APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

MAN 2978/2979/2980/2981 School Management

Responsible for the course
Johan From

Department
Department of Communication - Culture and Languages

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
30

Language of instruction
Norwegian

Introduction
One significant learning outcome of this program is to increase the management capacities of teachers in the school system and develop teachers to function in management roles. Through this program, teachers will be provided the necessary competencies in management, knowledge of management and skills in management that will allow them to fill such a role.
The program will give teachers better understanding of organizations, as well as interaction within organizations and among colleagues
The program’s target group is teachers with experience and teachers who already have management tasks as team leaders or in similar roles. The program will provide the target group management skills with regard to knowledge, skills and approaches. Moreover, it has a strong foundation in the subject area and can share with the target group the experience that BI has acquired in its previous school related programs – including the national school principal program.

Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge
The program will give students fundamental knowledge of the challenges and possibilities associated with management, why management in schools is important for the development of a better Norwegian school, how projects and teams can best be organized, the cultural and communication related conditions for management and what creates opposition to changes management wishes to see implemented.

Acquired skills
Students will, in their management roles, be able to express with precision why change and innovation are necessary in order to develop a school with a greater scope of student learning outcomes, lead working routines that result in colleagues working interactively in teams and projects, manage conflicts and opposition that arise due to old habits and familiar routines being challenged and develop class management as a source for increased learning among pupils.

Reflection
The major goal of the program is to develop students who play a larger role in, and assume more independent responsibility for, the development of quality in the pupils’ learning process in school. They will, to a greater extent than previously, feel comfortable taking a leadership role in relation to colleagues at their same level.

Prerequisites
Bachelor degree or equivalent and 4 years of work experience. Please consult our student regulations.

Compulsory reading
Books:
Bjørn Hennestad og Øyvind Revang. 2012. Endringsledelse og ledelsesendring. 2. utgave. Universitetsforlaget. 260 sider
Helle Plauborg m.fl.. 2010. Læreren som leder. Hans Reitzel. 210 sider
John Hattie. 2012. Visible Learning for Teachers. Routledge. 200 sider
Kjell B. Hjertø. 2013. Team. Fagbokforlaget. 260 sider
Knut Roald. 2012. Kvalitetsvurdering som organisasjonslæring. Fagbokforlaget. 260
Svein A. Jessen. 2002. Prosjektadministrative metoder. Gyldendal Akademisk. 300 sider
Thomas Nordahl og Ole Hansen (red). 2012. Dette vet vi om klasseledelse. Gyldendal Akademisk. 60 sider
Øyvind Martinsen. 2009. Perspektiver på ledelse. 3. utgave. Gyldendal Akademisk. Kap 1-5, 8 og 9 (200 sider)

Recommended reading

Course outline
1. Management and effectiveness of the school
Students will be given a fundamental introduction to what the role of management involves, what responsibility management has and what separates management from faculty. Different management theories are reviewed and research on what management behavior functions best is presented. Management’s most important objective in school is to increase pupils’ learning outcomes. Consequently, understanding of and knowledge about pupils’ learning process is also a fundamental element of teachers’ management in the school. The program’s opening module thus takes up both what management is and how management must be supported by the understanding and analysis of pupils’ results.


2. Management of teacher interaction for increased quality in teaching
The teacher in a management role will most likely be leading colleagues who might have both a different educational background and more experience. What management role the teacher creates and what content is generated will be important factors in determining whether he or she succeeds as a manager. One of the most important foundations of management in this context is the capacity to convert available experience and information in the organization into shared knowledge, insight and action. What demands with regard to quality that must be made on development in the school is a central element of this module.


3. Project management and class management
The school has many projects and many of the projects die out or don’t achieve the results that were intended. Quite often this is due to their not having been well enough designed or properly carried out. Good management and the effective implementation of projects in the school are therefore important for increasing quality.
Class management is at the center of management skills for a teacher. Participants in the program will not only achieve insight into and understanding for which class management results in increased learning outcomes among pupils, they will also be capable of assessing and improving others’ class management. Class management has both a behavioral and a pedagogical dimension. Both are reviewed and discussed in the program.


