FACULTY OF EDUCATION & ARTS

MASTER OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

SEMESTER 2: 2014

EDLE 605 Leading Educational Change

UNIT OUTLINE

TEACHING STAFF

Lecturer in Charge: Associate Professor Scott Eacott

Contact Details:
Name: Associate Professor Scott Eacott Office: 18.14 TWH
Phone: +61 (0)2 9701 4167 Twitter: @ScottEacott
Email: [email protected] Web: ACU Profile

If other teaching staff will be working on this unit, their contact details will be advised on
the unit LEO site.

UNIT OVERVIEW

Credit points: 10

Student workload: You should expect approximately 10 hours work per week (for 15
weeks) for this unit made up of any combination of lectures, seminars, residentials, online
engagement and personal study.

Mode of delivery: On-site

Prerequisites: Nil

Quality assurance and student feedback: This unit has been evaluated through the
‘Student Evaluation of Unit’ (SEU) online surveys. The feedback, and changes in staffing
profile has led to a significant re-writing of the unit. This is reflected in the modular
structured and the number and nature of the readings.

SEU surveys are usually conducted at the end of the teaching period. Your practical and
constructive feedback is valuable to improve the quality of the unit. Please ensure you
complete the SEU survey for the unit. You can also provide feedback at other times to
the unit lecturers, course coordinators and/or through student representatives.
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 CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Description

Leaders in schools and educational systems are faced with the challenge of operating in
a rapidly changing world. Economic globalisation, rapid technological advances and
society’s increased expectations of education have replaced past certainties with new
and uncertain frameworks. Dynamic change has become the order of the day. Within this
context, educational leaders need to understand the forces for change operating at three
different levels, namely; within the wider global environment; within the school and
education systems; and within individuals. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect
on and analyse change in schools and educational systems using a number of different
models and frameworks for planning, implementing and evaluating change processes
and outcomes. These change perspectives will be used to assist leaders in Catholic
systems and schools manage change in ways that are meaningful, ethical,
compassionate and productive.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

1. Appreciate the diversity and degree of change forces impacting on schools;
2. Identify and understand the directions for educational change in response to these
change forces;
3. Review key literature in respect to educational change and leadership and apply
insights gained to their own context;
4. Be reflective practitioners and identify experiential learning; and
5. Articulate a meaningful action-based theory of leading educational change in your
own school context.

Graduate Attributes

Each unit in your course contributes in some way to the development of the ACU Graduate
Attributes which you should demonstrate by the time you complete your course. You can view the
ACU Graduate Attributes for all courses at http://www.acu.edu.au/204356. All Australian
universities have their expected Graduate Attributes – ACU’s Graduate Attributes have a greater
emphasis on ethical behaviour and community responsibility than those of many other
universities. All of your units will enable you to develop some attributes.

On successful completion of this unit, you will have developed your ability in the following:
GA1 Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity
GA2 Recognise your responsibility to the common good, the environment and society
GA3 apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making
GA4 Think critically and reflectively
GA5 Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or
profession
GA6 Solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into
account
GA7 Work both autonomously and collaboratively
GA8 Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information
GA9 Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual
media
GA10 Utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively

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 Unit structure
Change is central to our understanding of leadership. Brian Caldwell (2007) goes as far to say
that leadership is change and that if there is no change then either leadership failed or was not
needed. In contrast, rather than seeing leadership and change as two separate entities, I argue
(2013) that leadership and change are somewhat synonymus, and both need to be
problematized. Peter Gronn (2008) takes it even further arguing that change is a vacuous
concept that lacks any concrete empirical referent. Whichever position you align with, the key
issue is that change and leadership are pivotal to the work of school leaders and interrogating
what they mean is important for developing purposeful plans for action. EDLE605 Leading
Educational Change is explicitly designed to do just that.
This unit is built around two residentials, reading, and ongoing thought and analysis of
educational change in practice.
Further information, readings and discussion forums are available on the LEO page for this unit:
http://leo.acu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=13183

Schedule / Content Overview

Topics
Schedule Prelim Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3 Aug
4 Aug
6 Sept
7 Sept

Pedagogical Approach

Each topic will consist of four components, all available through the unit LEO site: i) a
dedicated session during the two residential classes; ii) an essential reading; iii) supplementary
readings; iv) a dedicated forum to dialogue and debate the topic on LEO.

Preliminary task

Prior to the first teaching day (4 August), you are asked to write a short (one page) overview of a
significant change initiative to which you were associated. Particular attention is to be paid to: i)
what was the perceived problem; ii) what approach was adopted to address this; iii) what was the
scale of the change; iv) what was the timeframe of the change; and v) what was the role of
participation in decision making process.

