LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION
ASSESSMENT
Part I of the assessment requires you to create an annotated bibliography of four empirical articles that are key sources for your essay (Part II). For each article, you need to identify the key elements of each article, for example: aims, theoretical background data collection methods and analysis, and findings. (An example of an annotated article is provided at the end of this document).
Part II: Critical Essay
Word Limit: 3,000 words.
The second part of the assessment is an essay designed to assess an aspect of the theoretical knowledge and understanding you have gained in the module. The aim is for you to critically examine one of the theories or topics covered in class, and then explore its application to a specific context or practice.
Possible topic areas include, but are not limited to:
a. A particular theory of leadership such as Transformational; Situational, or Distributed
b. Leadership, Inclusion and Diversity.
c. Leadership and Culture.
d. Leadership and Student Outcomes.
An alternative topic related to the module content can be negotiated with your tutor.
Suggested framework for your essay
Introduction (approx. 250 words)
• Introduction and rationale for your essay topic.
• Structure of the essay.
Theory (approx. 1000 words)
• Definition(s) and examination of the chosen topic
• Critical discussion of the theory.
Application (approx. 1250 words)
• Application of the theory to your chosen context or practice
• Critical discussion and synthesis of the literature on your topic.
• Application of the theory to your chosen context or practice
• Critical discussion and synthesis of the literature on your topic.
Conclusion (approx. 500 words)
• Summary of discussions
• Concluding thoughts
Expectations for an excellent assignment
• Analysis of literature and research: critical engagement, not just descriptive analysis; logical development of argument; good use of the English language making arguments clear and easy to follow; short sharp sentences.
• Synthesis and utilisation of Evidence: bringing together ideas after some argument; reconceptualising ideas; using evidence from research to support or refute assumptions; evidence of your own voice in the assignment
• Integration of theory and Practice: explaining clearly how models and theoretical frameworks can be used to illuminate ideas, arguments, and processes, employing own research to illuminate arguments and providing justification for what you chose to do
• Structure: clarity and justification in the structure adopted; logic in the structure; how the structure helps to sustain the central argument
• Presentation: accurate references both in text and at the end of the assignment; good use of headings and subheadings to develop key ideas of the assignment; must be double line spaced including quotations; long quotes must be indented; short ones may be written in parenthesis with single quotation marks; when indented, do not use quotation marks; always provide author, date and page for any work directly quoted (e.g. Dyke 2009:36). Bold sub headings and headings.
Support and Formative assessment
You will be assigned to either Chris Downey or John Schulz
Tutorials are mostly like to be scheduled during the weeks commencing 5th and 12th January but will depend on your tutor's availability. Contact your tutor directly to find out when they are holding tutorials
• You are allowed one formative assessment of not more than 3 pages of your assignment with your tutor in addition to a tutorial.
• You are encouraged to ask someone else to read your assignment to provide peer review comments for improvement.
Annotated Article
Example annotated article from Neuman, L. (2014). Basics of Social Research: Qualitative sand Quantitative Approaches. London Pearson. (Page 102)
Title
Goffma n, A. (2009). On the Run: Wanted Men in a Philadelphia Ghetto. American Sociological Review 74, No. 3, 339- 357.
Background
With the world's highest rate of incarceration, many studies suggest the United States since the 1970s entered in an era of mass imprisonment. Imprisonment greatly affects African American males. A majority (60 per cent of Black males) under age 30 who lack a high school degree have been to prison, it is 30 percent for those who have a high school degree. At the same time, the concentration of police officers has greatly increased. This ethnographic field research study in a low-income Black neighbourhood of Philadelphia looks at how young Black men who have had some run-in with the law (an arrest, imprisonment, on parole) have their daily lives restricted.
Theory & Research Questions
The research question is on the everyday activities of low-income Black males. The author sees whether theories of Michel Foucault help explain the situation. Foucault argued that power and control in modern society is less based on direct fear of punishment than constant surveillance, and on a need to internalize control or self-discipline. The author explored whether this is the best explanation of daily life for poor Black men with criminal records.
Method
The author spent years becoming intimately acquainted with a specific poor Black neighbourhood in Philadelphia. Although she was White and well educated, she befriended many residents and was treated as a sister within one local family. She conducted intensive observation of one area of the neighbourhood between 2002 and 2003, closely following the lives of several young Black men. She also conducted interviews with local police officers, probations officers, and a judge, and followed up in the neighbourhood for four years after the intensive observation.
Findings
The author found that surveillance was incomplete and partial. She suggests that Foucault's theory is incomplete and does not explain the young men's life in the ghetto. It was very easy for the young men to commit minor parole or other infractions that made them subject to arrest. A constant threat of arrest and re-imprisonment greatly influenced their lives and created a climate of fear. The young men learned stable, routine activities such as going to work, going to a hospital, or maintaining relations with friends and family increased their risk of being caught and arrested. The author provides a theoretical analogy to describe the exercise of state power over the men. She says the young men are more like semi-legal people who qualify for a sanction and must constantly try to avoid it. The analogy is being an undocumented immigrant or runaway slave, someone who can easily be caught and face punishment at any time.