Leading Development and Change

Introduction

The course is aimed at school and kindergarten managers, and provides in-depth knowledge, skills and competence on change management and development work in schools and kindergartens. The course builds on introduction to change management and development work in other courses, and gives school and kindergarten managers a broader and more nuanced understanding of organizational, management and managerial prerequisites for successful change and development, as well as concrete management tools to make this happen. The content of the course covers among others planned change and improvement management, employee involving change management, learning management ('open to learning'), the role of middle management, motivation and goal orientation, development of professional learning communities and learning culture, management in teams and team development, reflection and facilitation of development processes, and implementation of change and development projects. The course is conducted as a combination of lectures at BI and group-based training sessions facilitated by experienced school and kindergarten managers. The purpose of the course is thus to provide the individual manager with up-to-date knowledge and skills in the role of change manager in schools and kindergartens, as well as to improve school and kindergarten managers’ competence in planning, implementing and evaluating change and development work. The course has been developed for the Directorate of Education.

Course content

Session 1: Identify development and change needs

Goal:

• To get an overview of key terms and perspectives within change management and development work
• Getting to know your own and other school/kindergarten managers thinking and skills related to change and development work
• To start practicing critical reflection on one's own and others' development work

Theme:

• Introduction of the course and its main content
• Perspectives on change and development work: instrumental, cultural and myth perspective
• Development of a learning culture and professional learning communities in schools and kindergartens
• Principles on the development and translation of knowledge
• Division into basic groups, as well as presentation of process design for the project task and work between the sessions

Training session 1

Reflection on own and others' learning from collection 1, as well as work on the candidates' project assignment

Session 2: Planning and leading development and change work

Goal:

• To understand principles and models for planned change, in general and in schools and kindergartens specifically
• To understand opportunities for involving and engaging employees in change and development work, including how to work with resistance to change as a resource for change
• To understand principles for learning management, including implementation of and reflection on how to turn challenging conversations into constructive and learning conversations

Theme:

• Planned change and improvement
• Resistance to change
• Employee involving change management
• Learning management

Training session 2

Reflection on own and others' learning from collection 2, as well as work on the candidates' project assignment

Session 3: Being a change leader

Goal:

• Understand your own role as a leader in change and development work

Theme:

• Middle management and 'street-level management': How to make room for change and development in the cross-pressure between roles, actors and expectations
• Handling contradictions and tensions between operation and development and between governance and management
• Motivation theory and human resource work in development and change processes

Training session 3

Reflection on own and others' learning from collection 3, as well as work on the candidates' project assignment

Session 4: Leading communities

Goal:

• To increase knowledge and skills in creating structures and processes for interaction

Theme:

• Professional learning communities and learning meetings
• Psychological safety and learning
• Leadership in teams and team development
• Facilitation of change and development processes

Training session 4

Reflection on one’s own and others' learning from collection 4, as well as work on the candidates' project assignment

Session 5: Evaluating development and change work

Goal:

• To increase knowledge and skills related to the evaluation and implementation of change work

Theme:

• Evaluate development and change work
• Implementation of changes
• Knowledge transfer and translation skills
• Summary of the course

In addition to these five course sessions, the course will consist of four training sessions in groups (see teaching and learning activities).

Teaching and learning activities

The course is carried out over five sessions at BI and four training sessions in basic groups, a total of approx. 75 hours.

The sessions at BI are carried out as a combination of lectures, training in various tools for change and development work, as well as practical tasks and discussions in groups and plenary sessions.

The training sessions will consist of reflection on one's own and others' learning in the sessions as well as in the development project. The training sessions take place digitally, are carried out between each course session, and are facilitated by experienced school and kindergarten managers. Candidates will be asked to submit a reflection note before each meeting, to contribute to their own learning as well as a starting point for discussion in the meetings.

The project assignment forms a central part of the course. The assignment is already given on the first day of the first session and is based on the development project that the candidates carry out through the module. Work on the project assignment will take place both in the sessions at BI and in the training sessions. The candidates will receive individual guidance on the project assignment during the course.

In BI's executive education, there is a mutual responsibility for the student and course supervisor to involve the student's experience in the planning and implementation of courses, modules and programmes. This means that the student has the right and duty to get involved with one’s own knowledge and relev