EDU8603 - Trends Shaping Education
- Offered for Year: 2026/27
- Module Leaders: Dr JB Stanfield and Dr LSA Ramshaw
- Owning School: School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences
- Teaching Location: Online
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 3 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS: | 10.0 |
Aims
This module identifies the changing trends that are shaping the educational landscape, locally and globally.
It is designed to deepen students’ knowledge of educational leadership issues within their own work context and understand what the future educational trends are. The future of educational leadership theory, including the concept of digital leadership skills, will be used to underpin the students’ understanding of future trends, whilst considering how leaders may plan for, adapt or influence such future trends.
Drawing directly from the programme aims, this module specifically aligns to:
1. Interpret, analyse and exercise critical judgement in the evaluation of educational leadership theories, concepts, and global perspectives.
2. Navigate and shape AI-driven educational landscapes, whilst fostering understanding of AI technologies, their applications, and ethical implications in education.
4. Promote approaches to leadership that support equity, diversity, and ethical decision-making in education.
6. Strategically inform policy, governance and practice in education
Outline Of Syllabus
Within this module, the syllabus will cover a range of educational leadership trends and developments an consider how these relate to global megatrends. This in turn will prompt us to discuss and discover the future of educational leadership development and posit predictions of what the future may hold. Focus toward the specific leadership approaches for the managing future change will be discussed and debated, focusing particularly upon digital and transformational leadership.
The module will then investigate, compare and contrast specific local and global educational leadership trends, whilst sourcing and drawing on secondary data to fortify such trends and position their importance. Understanding what this data informs us about the future of educational leadership and associated needs within the next decade will be an important segue as we consider the challenges that exist now in education within module 5.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Distance Learning Advance Preparation | 1 | 6 | 6 | Preparatory work before online study |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 8 | 3 | 24 | Delivered online. Weekly programmes comprising video presentations, online discussion and reading. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 8 | 3 | 24 | Delivered online. Essential and recommended reading and research. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured non-synchronous discussion | 6 | 2 | 12 | Delivered online. Compulsory discussion forum engagement. |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 8 | 2:30 | 20 | Student directed literature and resource searching. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 8 | 6 | 48 | Self-study to complete session tasks, reading and preparation for learning |
| Guided Independent Study | Reflective learning activity | 7 | 1 | 7 | Reflection tasks after each session |
| Guided Independent Study | Student-led group activity | 5 | 3 | 15 | Paired or grouped tasks to discuss session learning and learn interdependently |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 2 | 20 | 40 | Preparation and writing of assignments. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 4 | 1 | 4 | Office hours provided for student advice and guidance. |
| Total | 200 | ||||
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The teaching methods are all at distance learning, online. In line with the new Education Strategy, active learning will be utilised on this module and so the learning tasks will require the students to deeply engage with the materials. Asynchronous tasks are therefore structured to promote engagement with online material in a variety of ways – from students reading shared material and research, to sourcing their own literature, aligned to their own contexts. Each learning session will be designed to sequentially take students through a series of compounding activities, which will subsequently lead to their assessment writing and foci. Students will be prompted to think for themselves before receiving expert explanations and have spaced opportunities to practice and improve key skills. This will also include working with peers in group tasks, that they can arrange synchronously themselves. This is particularly key in this module, as part of their assessment is a group presentation. Explanatory text will be divided into short sections with graphics and video/animation to highlight key concepts, and frequent prompts to pause for reflection, practice and questions. The use of real-world case studies will also help students to better understand concepts and how to apply them to varied contexts, as well as modelling how to analyse and solve problems in this field. The use of discussion forums will allow students more time to reflect before articulating their ideas or responding to others. Personalised feedback will also be used to motivate students to complete formative activities and assignments. Access to model answers and additional tips and explanations will also be used to incentivise activity completion. The benefits of active learning will be continuously reinforced throughout the module and the purpose of individual activities will be made clear.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise 1 | 1 | M | 20 | Students will engage with Discussion forums throughout the module, and also be expected to comment on their peers posts also. |
| Report 1 | 3 | M | 30 | Written Positioning paper focusing and reporting on a trend that is happening now (1200 words). |
| Oral Presentaion 1 | 3 | M | 50 | Group Presentation, submitted via recorded video Students will be assigned into groups of 3-4 to produce and present a live (online) 15-20 minute group presentation, outlining the leadership considerations of a predicted future trend |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Group Presentation, submitted via recorded video:
Students will be assigned into groups of 3-4 to produce a group presentation, outlining the leadership considerations of a predicted future trend that could shape education (2000 words equivalency). This part has been given higher weighting at 50% as it incorporates a live presentation aspect, increasing the module’s AI resilience, compared to written tasks.
Written Positioning paper focusing and reporting on a trend that is happening now, and of which the student wants to take action upon in the context of educational leadership in the UK or globally - secondary data analysis will be used to support case (1200 words).
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/