Unit Introduction

This initial session will focus on building a common understanding of the unit, assessment tasks,
and the expectations of the teaching staff. The expected reading is the Unit Outline.

Topic 1: Ways of thinking about change

As a means of introducing participants to the diverse ways of thinking about educational change,
this topic will focus on four dominant positions in educational leadership: i) critical; ii) humanistic;
iii) scientific; and iv) instrumental.

Essential Reading
Gunter, H. (2001). Critical approaches to leadership in education. Journal of Educational Enquiry,
2(2), 94-108.
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 Topic 2: Time, space and ‘participation’

Hegemonic discourses of change stress the need for meaningful participation in organisational
decision-making processes. In this session we will discuss and debate the idea of change, the
romaniticism of ‘participation’ and locate this within the contemporary education contexts.

Essential Reading
Eacott, S. (2013). ‘Leadership’ and the social: time, space and the epistemic. International
Journal of Educational Management, 27(1), 91-101.
Supplementary Readings
Eacott, S. (2013). Asking questions of leadership: using social theory for more than critique.
Leading & Managing, 19(1), 18-31.
Morrison, A.R. (2013). Educational leadership and change: structural challenges in the
implementation of a shifting paradigm. School Leadership & Management, 33(4), 412-424.

Topic 3: Education policy in contemporary Australia

This topic serves as a survey of contemporary Australian education policy and brings these
discourses into conversation with school leadership and educational change.

Essential Reading
Eacott, S. & Norris, J. (2014). Managerial rhetoric, accountability and school leadership in
contemporary Australia. Leadership & Policy in Schools, 13(2), 169-187.

Supplementary Readings
Keating, J. & Klatt, M. (2013). Australian concurrent federalism and its implications for the Gonski
review. Journal of Education Policy, 28(4), 411-426.
Lingard, B. & Sellar, S. (2013). ‘Catalyst data’: perverse systemic effects of audit and
accountability in Australian schooling. Journal of Education Policy, 28(5), 634-656.

Topic 4: Thinking through educational change

This topic is focused on empirical examples of educational change. The suite of readings draw
from the research programme of colleagues at the University of Newcastle.
Essential Reading
Holmes, K., Clement, J., & Albright, J. (2013). The complex task of leading educational change in schools.
School Leadership & Management, 33(3), 270-283.

Supplementary Readings
Albright, J., Clement, J., & Holmes, K. (2012). School change and the challenge of presentism. Leading &
Managing, 18(1) 78-90.
Clement, J. (2014). Managing mandated educational change. School Leadership & Management, 34(1),
39-51.

Topic 5: Models of educational change

Despite its universality, education is very much grounded in the particularities of national and
systemic contexts. This topic focuses on exposing participants to some Australian approaches to
leading educational change.

Essential Reading
Wildy, H. & Faulkner, J. (2008). Whole school improvement Australian-style: what do IDEAS and
RAISe offer? Leading & Managing, 14(2), 83-96.

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 Supplementary Readings
Dinham, S. (2007). The secondary head of department and the achievement of expcetional
student outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration, 45(1), 62-79.
Gurr, D., Drysdale, L., & Goode, H. (2010). Successful school leadership in Australia: a research
agenda. International Journal of Learning, 17(4), 113-129.

Topic 6: Leading instruction

An enduring focus of educational leadership has been the improvement of the three key
messages systems of schooling: instruction; curriculum; and evaluation. This topic focuses on
approaches to leading change in instruction / pedagogy (Timperley, 2005; Ladwig, 2005),
curriculum (Ladwig, 2009), and evaluation / assessment (Webber et al., 2013).
Essential Reading
Timperley, H.S. (2005). Instructional leadership challenges: the case of using student
achievement information for instructional improvement. Leadership & Policy in Schools, 4(1),
3-22.
Supplementary Readings
Ladwig, J.G. (2009). Working backwards towards curriculum: on the curricular implications of
Quality Teaching. Curriculum Journal, 20(3), 271-286.
Ladwig, J.G. (2005). Monitoring the quality of pedagogy. Leading & Managing, 11(2), 70-83.
Webber, C.F., Scott, S., Aitken, E.N., Lupart, J., & Scott, D.E. (2013). Leading assessmet for
enhanced student outcomes. School Leadership & Management, 33(3), 240-255.

