• Who is this programme for?
• Aims and objectives
• Additional information
• Guidelines for your Thesis [pdf, 302 KB]

The four modules in this EdD programme balance a study of leaders and leadership from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The course members will:

• develop an understanding of the meaning, theory and practice of leaders and leadership at all levels and within a wide variety of contexts;
• analyse the career history of leaders by examining the formation, accession, incumbency and moving on aspects in the life of a headteacher;
• explore the alternative conceptions and depictions of the changing roles and responsibilities of deputies and middle managers and their attitudes and practice of leadership;
• and reflect on the qualities, skills and strategies that enable leaders to have an impact on school effectiveness and school improvement.

The assignments include projects that are directly aimed at analysing and improving the practice of leadership - at all levels - in the course members’ own professional context. Three generic research training modules will enable the course members to develop their knowledge and experience of a range of research approaches, and an additional special programme of research training will enhance their capacity to design and undertake a timely and relevant research project and to write a thesis.

Who is this programme for?

This EdD Programme route is available full-time (3 years minimum) and part-time (4 years minimum) and is open to UK and international students. Entry is normally approved with a good honours degree or Masters degree, although alternative qualifications and experience may be considered. Possible credit transfer from an appropriate Masters degree can be discussed. Sessions are scheduled to meet the needs of busy education professionals. The programme will be of interest to those in education related settings who carry or aspire to senior and middle leadership positions. It will also be of interest to those with teaching and research interests in leaders and leadership in education.

Aims and Objectives

The overall aim of this programme is to provide a supportive and structured environment for enabling effective individual and group learning for those engaged in higher level research into the study of leaders and leadership in education.

Its objective is to enable students registered on the programme to develop a critical and, as far as reasonably possible, a comprehensive:

• understanding of the literature on leaders, leading and leadership in general and within schools and other educational contexts in particular;
• knowledge and experience of an appropriate range of research approaches;
• appreciation of relevant theoretical and methodological issues in educational research in general and on the study of leaders, leading and leadership in particular;
• capacity to design and undertake independent theoretical and/or empirical research focusing on aspects of the study of leaders, leading and leadership in education;
• range of opportunities to disseminate research findings through such methods as seminar presentations and the production of texts of various kinds for submission for possible publication.

EdD Students: Theses (selection)

Yuk Yee Chiu (2008) Helping and hindering?  How educational leaders affect the overseas student learning experience

Mary Dunne-Thomas (2008) Testing times. A study into the impact of change on the leadership and management of primary schools  

Kay Fuller (2008)  Birmingham secondary school headteachers: what are the similarities and differences between women and men?

Tessa  Moore (2008) Primary strategy learning networks: a local study of a national initiative [pdf, 3,862 KB]

Margaret Inman (2007) The journey to leadership: a study of how leader-academics in higher education learn to lead [pdf, 932 KB]

Sandra Fitzgibbon (2007) Shaping the leader's role and professional identity of Mental Health Nurse Consultants in the National Health Service

Alan Kirsz (2007) An investigation into the knowledge and understanding of leadership amongst adult role incumbents in a voluntary sector organisation providing informal education for young people: the Scout Association in a case study city

Margaret Lagor (2007) Partners not competitors: the developing role of the senior administrators in academic units in UK Universities in the early 21st century  [pdf, 697 KB]

Sharon Menghini (2007) Perceptions on the management of change in Children's Services in light of the Children Act 2004: A case study

Alison Taysum (2006) A survey of the learning journeys of school leaders doing the Doctorate of Education in England.

Cathy Feeney (2004) The making of Catholic Headteachers in Birmingham and the North East [pdf, 813 KB]

James McGrath (2004) Leading in a managerialist paradigm: a survey of perceptions within a Faculty of Education. [pdf, 773 KB]

Pat Woolford (2004) Changing times for FE leaders: an investigation into the impact of the first two years of the Learning and Skills Council upon the leadership of ten further education principals. [pdf, 733 KB]

EdD Students: Publications

Bizley, S. (2006) The legacy of performance management. Managing Schools Today, 16 (1): 38-42.

Bradbury, L. and Gunter, H. (2006) Dialogic identities: the experiences of women who are headteachers and mothers in English primary schools. School Leadership & Management, 26 (5): 489-504

McGrath, J. (2005) Leading in a Managerialist Paradigm: a survey of perceptions within a faculty of education. Management in Education, 18 (4): 17-22.

Woolford, P. (2005) Changing times for FE leaders. Management in Education, 19 (4): 19-23.

Gunter, H., Brodie, D., Carter, D., Close, T., Farrar, M., Haynes, S., Henry, J., Hollins, K., Nicholson, L. and Walker, G. (2003) Talking leadership. School Leadership & Management, 23 (3):291-313.

Taysum, A. (2003) In search of the holistic leader. Management in Education, 17 (5): 9-12.

Rowland, K. (2002) Effective leadership and service improvement in contemporary educational psychology services: modernize, demonstrate quality or be privatized. Educational Management & Administration, 30 (3): 275-291.

Additional Information

Modules

Leadership in Education: Senior Managers

This module will examine the literature and research on senior managers and management within a wide variety of educational settings. It will consider a range of education leaders, and it will take a career history based approach and in doing so will examine aspects of formation, accession, incumbency and moving-on as aspects of the life of the senior manager. In undertaking this module, course members will be encouraged to reflect in some depth upon the life and career of two or more senior managers - at least one drawn from the literature and one from their own research.

Leaders in Education: Deputies and Middle Managers

This module will examine the literature and research on the careers and roles of deputies and middle managers in educational settings. It will consider alternative conceptions and a variety of depictions of the changing roles and responsibilities of deputies and middle managers and their attitudes and practice of leadership. There is some confusion and much contest with regard to the function and purpose of deputies in educational contexts. Conversely, it is widely believed that the quality of leadership among middle managers is an important factor in determining the quality of institutions and the achievement of students. As such the appropriate professional development of these groups of managers is now regarded as a priority.

Leadership in Education: Effectiveness and Improvement

It is widely believed that the nature and quality of leadership is an important variable in determining the quality of educational institutions, and the achievements of students. The literature, particularly on school effectiveness and school improvement also stresses strongly the crucial need for appropriate types of leaders and forms of leadership. The notion of how leaders make a difference and their direct and indirect influence upon teaching and learning has begun to receive much attention. However, a growing number of authors have begun to question these claims. These and related issues will be the subject of this module.

Specialist Research Module for Leaders and Leadership

The aim of this module is to enable students to refine their proposed research questions and relate these questions to methodological choices, based on an informed and systematic consideration of both the research and subject relevant literature within their designated area of study, with the guidance of their supervisor. The module consists of three parts: Part 1 - Thesis Proposal; Part 2 - Literature Review; Part 3 - Research Methodology and Methods.