Why Should You Consider The Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)

Developing school managers for the 21st century

The world has changed significantly over the last thirty years, especially since the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

To meet the demands caused by these changes, the educational sphere, especially the schooling environment, has also changed. Subsequently, the roles of school managers have had to significantly transform as well.

The PGDE program equips school managers with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to effectively lead and manage their schools in the 21st century.

It enhances the capability of managers in education to improve service delivery, thereby contributing to organisational effectiveness.

The program is a National Quality Framework (NQF) level eight qualification and is a year duration.

It encompasses content related to all aspects that affect the effective management of a school. This includes the incorporation of educational legislation, as well as finance, human resource, and curriculum management.

The program’s primary focus is to ensure that students develop the ability to apply management theory in practice.

The qualification is directed toward students with relevant work experience and occupying middle and senior management positions in education. It can build newly appointed principals’ capacity and reinforce established principals’ practices and procedures.

It can also capacitate current deputy principals and heads of departments (HODs) desirous of becoming principals.

In addition, the PGDE program can upskill school managers to be confident in applying leadership and management principles in an educational context.

Furthermore, it can facilitate succession planning in schools, capacitate educators in GET, FET, and ABET bands and develop professional managerial competence through formalising and encouraging critical reflection.

Understanding the duties of educational management

A postgraduate diploma in educational management is an advanced course designed to develop leadership and management skills specifically for education.

It equips students with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools to lead educational institutions like schools or colleges. It focuses on areas such as:

• Strategic planning: Developing school curricula and instructional learning materials teachers can use in the classroom. Monitoring student progress and implementing learning programs to improve performance in problematic areas, such as mathematics.
• Human resources: Hiring new staff members and evaluating teachers’ performance to determine whether they must be reassigned, terminated, or promoted. Assisting with student discipline when teachers are overwhelmed and struggling to maintain a sound teaching environment.
• Policy analysis and quality assurance: Ensuring learning materials and lessons abide by educational policies and standards.
  Financial management: Managing school finances and coordinating fundraising events to ensure the school has the necessary resources to purchase new equipment and improve its learning facilities.
• Stakeholder engagement: Communicating with stakeholders and keeping them informed about the latest developments and how it impacts them.

By completing this diploma, individuals enhance their abilities to lead and transform educational organisations. This ensures high-quality learning environments and positive student educational outcomes impacting the South African economy.

The current state of unemployment in South Africa is at 29.1%. With the help of education, people can acquire the hard and soft skills needed to attain jobs and build the South African economy.

How does educational management differ from teaching?

Educational management and teaching are two separate facets of education. While one focuses on the actual education and teaching of pupils, the other focuses on creating a great educational environment.

Learn more about the differences between educational management and teaching:

• Postgraduate diploma in education management: An educational manager might be responsible for ensuring the right staff is employed, buying teaching equipment, and ensuring educational standards are maintained at all times.
• Postgraduate diploma in teaching: On the other hand, teachers are responsible for creating teaching lessons, educating the students, and grading papers.

What are the requirements for a postgraduate diploma in education?

To be eligible to enrol in the postgraduate diploma in education, students must have an appropriate bachelor’s degree or advanced diploma (preferably in education or a related field).

By enrolling in MANCOSA’s PGDE online, students will learn the fundamental knowledge and skills of contemporary educational management, educational leadership, and education research.

They’ll also learn about governance in education and financial management and will get to choose from a set of electives based on their interests.

Register for a PGDE course with MANCOSA

If you’ve made it to this point and read through the entire article regarding educational managers, their duties and responsibilities, and what you need to pursue this career, you’re probably ready to learn about the next steps.

Head over to our Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) program page to learn more about this program. Then, once you’re ready to apply, you can simply click the “apply” button at the top or bottom of the page to start the process of enrolling.