| COURSE SUMMARY | |
| Qualification / Award | Master of Education Leadership (Online) |
| Course Duration | 1 year full-time (2-4 years part-time) |
| Credit Points | 48 Credit points (8 units) |
| Delivery | 100% online |
| Available to | Domestic (FEE-HELP available) |
| IELTS | 6.5 with no band less than 6.0 |
| Financial Information | Course Fees Page |
| AQF | Level 9 |
| Key Dates | Application Deadlines and other Key Course Dates |
The Excelsia Master of Educational Leadership degree provides aspiring, emerging and current leaders, managers or administrators in education with sound knowledge of theory and practice in educational leadership. Whether you are already in a leadership role or preparing to take the next step, this degree will help you extend your career in a variety of educational settings.
The Master of Educational Leadership at Excelsia College is an online degree which gives you the flexibility to navigate your way through the content and resources from anywhere you are. However, you’re not alone in this journey. In order to give you the support you need in an online environment, our experienced lecturers will conduct live online discussions where you will be able to connect with your lecturers and other students, and also have all your questions answered synchronously.
Each unit in this course is taught by our highly-experienced and well-qualified academic staff who have extensive experience in education in Australia and overseas.
Excelsia College’s respected academics will guide your learning from a faith-based perspective, teaching you to reflect deeply on the ways in which your Christian worldview impacts your role as a teacher and leader. Our courses are aligned with AITSL standards, and students will graduate with the confidence to lead in both religious and non-religious educational environments.
The entry criteria for admission to the Master of Education are:
a four-year Bachelor of Education or equivalent qualification; and one of the following:
(i) the completion of postgraduate studies in a relevant field; OR
(ii) professional experience equivalent to one year full-time in a field considered by the Faculty to be appropriate to the
program of study.
The entry requirements for those with postgraduate initial teaching education degree are:
a bachelor’s degree AND ONE of the following postgraduate qualifications:
- Master of Teaching;
- Graduate Diploma in Education; OR
- Equivalent postgraduate teaching qualification
Visit the Applicants with Higher Education Page
The Master of Education is not available to International Students.
Entry to this course will not be possible based on VET or TAFE studies or on Work and Life Experience alone.
Applicants whose qualifying undergraduate studies were taken in a language other than English will be required to demonstrate English proficiency equivalent to the IELTS Academic minimum overall result of 6.5 with no band score below 6.0. Comparative scores for recognised tests are included below:
| Examination | Minimum Score |
| IELTS | 6.5 with no band less than 6.0 |
| TOEFL iBT (Internet-based) | 79 with no score less than 20 |
| PTE Academic | 58 with no score less than 51 |
Download the Student Selection and Admissions Policy and Procedure.
Perhaps you want to hone your skills in the classroom, increase your earning potential or become a leader in your professional learning community. Perhaps your eye is on a future role as a principal or curriculum leader. Whichever path you want your career to take, our online MEd prepares professional educators for advancement in any area of educational research, leadership and practice.
This unit explores a philosophy of education from a Christian perspective. Students examine theories about how worldviews are formed and how our philosophy of education impinges on educational practice from a transformational perspective. Worldview impinges on all sectors of education in Australia. This unit explores the concept of worldview, how it appropriates itself in a school, in vision and mission statements, in the classroom, in the individual and in an organisation. The way worldview is shaped by our culture is examined. The concept of a biblical worldview and the place of religious education in Australia are contextualised. Students are invited to explore how their worldview impacts teaching, including in a faith- school.
Schools are hubs of learning where all participants continue to grow and learn. This unit explores the construct of a professional learning community and Lave & Wenger’s classic theory of communities. The characteristics of a community of practice are defined and students reflect on the roles of member citizens in engaging, imagining and supporting. Communities of practice are seen as an evolving, context-specific process rather than a model for mass application. Students have opportunity to reflect on professional learning communities within their own work or school and apply theories to their current practice.
Critically analyse the role of Christian educators as rigorous and accountable curriculum deliverers who teach from a Christian worldview perspective. In light of the Australian curriculum and the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008), consider how the values set forth in these documents relate to the development of accountable, transparent curriculums in specific educational contexts, including Christian schools.