4. Management and cultural influence, communication and creativity
School managers currently meet a multiplicity of cultures among both their teaching staff and pupils. This module provides insight into the impact of culture on communication and creativity and puts into focus how managers can incorporate understanding of different communication styles and behavioral predispositions in creating a more inclusive atmosphere for both pupils and the working environment in a multicultural school society.


5. Change management
This module provides an overview of and introduction to what challenges and problems managers can expect when different forms of organizations, working routines and patterns of interactivity in the school are challenged. Active involvement, co-determination and participation have strong traditions in the school, in addition to autonomous working conditions. In a number of situations, this stands in the way of change, which can lead to opposition or refusal to participate. Both the more organizational and implementational conditions for surmounting this this are reviewed and discussed. In this module the different elements of the program are brought into context.

Computer-based tools
it's learning.

Learning process and workload
The programme is conducted through five course modules, a total of approx. 150 lecturing hours.

The program is based on a “mixed learning” concept, i.e. a teaching form in which modules and net-based activities are the two main forms of teaching. Teaching will include the following teaching activities:

1. Intensive modules
Objective: A physical arena for knowledge transfer and the development of a learning community for personal networking.
Content: Practical information, introductory lectures, group work, plenary discussion, coaching, lunch.

2. Teaching on the net
Objective: Virtual arena for knowledge transfer, individual work with course material, course information and interactivity.
Content: Practical information, digital topic lectures, individual tasks, group work, plenary discussion, simulation.

3. Send-ins
Objective: Written tasks (alone or in groups) on issues from different topic areas (ca. 500 – 1000 words)

4. Adaptation for self-study of the syllabus
Objective: Structure and organize the syllabus material for the students.
Content: Reading lists per topic that can help the student organize the reading of material in a topic area. Activity plan with an overview of tasks, training exercises, modules, deadlines, etc.

5. Guidance on tasks
Objective: For courses with project papers as the exam form. Guidance in developing good progression in participants’ work on their project papers.
Content: Students receive tasks in connection with work on their papers.

Project tutorials differ in each Executive Master of Management programme. It will consist of personal tutorials and tutorials given in class. Generally the students may expect consulting tutorials, not evaluating tutorials. The total hours of tutorials offered is estimated to two hours pr. students following an ordinary Master of Management programme. For students taking the programme as their final Master of Management programme the tutorials offered are estimated to a total of six hours.

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all programmes, it is the student's own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/ itslearning or other course materials.

Coursework requirements
None

Examination
The students are evaluated through a term paper, counting 18 ECTS credits and process evaluation, counting ECTS 12 credits. Both evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the programme. The term paper may be written individually or in groups of maximum three persons.

For students taking this programme as the final Master of Management Programme the following applies:
The students are evaluated through a term paper, counting 24 ECTS credits and an individual written examination, counting ECTS 6 credits. The term paper may be written individually or in groups of maximum two persons. Both evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the programme.

Examination code(s)
MAN 29781 - Term paper; accounts for 100 % of the grade to pass the programme MAN 2978, 18 credits
MAN 29791 - Process evaluation; accounts for 100 % of the grade to pass the programme MAN 2979, 12 credits
Both evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the programme.

For students taking this programme as the final Master of Management Programme the following applies:
MAN 29801 - Term paper; accounts for 100 % of the grade to pass the programme MAN 2980, 24 credits
MAN 29811 - Process evalutation; accounts for 100 % of the grade to pass the programme MAN 2981, 6 credits;.
Both evaluations must be passed to obtain a certificate for the programme.

Examination support materials
Examination support materials at written examinations are specifies under "Examination" in the student portal @BI . Please, note the use of calculator and dictionary. https://at.bi.no/EN/Pages/Exa_Hjelpemidler-til-eksamen.aspx

Re-sit examination
It is only possible to re-sit an examination at the next ordinary examination. When a programme is discontinued, the re-sit examination will take place in a replacement programme.

The assessment is mainly based on more than one examination code. Where this is the case, you may re-sit only the assessed components of one of these examination codes. Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken. All re-sit examinations will incur an additional fee.

Additional information