APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015

MAN 3029 School Development II

Responsible for the course
Johan From

Department
Department of Communication and Culture

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
15

Language of instruction
Norwegian

Introduction
School Development II is the final program of the Master’s degree in Schoolleadership.

While the Master’s degree in School Leadership’s first year gives a broad overview and perspective of schools’ effectiveness, school management and strategies for school development, School Development I and II to a greater extent put focus on the pedagogical, institutional and social conditions for making a school in which pupils learn more. In these programs the most important factors that impact the school’s quality are reviewed and discussed. School Development I focuses on the pedagogical and didactic conditions for schools’ effectiveness, while School Development II takes up the institutional and social conditions for the effectiveness of the school.

In this program, both the organizational and social conditions for effective school development are taken up. Topics in focus are the school’s culture, cooperative relationships within and between schools, the school as an arena of learning and the society’s framework conditions for school development, accountability and technology. The module includes a study period at a university in California.

Learning outcome
The primary learning outcome:
The Norwegian school needs to improve and increase its contribution to pupils’ learning. Through this program, students receive a broad introduction to the most important topics with regard to the role effective schools can play in the education of its pupils. This will contribute to:

Strengthening the school’s ability to attain the goal of increasing pupils’ learning outcomes
Give students an understanding of the possibilities for improving effectiveness in the educational sector
Strengthen the knowledge understanding and knowledge practice necessary for management of effective schools

Knowledge:
Students will acquire knowledge of how the school’s internal and external environments can be developed in order to create a school that increases pupils’ learning outcomes.
Students will acquire knowledge of how schools can expand their teaching capacity through the utilization of internal environments and external framework conditions.
Students will acquire knowledge of the challenges management faces in implementing the practical changes necessary to move in this direction.

Skills
Students will be able to evaluate and assess the worth of different initiatives, methods and measures that have been implemented in the school in order to improve the learning outcomes of pupils.
Students will be able to lead and plan changes in the present situation of the school in the direction of a more effective one.
Students will be able to initiate changes that move in this direction in a more effective fashion.

Attitudes/General skills:
Students will be able to put pupils’ needs and demands with regard to learning outcomes as a central focus.
Students will be able to critically reflect on the situation in their own schools and in Norwegian schools in general.

Prerequisites
General admission requirements: 180 study points, 4 years’ working experience. See general admission requirements.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Bryk, Anthony S. ... [et al.]. 2010. Organizing schools for improvement : lessons from Chicago. University of Chigaco Press. 222 s
Hattie, John. 2009. Visible learning : a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge. 130 s. Kap. 8 - 11
Hattie, John. 2012. Visible learning for teachers : maximizing impact on learning. Routledge. 270 sider
Jacobsen, Dag Ingvar. 2012. Organisasjonsendringer og endringsledelse. 2. utg. Fagbokforlaget. Del III , 100 sider
Marzano, Robert J., Timothy Waters, Brian A. McNulty. 2005. School leadership that works : from research to results. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 130 sider
Robinson, Viviane. 2011. Student-centered leadership. Jossey-Bass. 150 sider

Collection of articles:
Aktuelle artikler og utdrag kommer i tillegg til hver modul.

Recommended reading

Course outline
Course outline and implementation
The three modules take up the following topics:

Module 1 – The school’s pedagogical working environment
Module 2 – Study period at UC Berkeley, California
Module 3 – Summary – strategic change in the school

Computer-based tools
No specific use in this course

Learning process and workload
The part-time program comprises three modules for a total of 75 hours.


Examination
This is the final course in the Master of Management in School Leadership. Students write a project paper for 15 study points. This can be done individually or in groups of up to 2 students.

Examination code(s)
MAN 30291 – The project paper counts for 100% of the course grade for MAN 3029, 15 study points.

Examination support materials


Re-sit examination
At the next ordinary course completion.

Additional information
Module 1: The school’s pedagogical working environment
Responsible for the module: Professor Johan From, BI Norwegian Business School

Assessment and pupils’ learning
Pedagogical and didactic working forms that promote learning.
Classroom management.

Module 2: Study session at a university in California
Responsible for the module: Professor Johan From, BI Norwegian Business School

Central topics in the area of school research

Module 3: Recapitulation – strategic change of the school
Responsible for the module: Professor Johan From, BI Norwegian Business School

Supervision and control of pupils’ learning
Management for increased effectiveness of the school

What pedagogical and didactic working forms the school chooses and trains its teachers to master are expected to have a significant impact on pupils’ learning. These can be connected to different assumptions within the different subjects and to more general or universal pedagogical and didactic principals. The program puts focus on different sides of the topic by looking at what we know of the relationship between pupils’ learning and pedagogical and didactic ways of working.

Assessment for learning currently has a major position in the development of the school and in effort put into improving the results of students. Here focus is on models for, and practical experience associated with, how the school can assure itself that the assessments being carried out of the pupils’ work contribute to learning. The session’s second major area of interest is how teachers, and not the least leaders, can maintain control of pupils’ learning. Different models of supervision and control are reviewed and discussed.

The program goes through the content of, and research associated with, the management of classes. What characterizes class management for learning is a central focus. One discussion of particular interest is how a school’s management can put teachers in a position from which they can practice good class management. The “instructional leadership” perspective of management is discussed and analyzed in relation to what tasks management must carry out and roles they must play.

The supervision and control of pupils’ learning is a central element of this program. One condition for proper follow up of pupils’ development and progress is knowing where they stand.
What role tests and examinations have in this connection is looked into more closely. Is it such that tests in themselves lead to learning or should tests be more specifically tied into a broader logical pedagogical framework and follow up in order to have the desired effect?

The program runs one of its modules at, and in close cooperation with a university in California. Here, researchers at well known universities in USA present their ongoing research in areas covered by School Development I and School Development II. The consequences of management behavior is a central focus throughout the entire program.