With a view to nurturing future leaders in Jewish Education, Leo Baeck College has developed a new MA in Jewish Educational Leadership which has been designed to cater for both UK and European students. This is reflected both in the content of the modules which adopts a comparative and international approach and the way the content is taught. The teaching combines a few intensive seminars with on-line learning. This use of blended methods ensures that people living at a distance can study with us.
The MA will prepare and develop students who are currently working in or aspiring to leadership roles within Jewish educational settings. It will provide them with the opportunity to widen their horizons about Jewish education worldwide, to keep up to date with changing trends, contexts and issues and to analyse them. This in turn should enable students to become catalysts for positive change and development in Jewish Education. The programme has a practitioner-orientation combining a balance of education and Jewish Studies through a framework of taught modules and a research–based dissertation.
The MA is also relevant to those, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who, while not directly involved in this field, may be working more broadly in the field of religious studies.
The MA in Jewish Education will be awarded to students who have successfully completed 180 credits. 60 credits are awarded for a dissertation of 20,000 words and the remaining 120 credits are obtained through the completion of modules. There are 140 contact hours. This course is usually studied part-time (two years). It may also be possible to study this course full-time (one year). There are exit points at Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma Levels.
This programme is quality assured by Middlesex University and you will receive a Middlesex award on successful completion.
To read the Programme Specification please Click Here
Entry Requirements
Students may be admitted to the MA if they fulfil the following conditions:
- First/Second class honours degree, or the Advanced Diploma in Professional Development: Jewish Education (passed at a good standard).
- Extensive relevant professional experience in an educational context.
- Students whose mother tongue is not English are expected to meet a minimum level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CERF) or 6.5 IELTS
- Students must confirm that they have reliable and easy access to computing and the internet so that they can communicate using email and be able to use video-conferencing services such as Adobe Connect and Skype. Equally, students must confirm that they have basic IT skills.
Applicants over the age of 21, who do not satisfy the normal entry requirements, may be admitted to a programme or subject providing that they can submit evidence of previous serious study and demonstrate the capacity to pursue successfully the proposed programme.
Teaching and Assessment
This programme is delivered using blended methods. Students come to Leo Baeck College for three days of workshops and seminars for every module which are supplemented by online group and individual tutorials. Students also receive guided reading and learning activities. Types of assessments include: essays, textual analyses, presentations, appraisals of articles, research analyses, the creation of lesson plans, case studies, a research proposal, and a dissertation.
Module Descriptions
This module explores the evolving study of Jewish Educational Leadership arising out of scholarship in Judaism, Education and Leadership and combinations thereof. Students will be encouraged to reflect on and enhance their professional practice as educational leaders and managers.
Topics will include: power, authority, responsibility and accountability; conflict and its resolution; the impact of leadership on improvement in teaching and learning; managing and challenging the system; ‘everyone is a leader’ and other people development approaches; leading change of varying magnitudes and types; ethics and morals in educational leadership; interacting with the global learning place – educationally and Jewishly.
This module examines the journeys of Jewish learners throughout their lifespans with an emphasis on their growth as Jews. A range of developmental and learning theories will be presented and analysed, as well as the ways in which these theories impact on teaching and learning. The module will take into account the variety of contexts in which Jewish teaching and learning occurs as well as a variety of learners. It is expected that students will be able to critique theory as well as apply theory to practice throughout the module.
Students will learn about the different genres of Jewish classical texts, their cultural and historical contexts and the ways in which they have been traditionally used. Students will also be taught the main critical approaches for dealing with texts, how to find tools to interpret them, and the use of secondary literature.
This module will focus on the nature of educational research, research paradigms, methodology and protocols together with the importance and appropriateness of research design. It will consider a range of educational research methods and the rationales for choosing methods, together with the issues relating to qualitative and quantitative investigation of educational issues, including: observation, interviewing, and questionnaires. The module will specifically look at techniques and processes of quantitative and qualitative analysis, including case study and biographical approaches, ethnography, and historical research in educational settings. Finally, it will highlight the importance of ethical issues in undertaking research projects.
This module introduces comparative approaches to research and enquiry as applied to issues relating to Jewish education. In particular there is a focus on issues related to globalisation, including power and inequality, the global environment, and their ramifications for Jewish education (e.g. ‘tikkun olam’ – repairing the world). In this context there is a critical examination of Jewish education and cultural diversity, including patterns of intercultural engagement in different national contexts and within Jewish populations. Finally, questions are raised regarding Jewish educational leadership and the engagement with tradition and modernity, including those concerned with contemporary Jewish identities in Jewish and other educational contexts.
It is important that practitioners and leaders working at the forefront of Jewish education keep abreast of the rapidly changing agendas characteristic of the Jewish educational world. Jewish communities invest greatly in confronting issues that have arisen either because of internal dynamics or external influences.
This module will expose students to a selection of different and significant topics and areas of concern. Under discussion will be the growth of the Jewish day schools in the UK, Shoah education, Jewish identity development, adult education, informal education, planning and policy issues that affect Jewish education in the UK, Israel education and engagement.
Different researchers, practitioners and academics working at the forefront of Jewish education will be invited to give sessions on these and other topics. In addition, current Jewish educational research will be shared, discussed and analysed.
The themes that will be running through this module are change, from the general to the specific, and application of theory to practice.
This module will enable students to prepare and complete a dissertation based upon either empirical or desk research. The module content will be oriented towards both the needs of individual students and the students as a group. Accordingly, issues in relation to the applicability of research methods and instruments will be covered, as will issues related to the writing-up and completion of the work to the required standard.
