Building on our successful bespoke programme delivered in 2016, The North Leadership Centre (NLC) and Newcastle University International Office have recently completed the delivery of a complex programme for 30 administrative staff from Xiamen University. The programme was titled Xiamen University Administrative Staff Development Programme, and the delegation was headed by Kevin Zhong. The aims of the programme were to get an overview of how Newcastle University functions, as well as to develop English language and leadership skills.
Dr Xenia Xu of the International Office and Francis Barber of the North Leadership Centre collaborated to ensure the programme’s success, and teams from both departments supported the provision of this programme. Delivery was also supported by a team of final-year student interpreters from the School of Modern Languages.
The delegates undertook a two-week English Language programme through the North Leadership Centre, supported by CELTA-qualified staff Eleanor Gordon and Mark Pearson from NLC, and Ilaria Spiga and Rob Thompson. As well as language, this aspect of the programme covered UK culture and focused on speaking and practical English.
English Language Teaching
The programme incorporated cultural excursions for the delegates including visits to local places of interest and trips further afield. The delegates were also able to explore Newcastle and the rest of the UK.
Cultural excursions
Delegates participated in a five-day programme in leadership with Dr Anna Reid of the North Leadership Centre, which covered a range of themes including trust, collaboration and communication.
Leadership with Dr Anna Reid
The programme included visits to a wide range of university departments, and our thanks go to those departments for their willingness to participate and the quality of input that they delivered for the delegates.
Clockwise from top left; Human Resources, University Finance, Sports Centre and Learning and Teaching Development Service
Keynote presentations were given by Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Day, Registrar Dr John Hogan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engagement & Internationalisation) Professor Richard Davies, and René Koglbauer, Director of the North Leadership Centre. During the formal welcome and closing speeches, keynote speakers from both Newcastle and Xiamen Universities emphasised the value and importance that both institutions place on the continuation of this highly successful partnership.
Clockwise from top left; Kevin Zhong with René Koglbauer, Professor Chris Day, the full delegation and Dr John Hogan.
We all look forward to further future successes of this partnership, and hope to be able to welcome more delegates from Xiamen University in future.
Building on our successful bespoke programme delivered in 2016, The North Leadership Centre (NLC) and Newcastle University International Office have recently completed the delivery of a complex programme for 29 student counsellors from Xiamen University. The programme was titled Xiamen University Counsellors Development Programme, and the delegation was headed by Jason Wang.
The aims of the programme were to get an overview of how Newcastle University functions, as well as to develop English language and leadership skills.
Dr Xenia Xu of the International Office and Francis Barber of the North Leadership Centre collaborated to ensure the programme’s success, and teams from both departments supported the provision of this programme. Delivery was also supported by a team of final-year student interpreters from the School of Modern Languages.
The delegates undertook a two-week English Language programme through the North Leadership Centre, supported by CELTA-qualified staff Fancis Barber, Eleanor Gordon and Mark Pearson from NLC, and Rob Thompson. As well as language, this aspect of the programme covered UK culture and focused on speaking and practical English.
English Language Teaching
The programme incorporated cultural excursions for the delegates including visits to local places of interest such as the Angel of the North, and trips further afield to Northumberland to experience the English countryside. The delegates were also able to explore Newcastle and the rest of the UK.
Cultural excursions
Delegates participated in a five-day programme in leadership with Dr Anna Reid of the North Leadership Centre, which covered a range of themes including systems and processes and collaboration.
Leadership with Dr Anna Reid, Deputy Director of North Leadership Centre
The programme included visits to a wide range of university departments, and our thanks go to those departments for their willingness to participate and the quality of input that they delivered for the delegates.
Clockwise from top left: Careers Service, Language Resource Centre, Student Finance and Students’ Union
Keynote presentations were given by Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Day, Registrar Dr John Hogan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engagement & Internationalisation) Professor Richard Davies, and René Koglbauer, Director of the North Leadership Centre. During the formal welcome and closing speeches, keynote speakers from both Newcastle and Xiamen Universities emphasised the value and importance that both institutions place on the continuation of this highly successful partnership.