Topic 7: Leading education change

Building from the previous topics, this final set of readings is focused on providing further insights
into leading school improvement.
Essential Reading
Robinson, V.M.J. (2010). From instructional leadership to leadership capabilities: empirical
findings and methodological challenges. Leadership & Policy in Schools, 9(1), 1-26.
Supplementary Readings
Hauge, T.E., Norenes, S.O., & Vedøy, G. (2014). School leadership and educational change:
tools and practices in shared school leadership development. Journal of Educational Change,
DOI: 10.1007/s10833-014-9228-y
Andrews, D. (2008). Working together to enhance school outcomes: an Australian case study of
parallel leadership. Leading & Managing, 14(2), 45-60.

Assessment Overview
In order to pass this unit, you are required to satisfactorily complete all assessment tasks
by the due dates. The assessment tasks for this unit are:

Learning Graduate
Assessment Task Due Date Weighting
Outcomes Attributes
Critical analysis of an 05 Sept 40% 1-4 5, 9 & 10
educational change
initiative
Education change term 26 Oct 60% 2-5 1, 5 & 10
paper

Submission is through Turnitin (available within LEO) and assignments will be returned
within three weeks – or at least five days prior to the next task being due.
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 TASK ONE: Critical analysis of an educational change initiative – 40%, 2000 words

You are asked to critically analyse an educational change initiative relevant to your work.

The critical analysis should pay attention to the:

 problem to which the change was intended to address;
 approach taken for thinking through the change and its impact on practice; and
 actual impact on practice.

TASK TWO: Education change term paper – 60%, 2500-3000 words

Building from understandings developed throughout this unit, you are asked to articulate
a proposed change in your work environment. Particular attention should be given to the
scale, timeframe and role of participation in decision making. While the description of the
proposed change is central, of great importance is the manner in which you justify your
approach drawing on relevant scholarly sources. This requires attention to your approach
to seeing and understanding the problem.

You will be assssed on:

- Clarity of exposition;
- Persuasive argument and reasons;
- Disciplinary embedded discussion;
- Originality; and
- Structural integrity

Assignment Preparation

Assignments are to be in size 12 font, double spaced, justified and with ample margins
(use MSWord default). Pages should be numbered (centred and at the bottom of the
page) and have the student’s name and/or student number in the header (italised and
right aligned). All papers need to be formatted according to APA 6th (an overview of which
is on LEO) and submitted to Turnitin by the due date. Papers should adhere to the word
limit of the task (including references and footnotes). Over-length papers will be returned
for revision prior to being graded.

Relevant Journals

Educational Administration Quarterly

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis
Educational Leadership Review
Educational Management, Administration and Leadership
Educational Policy
International Journal of Educational Management
International Journal of Leadership in Education
International Studies in Educational Administration
Journal of Educational Administration
Journal of Educational Administration and History
Journal of Educational Change
Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice
Journal of Education Policy
Leadership and Policy in Schools
Leading & Managing
School Effectiveness and School Improvement
School Leadership and Management
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 Related Professional / Scholarly Associations

Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL)

British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS)
Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM)
University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA)
American Educational Research Association (AERA) – Division A
New Zealand Educational Administration and Leadership Society (NZEALS)
Australian Association for Educational Research (AARE)
Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM)
National Council for Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA)

People to follow on Twitter

AITSL @aitsl
Anna Beck University of Glasgow @anna_d_beck
A/Prof Alex Bowers Teachers College, Columba @Alex_J_Bowers
Prof Jeffrey Brooks University of Idaho @jeffreysbrooks
Dr Rachel Buchanan The University of Newcastle @rayedish
Prof Carol Campbell University of Toronto (OISE) @CarolCampbell4
Keren Caple AITSL @kerencaple
Prof Bradley Carpenter University of Louisville @Brad_Carpeter
Prof Chris Chapman University of Glasgow @ChrisChapmanGla
Prof Vincent Cho Boston College @profvinnycho
Prof Megan Crawford Cambridge University @drmegancrawford
Prof Linda Darling-Hammond Stanford University @LDH_ed
A/Prof Scott Eacott Australian Catholic University @ScottEacott
E/Prof Michael Fullan Ontario Institute for Studies in Education @MichaelFullan1
Dr Linda Graham Macquarie University @drlindagraham
Prof Donald Hackmann University of Illinois at Urbana-Chapaign @donhackmann
Prof Andy Hargreaves Boston College @HargreavesBC
Prof Alma Harris University of London @AlmaHarris1
A/Prof Sonya Horsford George Mason University @SonyaHorsford
Prof Ben Levin University of Toronto (OISE) @BenLevinOISE
Prof Chris Lubienski University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign @Club_edu
Prof Scott McLeod CASTLE @mcleod
Dr Nicole Mockler The University of Newcastle @NicoleMockler
A/Prof Paul Newton University of Alberta @PaulNewtonDr
Dr Katina Pollock KNAER @DrKatinaPollock
Prof Diane Ravitch University of New York @DianeRavitch
Dr Gus Riveros University of Western Ontario @GusRivrs
Prof Pasi Sahlberg Harvard University @pasi_sahlberg
Dr Glenn Savage University of Melbourne @glenncsavage
Dr Andreas Scheicher OECD @ScheicherEDU
Dr Greg Thompson Murdoch University @EffectsofNAPLAN
Prof Julian Vasquez Heilig California State University, Sacramento @ProfessorJVH
Dr Tanya Vaughan AITSL @tvaughan74
Dr Andrew Wilkins University of Roehampton @andewilkins
Prof Michelle Young UCEA / University of Virginia @MDYoungUCEA
Dr David Zyngier Monash University @dzyngier

