Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD-EdL)

This foundational course will introduce you to the concepts and practices of advanced graduate study. You will examine concepts and expectations of advanced graduate study and academic integrity as well as investigate best practices of scholarship and research. You will explore university resources and supports associated with student success, including technologies for learning and research. You will also evaluate the program process and requirements for success. Finally, you will advocate for self-care and reflection during your studies.

Academic writing is at the heart of scholarly writing. How you explore and navigate your topic of interest is both a personal and professional matter. In this course, you will integrate effective research and writing skills, and evaluate standards of academic writing, honesty, and integrity. Literature and writing are closely related, so this course also offers you a first chance to examine the elements of conceptual and theoretical frameworks and critique the role of supporting literature and inquiry with conceptual and theoretical frameworks. Finally, you will synthesize the frameworks commonly used in educational research.

You will develop effective search and scholarly writing strategies to create a scholarly review of literature. The course emphasizes how to: (a) use effective literature search strategies; (b) develop a scholarly synthesis of research literature; (c) organize research literature around identified research themes, including a study problem, purpose, and theoretical perspectives for an empirical research study; and (d) focus on developing a scholarly exposition that reflects divergent viewpoints and contrasting perspectives. The overarching goal of this course is for you to understand strategies to survey scholarly empirical and theoretical literature to avoid bias, focus on educational practice-based research problems, and address the required components of a scholarly literature review.

In this introductory research course, you will explore the underpinnings of the research process, examine research paradigms, and investigate theoretical and practical foundations of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies used within educational research. You will identify criteria for the development of a quality research study that is ethical, accurate, comprehensive, cohesive, and aligned. Specific course topics will involve the ethics of conducting research; data collection and analysis techniques; and issues of feasibility, trustworthiness, validity, reliability, generalizability or transferability, and rigor. This course is intended to familiarize you with concepts and skills associated with conducting theoretical and applied research.

This course offers foundational knowledge to become a critical consumer of statistical- based research literature as well as develop the necessary skillset for non-inferential quantitative analyses. The emphasis will be on understanding multivariate data, non-inferential and inferential statistical concepts, the conventions of quantitative data analysis, interpretation and critical inferences from statistical results. Statistical computations will be completed using statistical software applications for quantitative data analysis. The course culminates in a synthesis project to demonstrate statistical skills and aligned with APA guidelines for presentation of statistical results.

This course focuses on qualitative research methodology and designs and the methods used to collect and analyze data in educational research. You will examine the principles of qualitative research and explore commonly used designs (also referred to as qualitative traditions or genres) with a focus on application and feasibility. Qualitative data collection and analysis methods will be examined for their suitability with regard to the research design selected. Alignment between qualitative designs and research methods, issues of trustworthiness pertaining to qualitative research, and the role and responsibilities of the qualitative researcher will also be explored.

This course explores the quantitative research methodology and associated designs and methods. You will examine paradigmatic perspectives along with the tenets and conventions of quantitative research. This examination of designs and methods will include topics such as feasibility, validity, reliability, variable operationalization, inferential designs, and analytic software applications used within the quantitative research paradigm. You will also explore the components of aligned and coherent quantitative research designs that support meaningful research within the field of education.

This course builds on a foundational understanding of qualitative designs and measurements to focus on analyses of the data. The course takes you deeper into the skills and techniques necessary to ensure the appropriate analyses of qualitative data, including integrating relevant frameworks, verifying trustworthiness of the findings, and selecting suitable methods to present the analyses and findings.

You will learn advanced statistical principles and how to apply them to quantitative research. You will be provided an overview of advanced statistical concepts used in empirical research, including inferential analyses. Advanced computations will be performed using SPSS. The focus involves helping you build independent scholarly skills with an emphasis on understanding multivariate data; the use, comprehension, and evaluation of sophisticated statistical concepts; and presentation of statistical results.

The doctoral comprehensive assessment is your opportunity to demonstrate your preparation for entering the dissertation phase as a doctoral candidate. You will synthesize discipline-specific content with research designs and methods as you create a prospectus for a problem of applied practice within an educational context. This prospectus will likely become the foundation of your dissertation. Note that you will take this course only after all foundation, specialization, and research courses have been completed.

In this 12-week course, you will complete all relevant subsections of Section 1: Foundation. You will use your school-specific template and guidance from your chair to determine which subsections apply to your individual work. Section 1 must be completed and approved by your committee in order to pass the course and move forward. If you do not receive committee approval of Section 1, you will be able to take up to three supplemental 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of Section 1.