In this unit students have the opportunity to learn about the overarching narrative which binds together the Old and New Testaments, and to reflect deeply on its personal implications for them as a teacher-leader, their worldview, and their philosophy of education. The unit provides the analytical tools to develop a biblical theology, and to consider the ways that such analysis might influence practical appropriation of the text. It further provides students with the teaching skills to translate the Bible for others and reflect on its significance to Christian education and Christian educators in every sector.
Pedagogy is a popular and misunderstood term in education. In this unit educators are given the opportunity to evaluate pedagogical practices and their own personal pedagogies in the context of the Australian curriculum and its mandated pedagogical requirements. Direct instruction, the flipped classroom and inquiry learning theories and practices are defined and described. Students connect digital technology as a form of social media, research and a multimedia teaching tool for 21st Century learning with pedagogy.
Students are asked to critique a range of pedagogical approaches for learning and best practice. Data-influenced pedagogies and evidence-based practices are evaluated and student engagement is critiqued. Student outcomes and their connection to holistic pedagogical practice are examined. The role of Christian educators and education in the virtual and the real world are explored, inviting a faith-based perspective on pedagogy.
Examine and critique decision making practices based on data and research in the context of a Christian definition of student outcomes. Students are taught to use care and wisdom as they interpret research and evaluate current Australian data collection practices, acknowledging both the limitations and value of data-based decision making.
Leadership and management are defined as distinct and interrelating concepts. This unit explores the history and theory of leadership, from factory models such as Ford and Taylor through leadership styles, gender, power, emotions, metaphors of leadership and complexity leadership theory, spiritual leadership and sustainable leadership practices. Students are invited to explore the key characteristics of Christian leadership.
Management principles and metaphors are also explored and students have the opportunity to develop their own metaphors and modes of leadership and management based on professional experience and worldview perspective. Leadership and management are further connected to vision and mission statements and ethos.
This unit is based on the key premise that, in contemporary professional contexts, creativity and innovation are core competencies for individual and organisational productivity and success. Individuals and organisations must adapt and change to remain relevant, and leadership skills demonstrating creativity and innovation are critical to driving such change.
This unit will assist students to acquire and practice skills and patterns of thought characterised by, and leading to, creativity and innovation. In so doing, the unit provides a range of theoretical understandings and practical examples of creativity and innovation applicable to various settings. The unit also develops student capacity and confidence to examine, analyse, and evaluate needs and strategies for organisational improvement and development.
Research skills are critical to facilitating lifelong learning, developing conceptual and investigative skills at the postgraduate level, and to enhancing systematic attempts to understand, influence and improve professional performance and practice.
In pursuit of these aims, this unit introduces students to a range of philosophical, theoretical and practical skills and understandings necessary to design, conduct and evaluate informed research in the social sciences and related fields (including education, and applied philosophy and theology). Students will gain the ability to:
- critically evaluate data, methods, strategies and results in the research designs and reports of others, and
- begin to independently design, conduct, evaluate and report on their own research.
These abilities are critical to facilitating lifelong learning, developing conceptual and investigative skills at the postgraduate level, and to enhancing systematic attempts to understand, influence and improve professional performance and practice.
The unit is a core requirement of the Masters of Education and is a prerequisite for the Applied Education Research Project.
Effective professional leadership and practice involves generating/retrieving, assessing/evaluating and presenting/reporting relevant information in order to make informed, coherent and insightful decisions. In order to assist students to fulfil these functions this unit, building on Research Methods, provides a solid, practical experience in identifying gathering and analysing secondary data; drawing conclusions from such data; and communicating conclusions and recommendations in appropriate and effective ways.
The unit is conducted on a self-directed content basis. As such, students are expected to identify and investigate their own topics and concerns using appropriate research strategies and methodologies. Research topics will vary widely and students will be expected to access a wide range of information resources in order to obtain any specialist knowledge required for their project. On completion of this unit, students will have obtained confidence and competence in investigating “real-life” problems of professional concern.
| Applicant background |
2019 Semester 2 | |
| Number of Students | Percentage of all students | |
| (A) Past higher education study (includes a bridging or enabling course) |
3 | 100% |
| (B) Past vocational education and training (VET) study | 0 | 0% |
| (C) Work and life experience (Admitted on the basis of previous achievement not in the other three categories) |
0 | 0% |
(D) Recent secondary education:
|
0 | 0% |
|
0 | 0% |
|
0 | 0% |
| International students | 0 | 0% |
| All students | 3 | 100% |