Further resources

In addition to the University’s library system (http://library.acu.edu.au), I encourage you to

consider signing up for Academia.edu (http://www.academia.edu). This website is much like
Facebook for academics, but most importantly, you can find many papers available that can be
searched by keywords. A similar site is ResearchGate (www.researchgate.net) and to a lesser
extent, LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com).
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 ACU POLICIES AND REGULATIONS
It is your responsibility to read and familiarise yourself with ACU policies and regulations,
including regulations on examinations; review and appeals; acceptable use of IT facilities; and
conduct and responsibilities. These are in the ACU Handbook, which is available in the Library or
on the ACU website at http://www.acu.edu.au/142401
Assessment Policy and Procedures
You must read the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedures in the University Handbook:
they include rules on deadlines; penalties for late submission; extensions; and special
consideration (http://students.acu.edu.au/429796). If you have any queries on Assessment
Policy, please contact your Lecturer in Charge.
Academic integrity
You have the responsibility to submit only work which is your own, or which properly
acknowledges the thoughts, ideas, findings and/or work of others. The Framework for Academic
Integrity and the Academic Honesty Policy are available at http://students.acu.edu.au/343665.
Please read them, and note in particular that plagiarism, collusion and recycling of assignments
are not acceptable. Penalties for academic dishonesty can vary in severity, and can include being
excluded from the course.
Turnitin
The ‘Turnitin’ application (a text-matching tool) will be used in this unit, in order to enable:

 students to improve their academic writing by identifying possible areas of poor citation and
referencing in their written work; and
 teaching staff to identify areas of possible plagiarism in students’ written work.

While Turnitin can help in identifying problems with plagiarism, avoiding plagiarism is more
important. Information on avoiding plagiarism is available at http://students.acu.au/49758.
For any assignment that has been created to allow submission through Turnitin (check the
Assignment submission details for each assessment task), you should submit your draft well in
advance of the due date (ideally, several days before) to ensure that you have time to work on
any issues identified by Turnitin. On the assignment due date, lecturers will have access to your
final submission, and the Turnitin Originality Report.
Student Support
If you are experiencing difficulties with learning, life issues or pastoral/spiritual concerns, or have
a disability/medical condition which may impact on your studies, you are advised to notify your
Lecturer in Charge, Course Coordinator and/or one of the services listed below as soon as
possible. For all aspects of support please contact the Office of Student Success.

 Academic Skills offers a variety of services, including workshops (on topics such as
assignment writing, time management, reading strategies, referencing), drop-in sessions,
group appointments and individual consultations. It has a 24-hour online booking system for
individual or group consultations.
 Campus Ministry offers pastoral care, spiritual leadership and opportunities for you to be
involved with community projects.
 The Career Development Service can assist you with finding employment, preparing a
resume and employment application and preparing for interviews.
 The Counselling Service is a free, voluntary, confidential and non-judgmental service open
to all students and staffed by qualified social workers or registered psychologists.
 Equity and Disability can assist you if you need educational adjustments because of a
disability or chronic medical condition; please contact them as early as possible.
 Indigenous Units on each campus provide information and support for students.

The Unit Outline Resources web page (http://students.acu.edu.au/241467) provides links for
each service.
Page 8 of 10
 APPENDIX ONE

Critical Analysis of an Educational Change Initiative

Criterion 1: Quality of Analysis

Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
Minimal or no Some evidence of Moderate evidence Substantial evidence Exemplary evidence
evidence of analysis. analysis, covering of analysis, of analysis of analysis
the requirements of addressing all addressing all addressing all
the task support with elements of the task. elements of the task. elements of the task.
reference to the Explanations and Explanations and Explanations and
readings. arguments are arguments are clear arguments are
reasonably well and are well exemplary and are
supported in the use supported in the use very well supported
of research literature. of research in the use of
literature. research literature.

