What are the experiences of teachers moving into leadership in the East of England?

ASSIGNMENT FRONT SHEET

Student Name:
Certification : I certify that the whole of this work is the result of my individual effort and that all quotations from books, periodicals etc. have been acknowledged.
Student Signature: Date:
Student Registration Number:
Student email address :

Programme : MBA/MPA Academic Year : Carousel Delivery Module title : Research Methods Module code: Level : 7
Assignment no : 2
Word guide: circa 2,450
excluding references etc.
Percentage Weighting of this assignment for the module: 70%
Issue date : First Week of the Module
Lecturer : Second marker :

Assignment feedback:
Mark %

Masters Level Marking Criteria

Description: Fail:
Marks below 30% No work has been submitted in the time allowed, or the work submitted demonstrates little or no understanding of the task or the subject matter. This may be evident where the work is substantially incoherent, irrelevant or lacking in factual content, or where these shortcomings are present in combination such that the work as a whole is unsound. Major errors of fact, or evidence of substantially poor cognitive or other relevant skills will also lead to a fail.
Description: Fail:
Marks in the range
30% – 39% The work shows some knowledge and required skills are present to a degree. There may be appreciable error or omission of facts, poor structure, misdirection to the task, or poor conceptualisation or illustration of the work. Evidence of analysis and evaluation is weak. There will be indications in the work that the candidate is capable of improving it by further application to the task
Description: Pass:
Marks in the range of 40% – 49% The work contains sufficient descriptive information. There is some analysis and explanation with appropriate illustration and example, and some attempt to evaluate. The work will generally be coherent and relevant, it will contain some useful proposals or solutions related to familiar solutions and there will be some attempt at originality. It will be communicated clearly.
Description: Pass:
Marks in the range of 50% – 59% The work contains all the necessary contextual information. There will be adequate analysis, explanation and conceptualisation, with appropriate illustration and example, and sound attempts to evaluate and judge. The work will be substantially coherent and will contain relevant and feasible proposals or solutions related to familiar situations, some responses to uncertainty or ambiguity and some acknowledgements of the implications of change.
Description: Pass:
Marks in the range of 60% – 69% The work will contain complete explanations using most available information. There will be substantial analysis; the ability to recognise evidence, use ideas, conceptualise, evaluate and judge in familiar situations will be clearly demonstrated. Proposals or solutions will be contextually relevant and useful, with substantial evidence of the skill necessary to operationalize them in a variety of situations, including those in which uncertainty, ambiguity or change are present. The work will provide evidence of originality and of useful knowledge transfer to novel situations. It will be coherent and convincing.
Description: Pass:
Marks in the range of 70% and above The work will clearly demonstrate the ability to analyse accurately, reliably and fully, all relevant information; to use evidence; to conceptualise, evaluate and judge; to propose and operationalise effective solutions, and to show substantial originality and creativity in a variety of familiar situations or in the face of ambiguity, uncertainty or change. It will demonstrate valuable knowledge transfer and propose feasible solutions for a wide range of situations. Evidence of the ability to innovate will be present.

For Assignment Two, you need to collect data and analyse it using the software packages provided such as SPSS and NVivo. The deadline is 1pm (UK time) on the Monday of week nine. A relevant example for Assignment Two will be provided to enable you to achieve the highest mark possible.

In order to complete Assignment Two, you need to perform the following tasks:

You need to broadcast your online survey questionnaire by the end of the week to your classmates and peers only (not from external individuals) by posting it on the discussion forum and/or emailing your classmates. You are required to collect primary data from your classmates. For the research methods, you will employ hypothetical test data, but note that you will need to use real data when completing your dissertation.

Your online survey questionnaire should consist closed-ended (multiple-choice questions to be analysed using SPSS software).

Your online survey questionnaire should also consist and open-ended (essay) questions (to be analysed using NVivo software). This is to enable you to complete both types of analysis for the purpose of the assessment. Please note that for your dissertation research project that a small amount of qualitative data from a questionnaire should be analysed via quantitative coding rather than using qualitative techniques. Also note that a survey questionnaire collecting both types of data is not a mixed methods study – it is a mono-method quantitative study.

Your classmates will be given several weeks to complete the survey. You and your classmates must respond to each other requests. Please note that if you do not collect any data you cannot complete the assessment.

You need to obtain at least ten responses to you survey questionnaire to complete Assignment Two successfully. You can peer review each other’s survey providing constructive feedback to help them improve their survey design skills.

Apart from the survey questionnaire (compulsory), if you wish, you may design one interview question and find one classmate to answer the interview (optional) (to be analysed using NVivo software). For example, you may wish to use a tool such as WhatsApp or Teams to conduct your short interview.

As a postgraduate student, you are free to devise your own structure (headings, subheadings, etc.), using a format such as Sections 1, 2 and 3, etc. or Introduction, Analysis, (Quantitative) Results and (Qualitative) Findings, Discussion and Conclusion.

Assignment Two is a 2,450 word assignment excluding tables, figures, references, appendices (e.g. calculations if required) etc. However, the word count is a guide only; it will not be applied mechanically for this specific assessment to determine your marking; please see the above masters level marking criteria.

