| Leading and Managing for Effective Education |
|
 |
EDU E815
Leading and Managing for Effective Education
| Introduction |  |
Welcome to EDU E815 Leading and Managing for Effective Education, a 20-credit, post-graduate level course. The course materials have been adapted from course E849 of the same name which is one of the UK Open University's MA in Education modules.
| Aims | |
This course aims to help learners to explore current thinking and research in educational leadership and management, and to apply these ideas in developing their professional thinking and practice. It also aims to develop students' knowledge and understanding of the changing contextual factors influencing educational organizations and their leadership and management.
| Course learning outcomes | |
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
Critically review and evaluate knowledge and perspectives in educational leadership and management based on relevant theories and research findings in the literature.
Apply theories on educational leadership and management to reflect critically on their practice for becoming an effective leader in the school context.
Assess the contextual factors influencing educational organizations and their management and leadership.
Demonstrate leadership in their work contexts.
Design, conduct and report on a small-scale management activity.
The learning outcomes are broad, covering the course as a whole. In addition, each part of the Study Guide focuses on more specific learning points. These are set out in the form of questions at the beginning of Parts 2 to 6 of the Study Guide.
| Course themes and structure: a brief overview | |
EDU E815 covers a range of themes related to educational leadership and management, the most important of which are:
- Strategic and operational concerns;
- Effectiveness and accountability;
- The main levels of decision-making -- individual, team or subunit and the organization as a whole, internally and in relation to the external environment.
Five key questions, which are interrelated, are used as organizing devices to structure the Study Guide:
What? - the meanings of educational leadership and management (Part 2 and associated Reader 1 chapters)
Why? - questions of values, ethics and educational purposes (Part 3 and associated Reader 1 chapters)
Where? - external environmental influences on educational leadership and management (Part 4 and associated Reader 2 chapters)
How? - major tasks of educational leaders and managers, focusing on strategic concerns (Part 5 and associated Reader 2 chapters)
Who? - leading and managing people and teams (Part 6 and associated Reader 3 chapters).
Finally, Part 7 helps you to review some of the key ideas in EDU E815 and the major challenges which educational leaders face in responding to the five questions above.
The tasks and activities related to the readings ask you to relate the ideas raised to your own organizational setting or to one with which you are familiar.
| Course materials | |
The course materials for EDU E815 consist of this Course Guide, the Study Guide, three readers, Supplementary Material for Hong Kong Students, a glossary and a Project and Assignment Guide -- all of which are provided by the OUHK.
Course Guide
The Course Guide tells you briefly what the course is about, what it contains, and how you can work your way through it. It also gives you information about the tutors and face-to-face sessions, the Online Learning Environment, and assessment. Remember to refer to this Course Guide throughout the course to help clarify important points about EDU E815.
Study Guide
The Study Guide leads you through the course, indicating when to use the other course materials (described below). As you work through the Study Guide, you will come across activities which are designed to deepen your understanding of the themes and issues in the course. Sometimes the activities ask you to relate the issues you have been studying to your own experience of, and involvement in, educational management and leadership. More often they ask you to read chapters from the course readers. Within the activities, there are questions which will help you to think critically about your own experience or about the content of the chapters. We strongly recommend that you keep a learning diary as you work through the course, as a vehicle for reflecting on the relationship between your thinking and practice as a leader/manager. (A detailed account of the value and nature of the diary are included in the Project and Assignment Guide.)
Readers
There are three course readers with the series title Leading and Managing for Effective Education:
Reader 1: BENNETT, N., CRAWFORD, M. and CARTWRIGHT, M. (eds) (2003) Effective Educational Leadership, London, The Open University in association with Paul Chapman Publishing.
Reader 2: PREEDY, M., GLATTER, R. and WISE, C. (eds) (2003) Strategic Leadership and Educational Improvement, London, The Open University in association with Paul Chapman Publishing.
Reader 3: KYDD, L., ANDERSON, L. and NEWTON, W. (eds) (2003) Leading People and Teams in Education, London, The Open University in association with Paul Chapman Publishing.
You are encouraged to expand your reading particularly when you are developing your project. The references cited in this Study Guide will provide useful sources.
Supplementary Material for Hong Kong Students
The Supplementary Material for Hong Kong Students has been specially written for EDU E815 in an effort to relate some of the themes covered in the Study Guide and readers to the Hong Kong context. You should read this material at the points indicated in the Study Guide.
Please note that this supplementary material is also available in the Online Learning Environment (OLE) and the activities are hyper-linked to the Discussion Board in the OLE.
Glossary
The glossary, which is published separately, defines the key terms used in the Study Guide and readers, and also includes a list of the main acronyms referred to in the course.
Project and Assignment Guide
The Project and Assignment Guide provides an overview of the nature and requirements of course assignments, including the Project Report. You should scan this Project and Assignment Guide before beginning detailed study of the course.
| Course organizer | |
The following table suggests the amount of time it may take to complete each section of the course. However, we all have our own pace of learning and approaches to study, so this schedule is only a guide. You can adjust it to fit your own personal needs more closely.
The important point is to plan your study schedule carefully. The estimated time, on average, that you need to spend on this course is about 15 hours per week. This estimate includes time for reading the Study Guide, readers and Supplementary Material for Hong Kong Students; completing the activities; writing your assignments; attending tutorials and day schools; and reviewing the study material.
