Educational Leadership

This course is intended to familiarize students with student affairs in higher education. This course focuses on the nature and purpose of student affairs, leadership in student affairs, standards and guidelines of accrediting organizations, and its functions. It also examines institutional strategies for organizing, staffing, and funding the extensive array of programs, services, and facilities designed to facilitate the learning and development of students. By actively participating in and successfully completing this course, students will become conversant with some of the literature and best practices for leadership in student affairs. This course takes a broad look at the essential work of student affairs and its administration, examining the work through historic, theoretical, research, resource, ethical, and best practice perspectives.

Independent Study

The American legal system as it applies to the governance and operation of public education. Major legal doctrines and principles that affect board of education operation, the liability of school districts, fiscal policies, the legal status of teachers and pupils, and the general regulatory codes that school administrators must meet. Scheduled fall semesters. Formerly EDL 554.

Theories of public policy-making and decision-making regarding school finance; distribution of State aid; federal education policy, programs and funding; analysis of school budgets as planning documents, instruments of public understanding and mechanisms of management control; the relationship among planning, politics, and management in financing education. Scheduled spring semesters. Formerly EDL 557.

The effects of federal, state, and local government policy on the operation of the public schools; the use of power and educational leadership; the role of lobbies and special interest groups; policy analysis and educational decision-making.

Strategic and operational approaches to educational planning. The planning process will be examined in relation to budgeting, school facilities and staff development plans. Additional topics will include initiating and managing organizational change and site based management. (Core course Ed.D. requirement).

A course focusing on the systems, personnel, technology, and tools administrators encounter delivering building-based education. Hands on exposure and practice. Computer/tablet required.

Survey course of the fundamental tenets of leadership theory with a major focus on the relationship between the leader and other elements of the school organization as presented from multiple perspectives.

Based on the premise that effective school leaders are “human relations specialists” as well as task specialists. Development of relationship-building skills; accurate and empathetic listening, effective confrontation, conflict management and decision-making/ problem solving skills. Scheduled fall, spring and summer semesters.

Provides an opportunity for students to develop their ability to understand and improve schools as organizations, implement operational plans, manage resources, and apply decentralized management processes and procedures. Emphasis is placed on applying organizational theory to problems of practice through case studies, empirical data collection and simulations with a strong focus on managing school change. Scheduled fall, spring and summer semesters.

An analysis of the goals, functions, and processes of supervision in contemporary education. Orientation of new teachers, evaluation and improvement of instruction, staff development, and interpersonal and group relationships. Scheduled fall, spring and summer semesters.

Principles of learning derived from developmental, behaviorist, and cognitive field theories; brain functioning, hemisphericity, and teaching/learning styles. Implications of learning theory for classroom management, improvement of instruction, evaluation of learning and organization of schools. Scheduled fall, spring and summer semesters.

Basic principles and practices of instructional leadership in the cycle of curriculum development and change. Application of knowledge to current and future issues on the local, state, and national scene. Scheduled fall, spring and summer semesters.

In this advanced course students examine the instructional leadership role at the district level. Participants will gain in-depth knowledge of contextual issues impacting the superintendency and the implications for achieving high levels of student learning.

The internship is an individual experience in an educational setting under the supervision of an experienced administrator or mentor and a supervising faculty adviser. Experiences develop the student’s competence in creating change in accordance with the human, conceptual and technical skills learned in prior courses. Students receive a final grade at the end of the semester based on the course syllabus and satisfactory completion of requirements. Scheduled fall and spring semesters.

The internship is an individual experience in an educational setting under the supervision of an experienced administrator or supervisor and a faculty adviser. Experiences develop the student’s competence in creating change in accordance with the human, conceptual and technical skills learned in prior courses. Scheduled fall and spring semesters.

Case study analyses, simulation, and field experiences serve as the basis for seminar discussions and examination of contemporary issues in education. Scheduled fall, spring and summer semesters.

This advanced course stresses the interplay of law and policy, legal decision, and educational practice. Participants will gain knowledge of issues related to the implementation of educational policy and related statutory and constitutional laws.

Explores advanced theories in organizational development and ways in which leadership influences organizational change. Participants will draw from organizational and leadership theory and their own experiences in managing and dealing with the dynamics of real organizational dilemmas.

Continues the exploration of advanced theories in organizational development and ways in which leadership influences organizational change. Participants will draw from organizational and leadership theory and their own experiences in managing and dealing with the dynamics of real organizational dilemmas.

Provides an opportunity for students to critically examine the context in which schools exist with a focus on the forces that engender school change. Emphasis is placed on understanding the nature of change in organizations and its relationship to leadership behavior.

The first quantitative methods course. Leader must be able to analyze, synthesize and interpret statistics in the context of emerging research findings, daily problem solving, and decision-making. Provides students with the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics necessary to address quantitative information. It will also equip students with the necessary frameworks to describe and critique the components of various quantitative research studies. It will assist in preparing for data analysis related to the dissertation.

Students examine qualitative methodology used in social science research, focusing primarily on ethnography, case study, phenomenology, grounded theory, and action research. Students become familiar with theoretical and ethical aspects of qualitative methodology and will develop and employ qualitative methods such as individual interviews, observation, focus groups, and document review in their own research projects.

Involves an in-depth exploration into the identification and analysis of the social and ethical issues impacting the lives of people and on the work of educational leaders in dealing with these issues.

Provides the advanced student in Educational Leadership with tools to formulate and analyze education policy. Participants will gain knowledge of theory and practical information to construct effective educational policy.

Supports doctoral students in their third year to prepare the methods chapter of their dissertation proposal. Emphasis will be placed on selecting a research design and developing research methods appropriate for addressing students' individual research questions and hypotheses. In addition to the fundamentals of sampling and measurement, students explore and write an in-depth justification of the research design they intend to use in their dissertation proposal. Course taken as pass/fail only.

As an extension of EDL 704, students are offered a more advanced level of univariate and multivariate statistics.

This course is designed to facilitate the dissertation development process. The seminar is a forum for students to explore with their peers research problem development, theoretical foundations, methodology, and data analysis to launch their dissertation research. Format and procedures for progression in the dissertation process are also discussed.

Continues facilitation of the dissertation proposal development process where student commences one-on-one with his/her Committee Chair to progress to defense. Fine tuning of the proposal is undertaken regarding development of the research problem, theoretical foundations, methodology, and data analysis to launch dissertation research. Format and procedures for progression in the dissertation process are discussed as well as formal preparation for the defense. Course taken for Pass-Fail grade only.

Continues to facilitate dissertation development process.

Enables students to conduct in-depth study on a specific, individual topic of interest. It also allows students to receive continuous advisement from faculty while preparing and defending the final dissertation. Course taken for pass-fail only.

Continuing Enrollment for Doctoral Dissertation

Theoretical evaluation models; summative and formative evaluation of programs; evaluation of schools (and other social agencies); performance-based evaluation of teachers and other personnel; accountability.