In this 12-week course, you will compose all relevant subsections of Section 2: Methodology and Design and complete your proposal. Both of these components must be approved by your committee in order to pass the course and move forward. You will use your school-specific template and guidance from your chair to determine which subsections apply to your individual work. If you do not receive approval of Section 2 and the complete proposal, you will be able to take up to three 8-week supplementary courses to finalize and gain approval of Section 2 and your completed proposal.

In this course, you will prepare, submit, and obtain a determination from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) application before collecting data and, if applicable, executing your project modeling. You will also submit documentation that you have closed data collection. If you are still collecting data or modeling your project at the end of this 12-week course, you will be able to take up to three supplemental 8-week courses to complete the required components.

In this 12-week course, you will complete all relevant subsections of Section 3: Findings, Implications, and Recommendations, finalize your manuscript, and disseminate your findings. You will use your school-specific template and guidance from your chair to determine which subsections apply to your individual work. The final manuscript, which includes Section 3 and the dissemination of findings, must be approved by your committee in order to pass the course and be eligible to graduate. If you do not receive committee approval of all components, you will be able to take up to three supplemental 8-week courses to finalize these requirements and be eligible to graduate.

In this foundational course, you will examine major theories and practices of organizational development and improvement in educational settings. You will also critique educational leadership competencies related to ethical behavior in educational organizations and synthesize various leadership theories using an educational approach to leadership. Finally, you will utilize educational leadership theories as they apply to real-world leadership situations in education and explore self-evaluation and personal reflection techniques supportive of leadership improvement within educational organizations.

In this course, you will review current literature and theories related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. You will also relate knowledge and personal experiences, and examine the educator dispositions necessary for effective diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice practices. Finally, you will justify the role of and recommend practices for diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in the context of educational leadership.

Higher education institutions in the United States are bound by different legislation and regulation. There are also different types of institutional and programmatic accreditation that leaders must consider. In this course, you will explore the implications of these different accreditations, regulations, and legislation with specific attention to institutional self-studies and issues of copyright and fair use across different types of institutions.

The operational complexity of higher education institutions grows exponentially with the size of the institution. In this course, you will investigate the typical departments and processes before examining more specific operational aspects of higher education institutions, such as human resources, data-based decision making, institutional effectiveness, environmental scanning, strategic planning, and continuous improvement. Your exploration will consider your specific interests in these topics and types of institutions.

There are many functions within the area of higher education student services. You will explore these functions across the student lifecycle in a variety of delivery modalities. Some of the functions you will explore in this course include enrollment, advising, academic support, accommodations and modifications, as well as persistence and retention through to graduation. You will have the opportunity to examine these functions generally within higher education as well as specifically related to the context of your individual interests.

The facilitation of learning is the core function of all institutions of higher education. As a leader in higher education, you need to know how this core function is designed and maintained. In this course, you will explore academic program planning and evaluation, theories and principles of curriculum development, assessment of student learning, and the value of open educational resources and co-curricular activities. You will be able to tailor your work in this course to your current or future institutional contexts.

Financial considerations in higher education can be complex. While accounting departments may be responsible for most of the details, higher education leaders need to understand the scope of the financial considerations across the institution. In this course, you will examine budget cycles and specific budgets of higher education institutions. You will explore sources of revenue, including financial aid, grants, and fundraising, and the regulations that govern these activities within higher education institutions in the United States. Throughout your examination, you will consider the role of fiscal accountability and related challenges.

Conflict is a normal part of living and working together. Conflict can give you opportunities to learn and grow both personally and professionally. Of course, the positive potential of conflict does not eliminate the discomfort we can feel around conflict. In this course, you will examine conflict and mediation within a variety of educational organizations. You will evaluate conflict management skills and practices, including discerning the implications of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness in the process of conflict interpretation and management within educational organizations.

In this course, you will explore the role of ethical leadership in attaining organizational excellence. Given the many types of educational organizations, you will examine leadership competencies that relate specifically to ethical behavior in your choice of educational organizations. Organizational leaders create a culture of ethical behavior. You will critique the techniques leaders use to communicate decisions, manage conflict, and address ethical dilemmas within the educational organization. You will also use case studies as a method of analyzing and responding to ethical dilemmas. 

In this course, you will determine the conditions necessary for innovation as well as recommend change theories to promote innovation in educational organizations. You will assess major barriers to and opportunities for change. You will also critique organizational resources to promote innovation and change. Finally, you will evaluate the effects of culture and climate and advocate for ethical decision-making practices in organizational innovation and change.