Study weeks Study Guide Weeks 1-3 Part 1: Introduction Weeks 4-9 Part 2: Understanding leadership and management Weeks 10-15 Part 3: Values in educational leadership and management Weeks 16-21 Part 4: The external context Weeks 22-29 Part 5: Strategy, effectiveness and accountability Weeks 30-37 Part 6: Leading and managing people and teams Weeks 38-40 Part 7: Review and preview
| Tutors and support | |
To supplement your self-study, there are 12 two-hour tutorials, two three-hour day schools and two 'surgeries' throughout the year. In addition, at the beginning of the semester, there will be a student orientation and a talk on the OUHK Library for new students.
In the tutorials and day schools, your tutor will answer your questions about any problems you might face during self-study and hold other activities, such as small-group discussions, to facilitate your learning. 'Surgeries' are sessions in which you can consult a tutor individually. In addition to these face-to-face sessions, you can also have telephone tutorials with your tutor.
As soon as your tutorial group is confirmed, we will give you the name and phone number of your tutor and notify you of the dates, times and location of the face-to-face sessions. To help you to participate actively in these sessions, you are provided with a Tutorial and Day School Manual which indicates what you should prepare for each session, and suggests some activities and questions for discussion.
You are strongly recommended to go through the Tutorial and Day School Manual before each tutorial or day school. All face-to-face sessions are optional, but attendance and active participation in them will enhance your learning.
Besides supporting you through the face-to-face sessions and telephone tutoring, your tutor marks and comments on your assignments, and keeps a close watch on your progress. When your assignments are returned, pay particular attention to the comments your tutor has written on the TMA Form and the assignment.
| Online Learning Environment | |
The OUHK has developed a web-based online delivery system -- the Online Learning Environment (OLE) -- to enhance students' learning experience. It creates an interactive learning environment for communication among students, tutors and the Course Coordinator. For EDU E815, you can access the following components online:
- News (mostly letters to students)
- Course Material -- web links, Supplementary Material for Hong Kong Students
- Interactive Tools -- Discussion Board
- Schedules -- course schedules, calendar.
| Strategy for working through the course | |
The following is a recommended strategy for working through the course.
Organize a study schedule. Refer to the section 'Course organizer' in this Course Guide and to the Study Schedule provided by your Course Coordinator. Note the time suggested for you to spend on each section and how the assignments relate to the sections. You will receive details of your face-to-face sessions and, later in the year, your examination. Once you have decided on your own study schedule, do everything you can to stick to it. The major reason that students fail is that they fall behind with their course work. If you get into difficulties with your schedule, please let your tutor know before it is too late to help you.
Work on your course by reading through the Study Guide. When you come to an activity, follow the instructions and read the assigned article(s) and/or answer the questions. Then return to the Study Guide. You will also be directed to the relevant sections of the Supplementary Material for Hong Kong Students.
In reading materials from the readers, try to focus on the main points and not get bogged down in the details. Also, read carefully any commentaries in the Study Guide on the readings to guide or reinforce your learning.
Use the Project and Assignment Guide to identify the pieces of work you are required to submit for assessment during the course of the year and ensure that your pattern of study will allow you to meet the criteria listed there.
Review your work at the end of each section. When you have completed Section 7 and TMA5, review the course and prepare yourself for the final examination. Look at the Specimen Examination Paper, which you will receive later in the year, to see what kinds of questions you will be expected to answer in the examination.
| Course assessment | |
EDU E815 has two methods of assessing your progress: continuous assessment (tutor-marked assignments) and a final examination.
Tutor-marked assignments
There are four tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) for continuous assessment purposes in the course. All assignments will be counted and will contribute 60% to your final course result.
The assignment details for this course -- such as the weighting of each assignment, suggestions on how to approach them and guidelines on their submission -- can be found in Project and Assignment Guide.
Please note that participation in web activities and the use of online communication are an important, integral component of EDU E815. You are required to show evidence of individual/group web work or online discussion in your assignments (see the Project and Assignment Guide for details).
Examination
The examination for EDU E815 will last for three hours and has a value of 40% of the total course result.
Use the time between finishing the last section of the Study Guide and sitting the examination to review the entire course. You might find it useful to review also your tutor-marked assignments and comments on them before the examination. Later, you will be provided with a Specimen Examination Paper similar in format to the final examination, although the questions will be different. To earn a pass for the course, you must pass in both the continuous assessment (TMAs) and the final examination.
| Conclusion | |
We hope that, by studying EDU E815 Leading and Managing for Effective Education, you will develop your knowledge and understanding of educational leadership and management, and develop your own practices on the basis of critical reflection on the literature in the area.
We wish you every success in the course.
| A note about the adapters | |
Richard Cheung Siu Ming is the Principal of Phoenix International School, an all-age school operated by ESF Educational Service Ltd. After obtaining his BSc and PGCE from Bristol University (UK), he worked as a teacher and then as an adviser for the Education Department in the London Borough of Lambeth. He completed his MEd with the Open University of the United Kingdom.
In 1994, he returned to Hong Kong to work for the English Schools Foundation. He was Deputy Principal at West Island School when the school was awarded the QEF Outstanding Schools Award for the Management and Organization Domain. He has been a tutor for the OUHK MEd programme.
Wil Chan received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, and his PhD in Education Administration and Leadership from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. Over the course of 27 years, Wil has either taught or been an administrator in educational settings ranging from middle school to university. He has been a tutor for the OUHK MEd programme.
