Education - School Leadership

Entry requirements

Applicants must have successfully completed a Postgraduate Diploma in School Leadership or equivalent with a minimum second class honours grade two.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This one-year blended Master of Education in School Leadership (MESL) programme is specifically designed for those who have completed a recognised level-9 Postgraduate Diploma in the field of educational leadership, management and administration. Through a social scientific inquiry model, students capitalise on their professional and academic experiences to further develop a nuanced understanding of educational leadership, organisational developments, policy enactment and the contextual subtleties within the Irish system that factor into the work of educational leaders. As a result, a primary goal of this programme is to provide aspiring and established leaders with a research informed perspective of the relational nature of leading a learning organisation.

On completion of the programme students will have provided evidence of successful engagement with the following Learning Outcomes:

• Engaged critically and analytically with an area of research relevant to a school leadership.
• Designed and conducted a social scientific inquiry into an aspect of school leadership.
• Appraised the practical and academic debates which pertain to school leadership.
• Developed an advanced and integrated practical and theoretical understanding of school leadership
• Developed cognitive and technical research skills and be in a position to research and apply established theories to research in school leadership.
• Developed an ability to analyse critically, to reflect upon and to synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories.
• Demonstrated a clear understanding of the complexity of school leadership.
• Utilised research databases and accessed policy documentation to have comprehensive understanding of policy in school leadership at both national and international levels.
• Demonstrated intellectual autonomy in the development and dissemination of research.