Prepare and present a presentation (weighted at 1,000 words for topic completion purposes) on a subject of interest and relevance, as negotiated. (Submitted via the submission point above
Assessment will be based upon a 750 word critical summary of your presentation, including references you quote from or consult. (To be submitted here.)
Microsoft Word - EDUC9609 2018 v 1Topic Information EDUC9609 (2018) SCHOOL OF EDUCATION EDUC9609 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN RURAL CONTEXTS TOPIC INFORMATION www.flinders.edu.au/education 20180724 1 CONTENTS PAGE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION VALUES 2 WELCOME 3 TOPIC OUTLINE 5 INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC 7 INFORMATION ABOUT ASSESSMENT FOR THIS TOPIC 11 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ASSIGNMENTS 13 CONTACTING FLINDERS UNIVERSITY 17 LIBRARY RESOURCES 20 KEY DATES 21 FLINDERS UNIVERSITY GRADE DESCRIPTORS 22 The information in this booklet is necessary for successful study in the topic. Therefore, you are expected to read all the information in this booklet prior to commencing study and refer to it as necessary. If a question arises please consult this booklet prior to contacting the topic coordinator. Please be aware that you will need to submit your final assignment by the submission date as stated in this Topic Information booklet (See ‘Key dates’). If you consider this too difficult then you have the option of withdrawing from the topic. You must withdraw from the topic prior to census date to ensure a fee is not incurred. However, before making this decision, please contact you Topic Coordinator/lecturer to discuss this situation. 2 THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK, FLINDERS UNIVERSITY STATEMENT OF OUR ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND VALUES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION The staff acknowledge their roles in working with students, colleagues and the wider community. We see the following activities in social commentary, teaching and research as integrated, with each activity informing and complementing the others. Our teaching role is to provide degrees in Education that are inspirational, promote an enthusiasm for learning, equip teachers with professional expertise, and develop life-long learners. We exemplify best educational practice to our students and to the rest of the University. Our research role is to generate, advance and promulgate knowledge that will inform the scholarly community, our industry partners and society. Our research encompasses a variety of methods, subjects and audiences, providing information, understanding and critique. In our social role we advocate for cultural beliefs and public policies in which education is a means of achieving social justice. We challenge presumptions and practices which limit individuals’ potentials. We endeavour to construct a School culture that encourages, promotes and celebrates: • reflection and inquiry • academic freedom and integrity • collegiality, collaboration and respect for individuals • diversity and social justice. 3 WELCOME Thank you for choosing to study and do more thinking about the role of leaders in rural schools. From my viewpoint leadership in rural education is very important. I am looking forward to meeting and engaging with you through the opportunities of studying this topic. My approach to teaching is essentially dialogic – through sharing your experiences, knowledge, reading and reflections, and so forth, we learning individually and together. For rural communities to survive, prosper and be the innovative places and spaces for a world of 9 to 10 billion people by 2050 it is essential those who live and work there have access to high quality education and other basic human services. This is especially the case in developing countries. Education leaders make a difference to learning outcomes, staff performance and satisfaction, community capacity building, systems policy and operations, and more. In EDUC9609 contemporary theorising of leadership management is critiqued against experiential accounts and the practical wisdom of those in leadership in these contexts. The concepts of space and spatiality (Soja, 1996) are used as a basis of to explore how educational leaders may construct their roles to facilitate the possibility of new ideas ad new access/delivery models emerging. The qualities of the social spaces created/found are problematized in terms of leading and managing the tension between the status quo and change. The uniqueness of rural contexts, rural places, and spatiality, and the potential to reframe rural principalship, from one of comparative evaluation with others, like urban, to one where rural principalship asserts its legitimacy instead of “rely[ing] on colonising responses to determine legitimacy [and status and value]” is also considered in the topic (hooks in Soja, 1996, p. 97). Dr Pam Bartholomaeus Topic Coordinator Location Room 5.21 College of Education, Psychology and Social Work Flinders University Education Building University Drive Bedford Park SA 5042 Telephone (Topic Coordinator) (08) 8201 2105 direct Fax (08) 82013184 Email
