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Leadership Styles and Middle Leadership for Educators October 2023 WhatsApp Group - Join Group

Academy Documents

Please access the Students' Policies & Forms through this link. The following documents are all available in the link - Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct,  Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy and Student Disciplinary Policy

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Online Sessions' Link

To connect to the online sessions of this study programme please click on this link. You will be asked to register your attendance for each session you join, if you are not already signed in into your Zoom account. You will also be asked for the password which is below.

Meeting ID: 984 0784 9988
Passcode: 838660

Make sure that you show with your name & surname as you have been registered for the study programme. This is very important for attendance purposes

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Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

Lecturer 

Mr. Alfred Sant Fournier

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading

Lecture 1 - Middle Leadership and distributed leadership

Lecture Summary

The aim of this course is to give the participant the opportunity to reflect on the theory of Middle Leadership within the framework of school leadership. The theory will be seen in the light of concrete situations in schools. In so doing, the candidate will increase his/her knowledge, competences and skills. In the beginning, the trainee will introduce himself to help students understand his positioning. Once the tone and basic ground rules for an expected safe and respectful climate during sessions have been set, participants will be encouraged to make themselves known to each other fostering the initiation of establishing relationships and a necessary degree of trust. The discussion will then proceed onto to the notion of leadership in general and its manifestation in the educational field, acknowledging the variety of structural models within which local educators operate. Participants will be guided to bring forth the applied concept of middle leadership as part of the wider context as displayed in local State, Church and Independent schools. This will be linked to the theory of different leadership styles ultimately focusing on distributed leadership..

Core Reading List

• Bush, T. (2020) Theories of Educational Leadership and Management, 5th Edition. London: Sage.
• Harris, A. (2008) Distributed school leadership: Developing tomorrow’s leaders. London: Routledge.

Supplementary Reading List

• Cauchi Cuschieri, R. A. (2007) A View From The Top: A Study on Educational Leadership in Roman Catholic Church Primary and Secondary Schools in Malta. Journal Of Maltese Education Research, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp.64-83
• Lussier, R. N. (2003) Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development, 2^nd Canada: Thomson Learning.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2006) The Principalship, A Reflective Practice Perspective, 5^th Boston: Pearson.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005) Leadership, What’s in it for Schools. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

Lecture 2 - Middle Leaders facilitate the work of senior leaders through teamwork

Lecture Summary

A brief look at the development of the theory of Middle Leadership will help the candidate understand the role of the Middle Leader in schools. The concept of “Leading from the Middle” will be developed. The Middle Leader is the “engine room” of the school and interacts with different members of the school community. The Head of School also has a responsibility to nurture Middle Leadership in the school. Participants will look into the difference between delegation and distributed leadership. The Middle Leader cannot merely be seen as the extension of the Head of School but is an active agent in building the school community and as such, interacts with different stakeholders. The Middle Leader works with others through teams, hence some aspects relating to teamwork are introduced.

Core Reading List

• Bush, T. (2020) Theories of Educational Leadership and Management, 5^th London: Sage.
• Harris, A. (2008) Distributed school leadership: Developing tomorrow’s leaders. London: Routledge.

Supplementary Reading List

• Hargreaves, A. and Fink, D. (2007) The Seven Principles of Sustainable Leadership. Educational Leadership, Vol. 61, No. 7, pp.8-13. Schools and Colleges. London: Paul Chapman.
• Lussier, R. N. (2003) Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development, 2^nd Canada: Thomson Learning.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2006) The Principalship, A Reflective Practice Perspective, 5^th Boston: Pearson.

Lecture 3 - Challenges in implementing teamwork

Lecture Summary

Schools are complex communities. Understanding the way teams work is essential for the Middle Leader to be an effective leader. Following up from Lecture 2, the participants will focus on elements of group dynamics and how these are overtly or covertly exhibited in our daily interactions at school and possibly beyond. Middle Leaders play an important part in guiding the teams towards the vision, goals and values of the school. There are factors which also hinder this. Identifying the various challenges in implementing teamwork will assist participants to try to find solutions to better relationships, improve teams and build school communities.

Core R

• Bush, T. (2020) Theories of Educational Leadership and Management, 5^th London: Sage.
• Harris, A. (2008) Distributed school leadership: Developing tomorrow’s leaders. London: Routledge.

Supplementary Reading List

• Harris, A. et al. (2003) Effective Leadership for School Improvement. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
• Harris, A. (2006) School Improvement, What’s in it for Schools?. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
• Lussier, R. N. (2003) Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development, 2^nd Canada: Thomson Learning.
• Stoll, L. & Fink, D. (2003) Changing Our Schools. Oxford: Open University Press.

