The goal of the course is to detect the complex and multifaceted picture of the field where the school leader operates: local, regional, national and international structures, networks, resources and challenges. Special attention is paid to the societal and sociological perspectives of the school system and educational policy. The aim is for the educational leader to understand changing social, economic and political contexts and how to lead educational change efforts.

One focus of the course is on exploring the theoretical and practical structure of educational administration in the example of the development of Finnish education and Finnish municipalities as current providers of education. From this basis, we expand the illustration on the policies, cultures, and pressures to network that challenge the concept of school and education system to change, as well as the role of leadership and management in centralized and decentralized administration.

The subsequent focus is to give an overview of leadership and management in a network of organizations. The aim is to understand the reality school organizations (in public, private and liberal adult education) live in: changes in the environment (social, economic, political) cause external pressures and schools have to adapt to the altering situation. The focus is on the changing nature of educational leadership in the network of local, regional, statewide and international operators. Educational leaders are seen as managerial and political leaders, communicators and change agents at the network level, too.