MAN 5186 Law for Leaders
MAN 5186 Law for Leaders
Administrators of schools and kindergartens often face complex challenges. It is therefore important that they develop the necessary competence to comply with the legal framework given in the Education Act and in the general framework plan, while at the same time focusing on the social task of teaching institutions, the educational requirements, and the administrator’s role as employer. A decent employer organizes and motivates employees, complies with the legal framework, and has the courage to be a good leader.
This course is an introductory course in law for administrators in schools and kindergartens. It is part of the second year of the Executive Master of Management programme in educational leadership, but can also be taken separately.
The candidate will have insight and knowledge of legal methodology and sources of law in labour law. He/she will be familiar with legal standards on which rules of law are based, so that the legislator’s objectives may be implemented in an optimal way.
The candidate shall have advanced knowledge of
- Legal rules related to the administrator’s rights and obligations to practice management in labour law, including appointments, terminations of employment, loyalty and freedom of speech, as well as basic rights for children, including children’s right to have a positive psychosocial environment.
The candidate shall be able to:
- Analyse various problems related to labour law issues in the workday of a school or kindergarten administrator
- Apply sources of law and legal methodology as well as expert knowledge within labour law to solve these problems
- Apply relevant labour law rules and rules concerning pupils’ rights to make decisions that benefit institution, children and employees.
- Identify situations that involve legal problems that require legal help from the owner
- Make assessments of problems that require both a theoretical and practical approach
In addition to an awareness of the legal standards on which the relevant rules of law are based, the candidate is aware of, and complies with the rules and agreements that govern the relationship between employers’ and employees’ organizations.
The candidate can communicate various relevant professional issues within labour law to children and young people, parents, colleagues, owners of schools and kindergartens, and other relevant stakeholders.
The candidate can identify, deal with, and conclude in various situations, and knows when it is necessary to contact external experts to resolve issues.
List of topics and teaching plan
1st Module: Characteristics of labour law, legal methodology, management prerogative for school and kindergarten administrators, objectives, and principles for sound executive work, what “best qualified” actually means, as well as procedural rules for appointments.
This module will deal with legal methodology applied in labour law and legal rules relating to pupils and the management prerogative of the school/kindergarten administrator. The legal concept “best qualified” in appointments will also be discussed, as well as the rules concerning priority and procedural rules for appointments in the public sector.
2nd Module: Redundancy/workforce reductions and employees’ job protection
This module will discuss the rules for workforce reductions, job protection for employees as well as rules concerning whistleblowing. Relevant case law will be discussed.
3rd Module: Data protection and professional secrecy
This module will focus on the rules of professional secrecy and access to information. We shall examine how one can meet requirements for a sound ICT system and for good cooperation with other parties. We shall also look at the transitions between kindergarten and primary school, between primary school and lower secondary school, and between lower secondary school and upper secondary school.
4th Module: Dealing with conflicts
This module will focus on interpersonal challenges for a good working environment. A poor working environment may harm coordination and motivation for employees and may also be a direct cause of impaired work processes. Skills training in this module will focus on conflict negotiations, how conflicts arise and how they are resolved. The school/kindergarten administrator will learn how to apply tools to handle conflicts in a constructive manner, which includes approaching serious personal conflicts in a formally correct manner. Students will train individually and in groups.
5th Module: The psychosocial environment for pupils and children in kindergartens
This module will discuss the obligations of schools and kindergartens relating to the psychosocial environment, the encroachment concept, requirements relating to executive work and documentation, and the right to obtain special educational assistance and special education. We will also discuss the heightened obligation to act that applies when an employee causes offense to a child or a pupil, and especially the dual standard of proof (standard of proof pursuant to the Education Act and the regular standard of proof in labour law). Relevant case law, practice with the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training as well as practice with the county administrator will be discussed.
The course is taught in 5 modules, approx. 75 teaching hours.
The learning activities in the course consist of preparing a lecture and writing a term paper. The learning activities will be supported through colleague guidance, group discussions and continuous feedback from teachers.
To prepare for exchange of experience between course participants, students will be divided into groups, consisting of participants from both kindergartens and schools. The work in groups will be carried out during each module, with focus on relevant topics.
Course participants shall prepare a lecture on a relevant topic in the curriculum and shall give this lecture to the management group/employee representatives of their organization. Students will receive guidance on the content of the lecture, and they shall present an outline which must be approved by the teacher.
The term paper is to be written throughout the semester, the topic being a relevant conflict situation, and subject to approval from the teacher. Following this, the student shall discuss the legal problem and propose a solution in a term paper, which will be submittet for grading.
In all BI Executive courses and programs, there is a mutual requirement for the student and the course responsible regarding the involvement of the student's experience in the planning and implementation of courses, modules and programmes. This means that the student has the right and duty to get involved with their own knowledge and practice relevance, through the active sharing of their relevant experience and knowledge.
Bachelor degree, corresponding to 180 credits from an accredited university, university college or similar educational institution. The applicant must be at least 25 years of age and at least four years of work experience. For applicants who have already completed a master’s degree, three years of work experience are required.
Disclaimer
Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Submission PDF Exam/hand-in semester: Second Semester Weight: 40 Grouping: Individual Duration: 72 Hour(s) Comment: A written 72-hour case-based home exam that is to be solved individually accounts for 40 percent. Both exams must be passed in order to be awarded a certificate in the course. Exam code: MAN 51862 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Submission PDF Exam/hand-in semester: Second Semester Weight: 60 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 2 Semester(s) Comment: A term paper to be solved by up to 3 students accounts for 60 percent. Exam code: MAN 51861 Grading scale: ECTS |
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
| Course code | Credit reduction |
|---|---|
| MAN 5009 | 100 |
| MAN 5131 | 100 |
| MAN 2956/2957 | 100 |
Kursene MAN 5131 Arbeids- og elevrett for skoleledere og MAN 5009 Arbeidsrett og arbeidsliv kan ikke brukes sammen i en grad. Dette gjelder også tidligere versjoner av kursene.
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Examination | 24 Hour(s) | Work with 72 hour individual take home exam |
Examination | 75 Hour(s) | Work with the term paper |
Teaching | 75 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 75 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 151 |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 15 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 400 hours.