/>- Education Policy<br/><br/><br/>- School Effectiveness and School Improvement<br/><br/><br/>- Perspectives on Learning, Leadership and Curriculum (double-length theme)<br/><br/><br/>- Schools, Cultures and Communities<br/><br/><br/>- Education Evaluation<br/><br/><br/>- Networks and system leadership<br/><br/><br/>This route focuses on leadership and learning in the context of institutional and system improvement and with reference to practice, policy and theory. The concept of leadership is treated as problematic and examined as it applies to learners, teachers and non-teaching staff as well as to those with formal leadership responsibilities. It acknowledges national and international increases in competitive as well as collaborative arrangements between educational settings and their implications for leadership. The route is underpinned by the values and principles of the evidence-based Leadership for Learning conceptual framework that includes democratic, equity-driven and agentic concepts of leadership and a view of learning as a shared, dynamic enterprise redefining conventional dichotomies such as for example teacher and learner.