Learning is often associated with classrooms, blended approaches, and set curricula. Yet, as we engage and navigate the complexities of work and life it becomes evident that some of our profound breakthroughs emerge when we immerse ourselves in real-life experiences and challenges. Many scholars have emphasised the importance of experience and the criticality of its interpretation.

This is where leadership comes in. I have been involved in leadership development and research for over 30 years and my work has shown that leadership is about the values we uphold and how these impact on the level of influence we have on others. It is about unleashing potential both of self and others.

In my experience, people tend to leave much of their potential untapped because they feel conditioned by centralised directives, by erroneous beliefs, or self-imposed obstacles that there are no alternatives, there is no hope, and no time to make a difference. Yet people who challenge these notions have shown us that they can bring about positive change in spite of the linear systems we operate in. They see leadership as a means to organisational improvement, a means of influence and to offer direction or alternatives.

The Professional Doctorate in Educational Leadership (EdD) that the University of Malta’s Faculty of Education will be launching in September will spearhead what Quinn et al. (2024) describe as real-time leadership, a leadership programme that gives mid-career educators the opportunity to engage in a learning journey within a community of learners as they come together to foster change and development within their respective organisations. The EdD is a Level 8 programme that links theory, research and practice.

Key terms will determine our practices, namely connections, coherence, capacity, commitment, collaboration, reflection and engagement, leading to the creation of a community of learners, what Etienne Wenger describes as “communities of practice”.

Our EdD programme is unique in that it allows participants to engage with their day-to-day practices which helps them realise that even the most mundane decisions are embedded in a theoretical perspective.

If leaders are unable to recognise, articulate, and critique the theoretical lens informing their practice, systems may be ‘restructured’ and departments/schools may be ‘improved’, but the theoretical underpinnings that might offer deeply transformative opportunities to improve educational opportunities for students and school communities will remain as elusive as ever.

Our professional doctorate aims to ensure that the broader theoretical perspectives explored in the programme inform the every-day dilemmas as well as the larger philosophical demands of leadership at all levels. This will help bring to life effective educational leadership which, while highly contextualised, is more and more recognised as a crucial input and process variable that determines to a large extent the outcomes for educational organisations.

The programme aims to bring together potential candidates who want to make a difference at systems, organisational and school level. The EdD draws deeply on the expertise provided by academics, both local and international, and practitioners from diverse backgrounds and experiences in providing leadership. This enables excellent opportunities to engage in diverse fora to nurture the cognitive diversity needed to help educators start leaving an impact where it matters.

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Christopher Bezzina is a professor at Department of Leadership for Learning and Innovation at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Education, and co-ordinator of the EdD programme. To contact him, e-mail christopher.bezzina@um.edu.mt.