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Origins of Leadership

Explore a comprehensive range of leadership theories and apply them to your own settings.

430 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    2 weeks

  • Weekly study

    8 hours
Overview
Requirements

Discover how applying theory can benefit you as a leader

You will reflect on a comprehensive range of leadership theories, based on academic research and the study of leadership in a variety of settings.

You will then have the opportunity to evaluate the applicability of these theories to educational contexts.

By selecting a leadership issue of interest and applying relevant leadership theories, you will then have the chance to produce a literature review, in preparation for further discussion and analysis at the end of the Leadership Theory program.

What topics will you cover?

  • What do genetic theories tell us about effective leadership?
  • What does the dark side of psychology; narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism, offer to our understanding of effective leadership?
  • What value does ‘niceness’ have in effective leadership?
  • Can introverts make effective leaders?
  • Why is there such a strong case to be made for female leaders?
  • What do Behavioural Theories tell us about effective leadership?
  • What do Contingency Theories tell us about effective leadership?
  • What do Skills Theories of Leadership, such as Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), have to offer?
  • What do theories involving Inter-Personal Dynamics and Transformational Leadership offer?

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Summarise and evaluate different leadership theories and evidence from academic research-based studies
  • Apply leadership theory to different non-educational settings and evaluate the implications of this for the leadership of schools
  • Identify where different leadership theories might be applied to educational leadership
  • Compare the various theories of leadership, to examine and critically evaluate applications of these theories to educational leadership scenarios
  • Identify a leadership issue of interest and prepare a literature review to analyse and address the topic chosen

Who is the course for?

This course is for students of the MA Educational Leadership.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992

  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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