University of South Australia

Master of Education (Educational Leadership)

This postgraduate degree is specifically designed for educators and professionals who are working in education settings and want to advance or specialize in their careers. You could be working as a teaching professional, educational administrator, researcher, policymaker, or in training and development.

In this postgraduate degree, you’ll explore and apply the latest contemporary education theories and concepts as they relate to your work.

With a focus on developing advanced research and leadership skills, you will have the opportunity to interact with others who are studying and researching in similar settings.

Educational Leadership units

• Theorists and Theories of Learning and Development

Students will explore the personal and social dimensions of the learning process. Students will learn the classification of knowing, experiencing, and learning and the theories of learning development as they apply to different stages of life.

• Learning Communities and Cultures

Students will learn about sites of learning as communities of practice, each with its own mission, goals, values, and purposes, as well as participants who enact different roles and identities to achieve shared organizational or institutional outcomes.

• International Comparative Studies in Education

Students will compare selected educational systems in Australia and internationally by conducting an investigation using comparative methodologies. Students will analyze trends, issues, and challenges for education systems in the investigation.

• Evidence-Informed Practice in Education

Students will examine concepts of evidence-based practice and how they are applied for different purposes in a range of settings to answer education-related questions. Students will critically evaluate resources used in evidence-based practice and critically appraise the nature and application of evidence to inform teaching practice.

• Research Methods and Issues in Education

Students will examine how the research may position them and their courses and the relation of the research to the socio-political context in which it will be conducted. Students will explore the methodological knowledge and skills introduced in this course to generate and analyze both qualitative and quantitative research data and also be mindful of the ethical and political issues involved in educational research.

• Project in Education

Students undertake a project which may take a variety of forms. One possibility is a curriculum resource, such as a set of learning materials, a film or video, a set of tests, a curriculum guide, or a textbook which reflects a clear understanding of the field and is critically evaluated. Another possibility is a work-based project related to an aspect of education as it applies to students’ own educational setting. A further possibility is an investigation into policies and/or practices that apply to a particular educational setting.