Unit Outline

Expectations of leaders in educational and other settings can change significantly over the course of a career. In addition to understanding individual issues of changing professional identity, self-preparation, and role transition, leaders are required to engage with heightened responsibilities when government and institutional reforms of structure, culture and practice entail high stakes accountability through outcome-focused performance targeting. By the end of this unit, you will have developed advanced knowledge and skills in the connection between individual and systemic change in leadership practice through study of modules on: approaches to leadership, theories and styles of leadership, the practice of leadership; and the social dimension of leadership in educational and related work contexts. Part of the aims this unit is to enable you to have a better understanding of yourself as a leader and how to lead others.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Demonstrate an understanding of the theories, styles and practices of leadership
2.	Critically reflect on the nature of leadership and its practice within educational and other organisational contexts.
3.	Demonstrate your ability to use the literature to support the arguments that you make.
4.	Apply new knowledge and understandings in a critically analytical way to practice

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	ESM709

Alterations as a result of student feedback

In light of student feedback, both content and readings have been updated.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Comparative Essay	Week 6	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Reflective Case Study	Week 13	60 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Comparative Essay

Task Description:

Compare and contrast any two leadership approaches or any two theories covered in Modules 1 and/or 2. You are then required to recommend and justify which approach/theory would best suit your work context.

Task Length:

1500 words (maximum) – penalty applies for exceeding this word length

Due Date:

Week 6

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identification and articulation of key similarities and differences of chosen leadership approaches or theories with reference to relevant literature	LO1, LO3
2	Analysis and synthesis of key issues in recommending and justifying the most suitable leadership approach or theory for chosen work context with reference to relevant literature	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
3	Presentation of ideas – follows specified genre / structure and APA convention for academic writing and referencing	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Reflective Case Study

Task Description:

Identify a situation (i.e., case) that you have encountered/observed that involved a leader exercising leadership. Critically analyse the leadership enacted by this person in this situation in the light of relevant literature. Then propose recommendations on how similar situations might be better led and/or managed in the future.

Task Length:

2500 words (maximum) - penalty applies for exceeding this word length

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

60 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identification and articulation of key similarities and differences of chosen leadership approaches or theories with reference to relevant literature	LO2
2	Critical analysis and evaluation of situation against relevant literature	LO2, LO3, LO4
3	Analysis and synthesis of key issues in recommending and justifying the most suitable leadership approach or theory for chosen work context with reference to relevant literature	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
4	Presentation of ideas – follows specified genre/structure and APA convention for academic writing and referencing	LO1

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Northouse, P. (2021). Leadership theory and practices (9th edition). Sage Publications.

Reading Lists provide direct access to all material on unit reading lists in one place. This includes eReadings and items in Reserve. You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website.