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jpvanderwerf2001
Joined: 02 Oct 2003
Posts: 1117
Location: New York
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 Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 6:19 am Post subject: Master's in Educational Leadership |
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I'm looking at doing an online postgraduate course (Cert or perhaps a Dip) in Educational Leadership. It seems like a logical path for me to take, as I'm an academic director and would like to stay in this position (either here or elsewhere). I might even try for a MA one day.
Has anyone taken an online postgraduate course in this field? If so, which school would you recommend? Did you find it valuable?
I'm looking into the University of London external program. Has anyone taken online postgraduate courses through them?
Any input greatly appreciated  |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 10:00 am Post subject: Re: Master's in Educational Leadership |
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| jpvanderwerf2001 wrote: |
Educational Leadership.
-Has anyone taken an online postgraduate course in this field? |
I did one unit (a single term course/ half-course. The type of thing that starts in September and ends in December in North America) as an elective in my master in TESOL. It involved a LOT of reading. It was an 'education' elective and cross listed with management. So people taking the course were doing masters in education (of varying kinds, including TESOL) as well as management. I think it was a core unit for people doing the M.Ed in Educational Leadership.
The field in a nutshell: what you are supposed to do in adult context ESL/ EFL (look at each student as an individual, keep in mind and use the fact that adult learners will definitely know more about some things than you because they have their own background and experiences to your advantage by getting them to teach others about their background etc) is what you are supposed to do in educational leadership (look up the term 'learning organization'. it does not mean 'school'. Principals of senior high schools who were English teachers when they were classroom teachers shouldn't be telling math teachers how to teach math etc. ). It also had a lot of readings about the marketing of education, specific to university level.
People doing MBAs (or MAs in Business) reported that it was pretty much the same as leadership courses in the business world as well.
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If so, which school would you recommend? |
Obviously, people can really only recommend (or not) the school that they did their program through. In my case, I went through Deakin University in Australia. I highly recommend it. They have a masters specific to Educational Leadership as well. Keep in mind that this masters is usually taken by k-12 teachers who intend to make the jump to the principalship in the k-12 sector, OR to people in the university setting that want to get into administration (these are actually different streams at some universities- Calgary's programs are streamed like that, I think). I think that's something that you should think about before getting into an MA in it- will it be worthwhile to do a masters degree in an area that gets people in North America access to a job that earns 6-figures, if you don't have a k-12 qualification, and therefore cannot get access to those jobs (if, that is, you don't have a k-12 qualification).
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Did you find it valuable? |
I honestly didn't think I would enjoy that course, I took it because I HAD to take something in order to finish the masters in a single year. I had some transfer credit (I had already spent a full-time year at a university doing a post-graduate ESL language teacher preparation program in the linguistics department) and I had intended on taking another unit, but for some reason that year, it was moved to the second trimester instead of the first one, where it usually was. Leadership was on offer in both first AND second trimester, which lead me to think that it is a popular unit (it IS, and for good reason). I honestly believe it made me see school operations in a totally different light, and that made it a very valuable unit... but I was doing the unit as an elective, not as the main thrust of the degree.
If you don't have a k-12 qualification, and you don't already have a masters degree in TESOL or Applied Linguistics, then it might be an idea to think about doing one in TESOL or Applied Linguistics in which you can do Educational Leadership as an elective (or maybe even several electives, if you do a program that allows for that [for Australian universities, it would depend on if you have a three-year or a four-year degree]), if you intend on staying overseas. This means that it would have to be a program through a faculty of education in all probability. Ones through linguistics departments probably won't allow access to education courses. Ones that are really stand-alone degrees not affiliated with any particular faculty or department I guess would really be hit and miss as to whether or not that kind of unit was on offer. Of course, if you look, you may be able to find an M.Ed in Educational Leadership that allows for electives in English language teaching, as well- sort of an M.Ed in Educational Leadership with a speciality in ESOL as opposed to Educational Leadership for high schools or M.Ed in TESOL / Applied Linguistics with electives in Ed.Leadership. |
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jpvanderwerf2001
Joined: 02 Oct 2003
Posts: 1117
Location: New York
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| Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 10:29 am Post subject: |
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Wow, this was extremely helpful information. Thank you for taking the time to share, GBBB! You've definitely given me food for thought.
The reason I was thinking about doing this type of program is that I've already taught EFL for nearly a decade and, now that I'm in "management", thought it would help for future opportunities (should I choose to relocate). Also, I'm really starting to enjoy the business side of the this industry, so that's something too. (I've even considered taking an MBA; unthinkable just three or four years ago!)
I might just take a module and see what the Educational Leadership field is all about before jumping feet first into an MA. I can't see it really being a waste of time, might even learn something
Again, great stuff GBBB  |
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