Clockwise from top left: Registrar Dr John Hogan, Jason Wang of XMU with Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor, René Koglbauer Executive Director of North Leadership Centre, Professor Richard Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engagement and Internationalisation
We all look forward to welcoming the next set of delegates next week for the Administrators programme, and to future successes of this partnership.
I was tempted to begin this blog post with a witty anagram of BERA and BELMAS, the two conferences I attended this summer but it is with some degree of embarrassment that I have given up with nothing to show for my efforts.
BERA stands for the British Educational Research Association. According to their website , it is a ‘membership association and learned society committed to working for the public good by sustaining a strong and high quality educational research community, dedicated to advancing knowledge of education’. BELMAS is also concerned with the field of education but this society focuses on aspects of and issues concerning leadership, management and administration.
I have been trying for some time to identify ways of applying the methodological and analytical approaches, which I used in my doctoral work, to contexts of educational leadership in line with my roles and responsibilities within the North Leadership Centre. My doctoral work was a study of teachers’ developing understanding of enquiry based learning. It primarily concerned concepts of identity and agency in relation to curriculum innovation and formative assessment. My current position within the North Leadership Centre allows me to work with serving school leaders on aspects of their personal and professional development including identity and agency.
I was delighted, therefore, that my first solo abstracts for both BELMAS in July 2016 and BERA in September 2016 were accepted and included in the conference proceedings. The abstracts presented the rationale and outlines for two different workshops:
How can Bernstein’s (1996) concepts of ‘classification’ and ‘framing’ be used to explore the development of programmes for school leaders in the North East of England?
This workshop addressed the theme of the 2016 BELMAS conference by challenging a shift in government oversight of education from compliance to performance (Ball, 2000) with a more ‘humanist’ approach to professional leadership development. It offered tasks aimed at identifying underlying issues which enable or discourage leadership curriculum innovation. The discussion considered whether incorporating the development of ‘weak’ social structures in new leadership development programmes can help to address key priorities in improving the leadership and management of schools in the current Education sector.
Our dialogical selves: developing an analytical framework for exploring practitioner identity and agency.
This workshop introduced the concept of the ‘dialogical self’ (Hermans, 2001a; Hermans, 2001b) and invited participants to engage with a developing analytical framework for exploring themes of identity and agency. It offered practical tasks aimed at uncovering underlying issues which enable or discourage practitioners to ‘act’ within their particular contexts. The discussion considered whether the analytical framework I employed as part of my doctoral work can help to address key priorities in developing practice in the current Education sector.
Both workshops were designed to foster dialogue and encourage critical reflection in order to seek out whether my ideas for future work would stand up to the rigour and expectations of the academic community. For the first time at these conferences, I felt like I was beginning to find my feet as an academic, capable of holding my own in discussions with others for whom I have a very high regard. That other academics were prepared to share their experiences and expertise with me was a huge boost to my confidence. That they encouraged me to continue with my approaches will be the motivating factor moving forwards.
Outcomes from the BELMAS 2016 workshop
Moving forwards, then, I have committed to preparing and submitting an article for a special issue of ‘Management in Education’ later this year. When I reflect upon my experiences at both BELMAS and BERA, I now realise that I engaged in the conferences as a personal and professional learning opportunities, where, by providing stimuli for discussion, the responses of academic colleagues helped me to move forwards with my own my thinking and doing. Ironically, I feel I am undergoing a shift in identity myself, which is compelling me to engage further and with greater self-belief.
References
Bernstein, B. (1996) Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity. Maryland: Rowman and Little Publishers, Inc.
Hermans, H,. (2001a) ‘The dialogical self: Toward a theory of personal and cultural positioning’, Culture & Psychology, 7(3), pp.243-281.
Hermans, H. (2001b) ‘The construction of a Personal Position Repertoire: Method and practice’, Culture & Psychology, 7(3), pp.323-365.
