MA Education (Educational Leadership)

Course overview

If you are an experienced educational professional in a leadership role this course is for you. You explore an aspect of leadership relevant to your own interests and career development.

You reflect on practice in your own organisation, identify areas of professional concern and explore your own approach to leadership using a range of diagnostic tools for self-assessment.

This MA has a full-time and a part-time route. Both routes have taught sessions which are scheduled to enable working professionals to attend. You study 180 level 7 credits made up of four modules plus a final dissertation.

The core modules enable you to update your knowledge and skills and give you the opportunity to reflect on your professional practice whilst developing your understanding of theoretical models and current debates. There is a strong emphasis on the application of your studies to your professional context.

You study two modules, Using the Literature to Inform Educational Research and the Dissertation. These modules are pieces of extended supervised work and the topic, which is chosen by you, must be in an area of leadership. By opting for this named route you achieve a qualification which showcases this specialism clearly to employers.

How you learn:

You are encouraged to share your experiences and perspectives on aspects of practice within taught sessions and through discussions on the University’s virtual learning environment. You study with students from a variety of educational settings and backgrounds – this sharing gives you the opportunity to develop a systematic and critical understanding of the breadth and depth of knowledge in educational research and practice. Peer-led discussions in workshop and seminar sessions on a range of research and educational practice issues, both home and international, provide you with the opportunity for interprofessional discussion and debate. You consider relevant issues from the perspective of other professional educational groups which, in turn, supports you to integrate and synthesise a diverse range of knowledge. You share some of your taught sessions with the Education Doctorate, enhancing the range and type of discussions held within sessions and encouraging you to consider your progression after the programme.

How you are assessed:

Staff have a wide range of educational backgrounds and specialist interests to support for your cross-disciplinary interests and multi-agency working. Another important element is how we support your transition to studying at level 7. You are offered academic support to help you understand the requirements of master’s level study; to develop your skills in academic writing and referencing, critical thinking and critical writing; and in the key IT skills such as literature searching. The assessment allows you to reflect on your own practice and context, and produce assessed work that benefits your working context. Student feedback on the programme has consistently highlighted the level of support from the staff as a major contributor to their success.