Background

Partnership for Professional Enquiry and Award-bearing Courses

The Partnership for Professional Enquiry aims to support the professional growth of experienced practitioners and enable them to contribute effectively to the improvement of educational practice in their own professional setting and the wider professional community. The programme enables participants to gain a sound understanding of the central themes of professionalism in the public services, especially those of long-term and contemporary significance, develop and broaden their own practice through analysis, reflection and debate, and become more competent and reflective practitioners who contribute effectively to their community of practice.

There are several award-bearing courses within the programme including the:

  • MEd Professional Enquiry in Education (Chartered Teacher),
  • MSc Professional Enquiry, and
  • Postgraduate Diploma in School Leadership and Management (Scottish Qualification for Headship).

MEd Professional Enquiry in Education (Chartered Teacher)

This programme is underpinned by a view of professionalism that is entirely compatible with the Standard for Chartered Teacher. For those who are eligible to register, for an approved course leading to the award of Chartered Teacher status, the Professional Enquiry in Education programme will ensure that those who follow it successfully meet all the criteria required to demonstrate the professional actions of a Chartered Teacher.

The programme is structured to enable participants to develop their practice through engaging in action enquiry in their own professional setting. The taught and distance- learning elements are intended to support the development of knowledge and skills in professional enquiry and to allow participants to develop their expertise in an area of their own choosing.

The programme consists of six modules; candidates for the degree normally complete all six modules, although there is a degree of flexibility in order for candidates to gain credit for prior experiential learning. The modules include:

  • PEEP 01 - Extending Professionalism,
  • PEEP A1 (one module selected from PEEP A1A - Developing Contexts for Learning or PEEP A1B - Developing Cognitive Capability),
  • PEEP 02 - Improving Classroom Practice,
  • PEEP 03 - Collaboration and Professional Enquiry,
  • PEEP 04 - The Collaborative Project 1,
  • PEEP 05 - The Collaborative Project 2.

MSc Professional Enquiry

The programme is structured to enable participants to develop their practice through engaging in action enquiry in their own professional setting. This programme is underpinned by a view of professionalism that is entirely compatible with the framework document Continuing Professional Development for Educational Leaders. There are taught and distance-learning elements intended to support the development of knowledge and skills in professional enquiry and to allow participants to develop their expertise in an area of their own choosing. The programme consists of six modules; candidates for the degree must successfully complete all six modules. The modules include:

  • PEMP 01: Professionalism and Reflexive Practice,
  • PEMP 02: Constructing Professional Knowledge,
  • PEMP 03: Improving Professional Practice,
  • PEMP 04: Professional Enquiry,
  • PEMP 05 Collaborative Professional Enquiry Part 1,
  • PEMP 06 Collaborative Professional Enquiry Part 2.

There are three named Postgraduate Certificate Professional Enquiry courses which provide variants of the base modules and can therefore be used by participants either as stand alone awards or as an integral part of the whole programme. The three postgraduate certificates are:

  • Leadership (PELP);
  • Creativity (PECP);
  • Supporting Professional Growth (PESP).

Postgraduate Diploma in School Leadership and Management (SQH)

The aim of the programme is to enable candidates to develop the understanding, abilities and competences they need in order to meet the Ambitious, Excellent Schools: Standard for Headship in Scotland. The Standard specifies the key purpose of headship and the professional values, management functions and professional abilities that describe competence in headship. The Standard is central to the whole programme as it underpins the structure and assessment process within the programme.

Meeting the criteria for the Standard involves the candidate going through a process that has three main stages:

  • assessment against the Standard;
  • the implementation of school projects which will allow the candidate to develop the professional competences required to carry out the key functions of school leadership and management successfully;
  • demonstration of a holistic grasp of school leadership and management and its relationship to the key purpose of headship.

The programme is structured to enable candidates to develop their practice through leading and managing whole-school improvement projects in their school reflecting upon, analysing and evaluating their experience and their own leadership and management practice and applying what they have learned drawing on the ideas and experience of others through professional dialogue with their peers, mentors and their tutors, reading and accessing other sources of information.

The four modules, which lead to the award of the Scottish Qualification for Headship are:

  • SQHP 01 - Educational Leadership,
  • SQHP 02 - Developing Capability for Improvement,
  • SQHP 03 - Leading and Managing to Improve Learning: Part 1,
  • SQHP 04 - Leading and Managing to Improve Learning Part 2.

[N.B. The Standard for Chartered Teacher, Continuing Professional Development for Educational Leaders, and Ambitious Excellent Schools: Standard for Headship documents have been placed in the Resources section on this website)