In this foundational course, you will examine major theories and practices of organizational development and improvement in educational settings. You will also critique educational leadership competencies related to ethical behavior in educational organizations and synthesize various leadership theories using an educational approach to leadership. Finally, you will utilize educational leadership theories as they apply to real-world leadership situations in education and explore self-evaluation and personal reflection techniques supportive of leadership improvement within educational organizations.

In this course, you will review current literature and theories related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. You will also relate knowledge and personal experiences, and examine the educator dispositions necessary for effective diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice practices. Finally, you will justify the role of and recommend practices for diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in the context of educational leadership.

In this course, you will explore models of supervision and evaluation of personnel and analyze policies and practices supporting diversity and inclusion in PK-12 settings.  Additionally, you will determine the effects of culture on interpersonal and group communication and evaluate policies and programs for effectiveness. Finally, you will evaluate the role of leadership in managing change and conflict and examine strategies for talent development of instructional and organizational leadership.

In this course about legal issues in education, you will explore legislation and regulation in PK-12 education and evaluate institutional liability and risk management policies. You will investigate procedural due process and administrative remedies policies and explain the implications of different status such as PK-12 public, private, charter, for-profit, non-profit schools, and homeschooling. Finally, you will synthesize education case law supporting diversity in the workplace.

In this course, you will learn to evaluate leadership skills for effective instructional planning and critique professional learning strategies for curriculum, instruction, and assessment in PK-12 environments. You will examine trends in instructional leadership and curriculum development as well as how to analyze data-driven decision-making processes for continuous improvement. Finally, you will recommend assessment practices for and of learning and review multi-tiered systems of support in PK-12 environments.

In this course, you will determine the conditions necessary for innovation as well as recommend change theories to promote innovation in educational organizations. You will assess major barriers to and opportunities for change. You will also critique organizational resources to promote innovation and change. Finally, you will evaluate the effects of culture and climate and advocate for ethical decision-making practices in organizational innovation and change.

In this course, you will examine the relationships among policy, leadership, accreditation and research and critique the processes related to operations and policy development in PK-12 education. You will evaluate the impact of educational policies on school operations and practices and synthesize how the policies and practices facilitate effective school performance.  Finally, you will evaluate methods for strategic planning and policy implementation in PK-12 education.

In this course, you will assess components of funding formulas and critique budgeting and auditing processes in PK-12 education. You will review categorical funding policies and explain fiscal accountability in PK-12 education. Finally, you evaluate funding challenges and recommend sources of grant funding for initiatives in PK-12 education.

Conflict is a normal part of living and working together. Conflict can give you opportunities to learn and grow both personally and professionally. Of course, the positive potential of conflict does not eliminate the discomfort we can feel around conflict. In this course, you will examine conflict and mediation within a variety of educational organizations. You will evaluate conflict management skills and practices, including discerning the implications of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness in the process of conflict interpretation and management within educational organizations.

This course allows for a deep dive into the leadership paradigms in school safety, security, and emergency management. As you develop leadership support strategies for staff and students before, during, and after a crisis incident and advocate for team approaches in planning for prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery of crisis incidents in K-12 schools, you will also assess current legal and political issues in K-12 school safety, security, and emergency management. Further, you will evaluate leadership responses to ethical issues in school safety, security, and emergency management and create risk assessment plans for evaluating physical risks within K-12 schools. Finally, you will determine school emergency manager responsibilities in the planning of systems to prevent and mitigate crisis incidents at K-12 schools across diverse settings.

This is an introductory course in which you will analyze community resources and educational organizations related to trauma-informed educational practices. You will explore how historical contexts and practices have influenced current conditions and pedagogy. Additionally, you will examine cultural and economic contexts with respect to local trauma-informed educational practices. Finally, you will create artifacts of learning as a researcher and develop assignments to aid you in a cumulative signature presentation to address professional development for Trauma-Informed Educational Practices.

This course supports your efforts to propose or support social emotional learning (SEL) initiatives. You will synthesize your work in the previous courses for the purpose of planning, implementing, and assessing social emotional learning at the school level or beyond. In this course, you will develop comprehensive proposals and plans for implementing and assessing SEL initiatives based on needs analyses, organizational climate and culture, and other relevant factors. By the end of the course, you will be ready to propose new SEL initiatives or revise existing SEL initiatives.

The areas of finance, law, and leadership are deep topics in special education. This course will touch on each of these topics at a higher level. You will explore the various funding models for special education programs and services. This exploration will include the legal considerations related to special education programs with specific references to service delivery models. Related examinations include specific leadership scenarios and reporting obligations. Throughout the course, you will consider the role of leadership in cultivating culturally responsive relationships with all stakeholders to ensure equity and fairness.