Study at Waipapa Taumata Rau opens real-world doors.
The Master of Educational Leadership (MEdLd) at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, is designed to equip educators with the confidence, capability and strategic insight to lead effectively across diverse educational settings.
For Sharon Gray, the programme provided practical tools she could apply immediately – and ultimately helped her step into a formal leadership role.
Gray, 52, is now Year 2 Learning Leader at Murrays Bay Primary School, managing the team of Year 2 teachers and teaching in class herself. She completed the Master of Educational Leadership (MEdLd) in April, having started with a Postgraduate Certificate of Education.
“I hadn’t studied for many years and I am a believer in lifelong learning,” she says. “I enjoy a challenge and wanted to learn more.”
Gray first became aware of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, while still living in South Africa. She found the online platform both engaging and of a high standard, and was later able to continue on to complete the MEdLd in person, receiving credit for her earlier coursework. The degree also formed the basis of a thesis exploring how leadership can drive positive change in education.
“I have never done anything as hard as moving countries with a family and doing a master’s – but the sense of achievement at the end was enormous. I am very proud of attaining a first-class honours degree.”
She also found the experience highly interactive, with much more two-way communication than she expected.
The degree gave her more than just academic credentials. “It gave me leadership skills and the ability to manage teams. For me, it was about wanting to learn more, to study more about education – and to develop the leadership qualifications that would help me develop and use my skills.”
“But it became something more than that – it became a way I felt I could help make a change in the system,” Gray says.
Murrays Bay Primary School knew Gray was taking the leadership degree and awarded her a leadership role after she applied for it.
The Master of Educational Leadership (MEdLd) degree is designed for experienced educators; emerging leaders seeking confidence, capability, and qualifications to lead effectively; Pasifika and Māori educators, under-represented in leadership roles but who bring essential perspectives to education equity; and educational professionals in kura kaupapa Māori, bilingual settings, early childhood, primary, and secondary sectors.
Associate Professor Deirdre Le Fevre, MEdLd programme director, says students will generally be in leadership positions in schools, but she says it is not only for principals or senior leaders; most take the degree for career progression.
“Effective leadership is one of the strongest predictors of improved student outcomes, particularly in complex or under-resourced environments,” she says. “The MEdLd equips educators with strategic thinking, inclusive leadership, policy awareness, and community engagement skills.”
Postgraduate study provides a structured, reflective space to grow as a leader – rooted in research, evidence, and collaboration and underlines formal leadership development in education as opposed to promotions gained by experience.
For more information, visit Auckland.ac.nz.