The feedback from the assignment 1

Thank you for your submission. The proposal is a good starting point and viable. However, you need to follow the proposal template provided. The last of your research objectives should be a recommendation and for a Masters dissertation four objectives in total is usually sufficient. You need to include more intext citations throughout your writing, it is a key starting point to producing a good proposal and every point you make needs to be cited. Relevant Theme and Discipline/Theory Area section should include an academic definition of the key terms in your research scope and ensure you provide the source, based on Harvard referencing guide. For your Method of Data Collection, it is essential to define the terms used, based on academic sources, what method you will use, qualitative or quantitative data collection. You need to work with a lot more sources than you engaged here. Well done!

The proposal

Working Title

“An investigation into the role change management plays in academic leadership”

This proposal is intended for the Master of Business Administration qualification. The East of England has been identified as an area in the United Kingdom where there has been a rise in the number of failing schools in this region. Consequently, there has been huge criticism of school leadership and its capacity to bring change. This research will investigate school leadership and its ability to bring about change.

Research Aim

How change management can develop teachers moving into leadership.

Research Questions

What are the experiences of teachers moving into leadership in the East of England?

Research Objectives

To identify the skills in teachers moving into school leadership

To examine the continued professional development needed by school leaders

To analyse the current requirements for entering school leadership

Limitations of study

Several limitations may apply to this research. Firstly, the researcher may lack experience in collecting primary research, resulting in the implementation of a method that may not be best suited for the research. (Bryman, 2012) Secondly, sample size can be an issue, as, if the sample is too small this could affect the results significantly as the similarities between the data will not be able to be established. Thirdly, the timescale can affect the study as respondents can choose to withdraw from the study, they can become ill and no longer participate( Wiles, R et al, 2005) Finally, another key factor is the gatekeeper of the organisation. They have the ability to make the process of gathering research a positive one, but can also create problematic situations for the researcher by giving little or no access. (McFadyen, J, and Rankin, J, 2016)

Rationale for Study

The rise of academies in the United Kingdom (UK) has brought a new style of leadership that has challenged traditional school leadership. An academy is an English state-funded school that is directly funded by the department of education however they are not controlled by the local authority (educationhub.blog.gov.uk, n.d.) This has allowed for the use of unqualified teachers to enter the profession and enter leadership. Many of these people have come from the private sector and have brought the values that have created influential impacts in governmental and public life, resulting in the voice of the corporate and private sectors being infiltrated in the public sector. This now sees the government referred to as a customer that purchases rather than a provider of services ( Liberman, A. and Miller L, 2005) However, there may be some benefits of having this style of leadership in education and the skills that come with it. This research will examine these factors.

Research Design

This study has been designed from a qualitative research perspective, which will include examining the whole data collection and observing patterns that may be associated. This is referred to as cross-sectional design (Bryman. 2012)
When conducting interviews, this approach is very applicable and convenient as it allows the researcher to conduct an in-depth analysis analysing emerging themes. However, while Cross-sectional design has been often associated with quantitative research it is used in interviews be it structured or unstructured.

The research could be referred to as qualitative longitudinal research (QLLR) in terms of investigation. This is due to the temporal nature of the design with a focus on analytical attention. (Thomson et al., 2003:185) The reason for this is the working relationship the researcher has with the respondents by working in the same organisation. As well as the ethnographic nature of the research that will be conducted over a short time (Bryman, 2012), resulting in the use of the term qualitative longitudinal research. Albeit the investigation will be conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods.

Types of Data Employed

Sampling

The purposive methods of sampling will be employed. This will lend itself to the most accurate data that will be required. Therefore, three middle managers will be selected. The choice to use middle leaders is centred on the high probability that these leaders would have had a reasonable amount of time in education (3-5 years). As a consequence, the relevant questions will be asked to the group that has been identified.

Methods of Data Collection
A mixture of semi-structured interviews consisting of opening ended and closed questions will be used. Therefore, allowing the examination of the text and further analysing for emerging themes from the data.
Interviews will be digitally recorded and conducted face-to-face. The leaders will be interviewed in a place familiar to them. This is intentional as it alleviates the chance of anxiety. Each respondent will be interviewed separately and recorded on a Dictaphone which will be transcribed.

Observing good ethics at all times is crucial when conducting research. As a result of this social responsibility is of utmost importance. Respondents tend to want to be presented in a positive light and to avoid this interview technique such indirect questioning should be Considered. (Fisher, 1993)

Data Analysis
The transcription of the data will be carefully analysed using thematic analysis. In this analysis, there are no specific criteria that must be met. Rather it seeks to establish any emerging themes. This creates validity of the research (Yardley, 2008) and Elliot, 1999).

Direction for further research

Further research would be likely to be developed from the themes that arise from the research. Consequently, developing more refined questions such as examining specific issues faced by school leaders. The research could also be expanded to include school leaders in different settings i.e Primary, Secondary, and Higher Education to examine similarities in themes.