Lecture 4 - Middle Leadership and improvement in school leadership

Lecture Summaries

School improvement does not happen automatically. It is brought about through leading and managing change thoughtfully. Schools will not improve successfully unless there is a good understanding and application of change theory. Participants will be introduced to this theory to understand the importance of leadership in improving schools and implementing change. School improvement and school leadership will be linked to discuss concrete manners where middle leadership assists in this ongoing process. Being in a strategic position, the Middle Leader has a huge role on whether improvement actually takes place.

Core Reading List

• Bush, T. (2020) Theories of Educational Leadership and Management, 5^th London: Sage.
• Harris, A. (2008) Distributed school leadership: Developing tomorrow’s leaders. London: Routledge.
• Fullan, M. (2015). The new meaning of educational change. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Ministry of Education and Employment (2012) A National Curriculum Framework for All. Malta: Salesian Press.
• Ministry of Education and Employment (2005) For All Children to Succeed. Malta: Salesian Press.

Supplementary Reading List

• Harris, A. et al. (2003) Effective Leadership for School Improvement. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
• Harris, A. (2006) School Improvement, What’s in it for Schools?. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
• Lussier, R. N. (2003) Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development, 2^nd Canada: Thomson Learning.
• Robinson, V. M. J., (2018) Reduce Change to Increase Improvement. California, Corwin Impact Leadership Series
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2006) The Principalship, A Reflective Practice Perspective, 5^th Boston: Pearson.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005) Leadership, What’s in it for Schools. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

Lecture 5 - Middle Leadership and Values

Lecture Summary

After having discussed different aspects of leadership in practice, participants will be led to reflect on the individual’s essence and how, in its indivisibility from the person, this transpires in his/her thoughts, words and actions. Just like individuals, schools also have core values guiding their service provision. Leaders also look out for the values that their middle leaders have when it comes to choosing successors in their schools. Participants will be encouraged to deeply reflect on their own values and discuss how these may align or collide with the organisations’ missions. Participants will revisit theory to see how values imbue leadership styles.
Whilst upholding the importance of mastering the necessary skills and competences, including technical knowledge, during the final encounter for this award, a few examples of model leaders will be presented with the intent to elucidate the importance of value-laden leadership, which often comes at a self-sacrificing cost.

Core Reading List

• Bush, T. (2020) Theories of Educational Leadership and Management, 5^th London: Sage.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005) Strengthening the Heartbeat: leading and learning together in schools, 1^st San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2006) The Principalship, A Reflective Practice Perspective, 5^th Boston: Pearson.

Supplementary Reading List

• Harris, A. et al. (2003) Effective Leadership for School Improvement. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
• Harris, A. (2006) School Improvement, What’s in it for Schools?. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
• Stoll, L. & Fink, D. (2003) Changing Our Schools. Oxford: Open University Press.
• Lussier, R. N. (2003) Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development, 2^nd Canada: Thomson Learning.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005) Leadership, What’s in it for Schools. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

Methods of Assessment

1 Assignment of 1,700 words. 100% of final score

Assignment

You have to choose 1 out of the 3 questions that are available in the Assignment Submission form below. The assignment should be submitted no later than Thursday 25 January 2024. The assignment has to be submitted together with the Assignment Submission Form through 21 Academy's plagiarism software, Turnitin. Please indicate the questions that you have addressed in the Assignment Submission form and upload the assignments in pdf format. Do not scan the assignment, but convert or save it directly to a pdf. We ask you to keep the similarity percentage very low and definitely below 20%. You should review and rephrase any assignments that show more than 20% similarity. Any assignments submitted above 20% similarity will be manually checked and failed if found to be plagiarised.

Assignment Submission Form

Please read further below in how you are expected to plan, design, and submit your assignment and how your assignment will be assessed.

Assignments

If you need information on how to plan, draft, and submit your assignment, follow the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting your Assignment.

We are also making the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric available for your guidance. This is a performance-based assessment tool. Tutors will use the rubric to assist them in allocating scoring while also allowing students to understand what is required in the assignment and how it will be graded.

Referencing Style

Your assignments should be referenced using the Harvard referencing style. Please follow this video to understand this referencing style.  Harvard Referencing Style.

Submitting Assignments - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you that assignment questions are available through email. Through another email sent to you by Turnitin (probably on the same day) you will be notified that you have been added to a "class" where you may upload your assignment(s). Assignments should be submitted by not later than 23:59hrs of the assignment submission deadline shown on the Assignment Submission form and/or the "class".

At 21 Academy, you can submit more than one draft of your assignment before the submission deadline. The last version uploaded at the submission deadline will be considered your final submission paper and will be the one that is assessed. Make sure that your final submission does not go beyond 20% similarity when including direct quotations (the sentences in-between quotes).

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin: submitting a paper

To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin, follow this 1-minute video: - understanding the similarity report