[email protected] 4 Preferred method of contact The topic coordinator prefers to be contacted by email in the first instance. If necessary contact may be made by phone. Important information Check your personal details Accurate personal details are a requirement of enrolment and in some cases are required by the Commonwealth Government for statistical purposes. Check and update all personal information in the Student Information System ‘My details’ menu including address, phone, emergency contact, citizenship and residency, cultural and disability details. Ensure your details are correct and kept up- to-date at all times. 5 TOPIC OUTLINE EDUC9606 Leadership and Management in Rural Contexts Value of topic: 4.5 units Offered in semester 2, 2018 Prerequisite Postgraduate standing Awards serviced by this topic: Postgraduate courses in Education Other learning resources Flinders University Library online journals: http://linkit.flinders.edu.au/flinders/az TOPIC DESCRIPTION EDUC9609 provides opportunities for an in-depth consideration of leadership and management issues, challenges, and opportunities in rural* contexts with a particular focus on education and communities. * rural is used as the collective term for rural, regional and remote contexts- during the topic, each is considered The aims of the topic are to develop: • knowledge and understanding about the challenges, opportunities and complexities of rural education and communities • knowledge, skills and dispositions for pro-active leadership and management of education in rural contexts. The content of the topic covers: • futures, globalisation and sustainability • framing rural contexts- local, national, international • place, space and educational leadership • the national framework for rural and remote education; ministerial council for education, employment, training and youth affairs (MCEETYA) • access, equity and gender • policy, provision/delivery models and platforms • school led community revitalisation- cases studies • entrepreneurship and rural contexts 6 LEARNING OUTCOMES It is expected that on satisfactorily completing this topic students will have: • gained significant and relevant knowledge about rural and remote contexts • acquired a range of approaches and models for effective and efficient leadership and management in rural and remote contexts The purpose of this topic is to contribute towards the formation of educational leaders and leadership for rural, regional and remote and contexts. The topic is located within a critical national and global imperative- ensuring there are vibrant, productive rural communities for Australia's and the globe’s sustainability. 7 INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC EDUC 9609 comprises 3 strands of study. While listed as discrete, in practice they overlap. The essences of education and educational leadership press relentlessly for holistic consideration rather than segmentation into categories. The 3 strands are: • Context • Space, place and leadership • Re-framing and re-forming leadership There are readings for each strand and students are encouraged to use the readings across the full topic. Students are also encouraged to read beyond what has been listed and to share articles and so forth with the class. It is expected that students will read a majority of the articles in each of the strands. The reports included in the readings are there as references and you are encouraged to at least read the executive summary of each. The topic provides opportunity to engage with professional and personal issues and environments that have contextual complexities other than those typically experienced by urban based educational leaders. They may include: • a greater range and diversity of responsibilities other than teaching and learning which are embedded in place and informed by place • recruiting and retaining staff which is often very problematic/demanding • accessing specialist assistance for students with learning needs and behavioural challenges and raising achievement levels ‘across the board’ • year level range of responsibilities that are often larger (R-12) and varying industrial conditions for primary and secondary teachers which can create complexities for developing a high performing whole school culture • small schools (<100) are predominantly in rural and remote locations; they frequently have complex multi-grade teaching and administrative demands with a consequent large management as well as teaching load for the principal; as well, middle management is often non- existent • indigenous students who may also be mobile and require a diverse range of health services and other community supports • the pressure/expectation to be available and accessible to the local community ‘24/7’ is ‘a fact of life’ • limited access to post-secondary pathways-this foregrounds a major dynamic which rural principals have to lead and manage, here represented as 3 questions viz is it learning are="" predominantly="" in="" rural="" and="" remote="" locations;="" they="" frequently="" have="" complex="" multi-grade="" teaching="" and="" administrative="" demands="" with="" a="" consequent="" large="" management="" as="" well="" as="" teaching="" load="" for="" the="" principal;="" as="" well,="" middle="" management="" is="" often="" non-="" existent="" •="" indigenous="" students="" who="" may="" also="" be="" mobile="" and="" require="" a="" diverse="" range="" of="" health="" services="" and="" other="" community="" supports="" •="" the="" pressure/expectation="" to="" be="" available="" and="" accessible="" to="" the="" local="" community="" ‘24/7’="" is="" ‘a="" fact="" of="" life’="" •="" limited="" access="" to="" post-secondary="" pathways-this="" foregrounds="" a="" major="" dynamic="" which="" rural="" principals="" have="" to="" lead="" and="" manage,="" here="" represented="" as="" 3="" questions="" viz="" is="" it="">