Reimagining Curriculum Design: Using Focus Groups to Enhance Leadership Educator Practice

Abstract

As educators continue down the ever-changing path of leadership learning, we must critically analyze our approach to curriculum design. A central aspect of this course design process utilized a focus group of peer leadership educators, in which the group leveraged the diversity of its members to center the student perspective and ensure a well-rounded analysis of the new curriculum. This group of leadership educators piloted an asynchronous, online, contemporary issues in leadership course in which providing formative feedback on course content, pacing, and design resulted in a more inclusive and robust curriculum. Reflections from our collective process are grounded in our lived experiences as leadership educators and leadership learners. Implications for practice are explored throughout as well. The reflections and implications focus on four key areas: leadership educator development, the need for diverse perspectives in leadership learning, growth through feedback, and ways to disrupt the traditional narratives of curriculum design.

Leadership education: a content analysis of postgraduate leadership education programs for health and human service leaders in Australian universities

“…Research demonstrates that reflection is a valuable tool for leaders to foster lifelong learning and professional practice (Lang & McNaught, 2013) and the use of critical reflection and reflective practice are recognised as skills that many students only develop at a tertiary level (Thanaraj, 2016;Volpe White & Guthrie, 2016). Leadership as a lifelong learning journey is supported in the literature (Devies et al, 2022;Komives, Mainella, Longerbeam, Osteen, & Owen, 2006) as is the importance of modelling desired professional behaviours (Jardine et al, 2015;Wheeley et al, 2022).…”