Criterion 2: Depth of Conceptual Understanding

Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
Shows minimal or Shows some Shows reasonable Shows significant Shows exemplary
no understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of
the central leadership, change leadership, change leadership, change leadership, change
concepts. and their and their and their and their
relationship to relationship to relationship to relationship to
organizational organizational organizational organizational
performance. performance. performance. performance.

Criterion 3: Written Expression

Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
No or minimal Moderate evidence Shows reasonable Substantial evidence Exemplary evidence
evidence on any of elaboration. A evidence of of elaboration. A of elaboration on
area. No portion, or moderate portion of elaboration. A significant portion the task and
only a minor part, of the student’s work reasonable portion of the student’s work presented in a well-
the student’s work comprises an of the student’s comprises an organized, coherent
comprises an elaborated, coherent work comprises an elaborated, coherent and clear
elaborated, coherent account. elaborated, coherent account. framework.
account. account.

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Appendix Two
Educational Change Term Paper
Criterion 1: Clarity of exposition
Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
The paper may engage with some The paper is a sound and competent The paper engages with the question The paper is a sharply-focused The paper is an authoritative and
relevant issues but treats them piece which covers the basic subject effectively and concisely. response that engages with many of highly effective response that engages
superficially and is too descriptive. matter and which understands the the implications of the question and with the full implications of the
question. maintains a sophisticated level of question.
analysis throughout.
Criterion 2: Persuasive argument and reasons
Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
The paper displays significant flaws. The structure of the essay will be The structure of the essay is clear and The problem(s) and approach are set The issues and approach are set out
These may include: not fully evident and will show a critical develops a critical argument, using an out clearly, and different arguments are clearly, critical arguments are
understanding the question; factual or argument, using an appropriate range appropriate range of vocabulary. Case presented critically, with a good exceptionally well-developed, and
conceptual errors; and/or inappropriate of vocabulary. Case studies will be studies will be used and evaluated. understanding of the material and there is a clear and complete
vocabulary. Case studies may be used and discussed. vocabulary/terminology. Case studies understanding of the material and
tangential or not used. will relate clearly to the question. vocabulary/terminology. Case studies
will relate directly to the question.
Criterion 3: Disciplinary embedded discussion
Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
There may be limited use of sources There is appropriate use of and Use of relevant literature will show an Critical use of relevant literature is Evidence is provided of wide-ranging
and no critical comparison or reference to, several sources, but ability to make comparisons between made, showing ability to make and insightful use of relevant literature,
problematising of them. mainly through summary rather than different sources of information and comparisons between different sources some of which has been located by the
analysis and comparison. relate those aptly. of information and to relate those aptly student.
Criterion 4: Originality
Fail Pass Credit Distinction Distinction
The essay will demonstrate no direct There is limited evidence of original The essay will demonstrate some A considerable degree of independent A considerable degree of independent
evidence of original thought, and little thought; the essay may suggest an intellectual independence, perhaps thought is demonstrated, and an thought and interpretation is
or no awareness of the nature and awareness of the nature and drawing on ideas from outside the unit; understanding of the nature and demonstrated, as is an understanding
complexity of educational leadership, complexity of educational leadership, it will show an awareness of the nature complexity of the interplay of of the full nature and complexity of the
management, administration and management, administration and and complexity of educational educational leadership, management, interplay of educational leadership,
policy. policy. leadership, management, administration and policy. management, administration and
administration and policy. policy.

Criterion 5: Structural integrity

Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
The standard of written English is not The conclusion will summarise the The conclusion will summarise the The assignment concludes with a The conclusion expresses the
appropriate for graduate studies, position argued. A good standard of position argued and show some critical synthesis which is not just a summary, candidate's independent judgment in a
demonstrated by: unsophisticated written English is maintained, with few awareness of relevant issues. A good and shows some independence of mature way. Expression is efficient and
writing; errors of grammar, syntax, errors of form or style. The standard of written English is view. Accurate and lucid expression is lucid, without unnecessary
spelling and punctuation; and/or presentation of references (and where maintained, with few errors of form or evident, with very few errors of form or complication, and in the highest range
inappropriate or inaccurate language. necessary, footnotes) is appropriate style. The presentation of references style. The presentation of references of this grade expression will be
The presentation of references (and with adherence to disciplinary (and where necessary, footnotes) is (and where necessary, footnotes) is scholarly and elegant. The
where necessary, footnotes) is limited, conventions. appropriate with adherence to faultless with judicious use of presentation of references (and where
inconsistent and/or inaccurate and disciplinary conventions. disciplinary conventions. necessary, footnotes) is faultless with
does not adhere to disciplinary judicious use of disciplinary
conventions. conventions.