EDF5670 - Leadership studies - 2017

This unit invites participants to consider the leadership dimensions of their work in leading change among people and within organisations, across a range of contexts within schools, workplaces and in communities. Concepts of leadership and management are examined for their distinctiveness and limitations. A number of models of leadership are introduced which highlight personal attributes and approaches to leadership practice, and consider how leadership may be understood from an organisational perspective, including distributed views of organisational leadership and cognition, and emerging conceptions of leadership practice in the context of complexity and sustainability. Participants also gain an appreciation of leadership development, identities, ethics and values, and emotions.

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. understand the nature of leadership as a context-bound, attributed status; and leadership as a socially and institutionally constructed phenomenon
2. identify the ways in which leaders learn about leadership and construct their career trajectories
3. engage with recent trends in leadership theory and practice, particularly as these apply in a variety of policy contexts and educational and non-educational settings
4. appreciate the demands confronting leaders in a variety of contexts and workplaces
5. apply growing conceptual and theoretical understanding in examining leadership within practice, in a context of relevance.

Essay (4000 words, 50%)

Leadership profile (4000 words, 50%)

Flexible mode offers a stand-alone online offering that allows students to learn and engage in content and assessment in a supported way. It also provides a face-to-face component over the semester to engage students with the online learning content, which students can attend if they are able and interested.

Minimum total expected workload equals 288 hours per semester comprising:

1. Contact hours for flexible students:
   • 12 contact hours and 24 hours equivalent of online activities over the semester or
   • 36 hours equivalent of online activities over the semester
2. Requirements for offshore Kaplan-based students:
   • one intensive block (usually from Thursday to Sunday)
   • at least 14 hours of online study per term
3. Additional requirements (all students):
   • independent study to meet the minimum required hours per semester

See also Unit timetable information

Professor Jeffrey Brooks

Leadership