Course summary

The Educational Leadership PGCert is for practising educators in any educational sector, particularly those in leadership roles or aspiring leaders. You will develop both 'know how' and 'know why' in relation to educational leadership. On completing the course you will have a good, critical understanding of •current thinking and key issues of leadership and strategic management of educational institutions •relevant leadership theories and their significance for educational leadership. The course will help you to use approaches of practitioner enquiry as a means for professional practice, educational effectiveness and improvement of educational organisations. At the beginning of the course, you will be asked to complete a formatively assessed written task to tailor the teaching and reading list to your development needs. This personalised approach has been identified by previous students as a particular strength of the course. Through the educational leadership enquiry task you will acquire a critical understanding of research methodologies, methods and theory of research, and practical experience in approaches to encourage educational effectiveness and improvement. Course tutors are active scholars, have had or hold leadership roles within the education sector and all teach and supervise across a range of courses. This provides them with a wide knowledge base and a genuine concern for the challenges of educational contexts. The PGCert in Educational Leadership is led by the director of the North Leadership Centre, René Koglbauer. The course draws on the expertise developed in the North Leadership Centre and the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching which are based in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences. The North Leadership Centre is one of the seven founding partners of NETSP (North East Teaching Schools Partnership), which holds the license for the National Leadership Curriculum by the National College for Teaching and Leadership: •National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership (NPQML) •National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) •National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). Delivery: The course is made up of two modules. The first module is taught in evening sessions (from 4.30pm to 7pm) during the autumn term. The second module is taught in two full days and an evening session during the spring term. In addition, you will have the opportunity to attend tutorials with the module leaders. Sessions are taught interactively. Weekly tasks are built into the course so that you actively contribute to each session. The learning from the modules extends into practical and reflective engagement with the workplace. Modules can be combined with other Master's level credits (including the PGCE), to complete a full Master's with a dissertation. Placements: You are expected to work or volunteer in a professional educational setting. This provides the context for much of your practitioner enquiry. Facilities: You will be taught in the King George VI Building. You have access to the Education Resource Centre and associated borrowing rights.