WNGERII913: Educational Leadership in the Face of Global Threats

Main learning objectives
The main goal of the course is to familiarise Ph.D. students with theories and principles of educational leadership, so as to enable them to critically reflect on the role of educational leaders in times of global crises and existential threats.
More specifically, the course elaborates on different approaches to educational leadership (e.g., value-based, inclusive, situational), and applies those to the challenges arising from global threats to humankind, such as climate change, decline in biodiversity, infectious diseases, and growing inequality. Importantly, the course links up with fundamental questions of educational leadership, with a particular focus on values and morality.

Key content
• Theories of Educational Leadership;
• Global Existential Threats, and their implications for educational leadership;
• Inclusive and moral leadership as explicit aims in the face of global threats.

By completing the course, the Ph.D. students will have met the following learning objectives, which are here categorised as knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge:

Upon completing the course, the student…
• possesses knowledge of key theories and principles of educational leadership;
• can expound on a range of global existential threats to humankind;
• understands the relevance of particular leadership approaches when operating in societal contexts dominated by crisis;
• is familiar with current research in the field of educational leadership in times of crisis with particular emphasis on inclusive and moral approaches to leadership.

Skills:

Upon completing the course, the student…
• can evaluate which leadership approaches are applicable in meeting global threats to humankind, including climate change, decreasing biodiversity, and growing inequality;
• is able to argue for the significance of inclusive and moral approaches to leadership, particularly as it relates to mitigating the impact of global existential threats;
• can process and analyse relevant literature as it relates to a focus area of their choice;
• demonstrates the ability to form a coherent and theoretically grounded argument on the challenges and opportunities for educational leaders in the face of global threats to humankind.

General competence:

Upon completing the course, the student…
• masters relevant terminology within the field of educational leadership;
• is able to formulate research statements and -questions based in the field of educational leadership;
• is able to communicate the significance of inclusive and moral approaches in the field of educational leadership.

The maximum number of course participants is 25. PhD candidates from WNGERII member institutions will be prioritized.