On Monday, we had the privilege of hearing from Catherine Day and Matthew Rycroft, both former figures within the Home Office. It was insightful hearing their experiences of leadership within government and understanding the leadership skills that they have developed over the years.
Matthew introduced us to a different framework of leadership:
- Future - The future is yours to design, and while it should be achievable, it should also be ambitious.
- Engage - The importance of engaging with the people you’re working with and leading.
- Delivery - Putting your intended plans into action
The exciting thing about leadership frameworks is how flexible they can be and how leadership can exist in different ways. It was interesting to find out how they co-founded the National Strategy Project, a project built around creating the space and opportunity for people’s voices to be heard by people in positions of power. Catherine also opened up a discussion of how leadership differs from management and left us with the question of what leadership means to us. As the program develops, I think I’m building up a better understanding of this. I had never really considered the difference between management but I think leadership requires active participation in how you lead a team towards a shared goal to drive change, whereas management is more about maintaining the status-quo of how things are run. I think that there is no single definition of leadership - it often depends on the goal at hand. Leadership is not rigid, and arguably the best kind of leader is one who is able to strategically develop their leadership style to suit the people they are working with and their aim.
This week focused on methods and methodology. Being aware of the different theoretical frameworks within research such as realism and constructivism will be helpful in shaping our analysis of the data we hope to collect. As a group, we are hoping to use surveys and interviews to gather insight into how schools engage with parents and how supported families feel by their schools. Learning about the range of ways that research can be conducted was interesting. Mixed methods, which combines both qualitative and quantitative methods, stood out to me because of the breadth and depth it can add to research. Due to the nature of our research topic, we've had to work with a tight deadline as schools have just closed for the summer. Despite this, I hope that we will be able to collect and analyse meaningful data.
On Friday, we had a talk from Alex Betts on the work that Oxford University does to engage with its surrounding community. It was encouraging to hear about the range of initiatives that exist to connect communities together and the ways that students can get involved. The talk was insightful as it further increased my awareness of the disparities that exist in Oxford, and particularly how the history of the city affects the "town and gown" divide.
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Ijeoma,
This is a well-balanced reflection that combines clear summaries of the week's activities with thoughtful analysis. I particularly liked that you didn't simply describe the leadership frameworks you encountered but reflected on what they mean to you and recognised that leadership is context-dependent rather than something with a single definition.
Your discussion of the distinction between leadership and management was especially strong. You acknowledge that your thinking is still developing, which demonstrates intellectual openness, and you begin to articulate your own perspective rather than searching for a definitive answer. It would be interesting to revisit this question later in the programme and see whether your experiences of working within your research team have refined your understanding.
I also thought your reflections on research methodology were insightful. You recognise that methodology is not simply about choosing methods, but about shaping how research is approached and interpreted. Your comments on mixed methods show an appreciation of why combining qualitative and quantitative approaches can strengthen research, particularly for complex social questions.
One area I'd encourage you to develop further is making the reflection a little more personal. For example, how has learning about methodology changed the way you think about your own research project? Has it influenced the questions you want to ask, or the way your team is approaching data collection? Similarly, after learning more about leadership, have you noticed yourself contributing differently within your group?
Your concluding reflections on the Town and Gown divide are also thoughtful. You identify the importance of understanding Oxford's history in shaping present-day inequalities. In future reflections, you could go one step further by considering what role you, as both a student and a researcher, might play in helping to bridge those divides.
Overall, this is an engaging and reflective piece. It demonstrates that you are not only absorbing new ideas but beginning to think critically about how they connect to leadership, research and your own development.