Do you qualify to enroll for the Diploma
Candidates need to:
- Have a leadership role in schools and/or school districts, regional centres or other parts of the educational system, from primary and secondary general education, to adult and higher education.
- Have direct responsibilities for teachers or other leaders
The Diploma
The Diploma comprises three modules related to practice:
- Module 1 - Exploring Leadership (Certificate)
- Module 2 - Leading and improving teaching and learning*
- Module 3 - Leading change for improvement and developing staff*
*For the Diploma, candidates must achieve a pass or distinction in Module 1 (Certificate) to progress to Module 2. Modules 2 and 3 (Diploma) will then deepen and extend their knowledge, understanding and skills, and lead to the award of the Diploma. Candidates must achieve a pass or distinction for Module 2 before entering for Module 3
Cambridge PDQ Diploma qualifications
- To support school based professional development
- Internationally recognised leading to valuable certification and progression for candidates
- Based on the latest research and best practices in teaching, learning and leadership
- A composition of three learning and assessment modules. Each module must be completed successfully before moving to the next.
- Practice based. Candidates produce a portfolio of evidence of their professional practice, learning and reflection which is submitted to Cambridge when ready for assessment
- Designed to help candidates develop their thinking and practice with expert guidance and support
Course Length
The Diploma course is completed in approximately six months. Each module requires 150 hours of learning, with a balance between:
- Guided active learning: e.g., online workshops & tutorials
- Individual study and collaborative learning: e.g., reading/research/discussion
- School-based learning: e.g., applying new ideas & reflecting on experience
The Cambridge certified programme leader and team teach the guided active learning sessions. Candidates must be committed to giving the time required between sessions to make the most of their individual, collaborative and school-based learning, supported by their programme leader, mentors and peers
What you will learn
The Diploma in Educational Leadership enables candidates to:
- understand key leadership theories and ideas, from inside and outside of education, and apply these critically in their own thinking and practice
- critically engage with evidence from research and practice to develop knowledge with understanding of what is known about:
- –successful leadership of change
- –school improvement
- –teaching and learning
- –staff development
- relate these to their own and other comparable leadership contexts, and carry out practice-based initiatives to help them evaluate and improve their own leadership practice
- develop their reflective practice skills, enriched by ideas and experience from external sources
- learn collaboratively, supporting and supported by their colleagues to develop insights, knowledge and skills.
How is the Diploma assessed?
Candidates are assessed through an ePortfolio of evidence, submitted to a team of Cambridge International examiners using PDQ Connect, an online platform. In their portfolio, candidates demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding of leadership in the context of their own work. Portfolio evidence includes:
- reviews of key concepts and theories of leadership
- evaluation of their job descriptions and their leadership contexts
- reflections on their leadership skills and practice and action planning for development
- interviews with experienced leaders and feedback from them
- analyses of the skills and practices of effective leaders
- analysis of their own leadership learning and feedback from peers and mentors
- an evaluation of a change initiative which they have planned and implemented
- a Professional Development Plan for their future leadership development
Assessment criteria
Candidates will be graded for each of the modules according to the following criteria, applied to the portfolio of evidence as a whole:
- Understanding educational leadership
- Developing thinking and practice in educational leadership
- Analysis and discussion
- Communication and presentation.
Awarding Diploma
To be awarded a Diploma, a candidate must achieve a pass in all three modules
To achieve a Distinction in the Diploma, a candidate must achieve Distinction in at least two module
