About

The Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership degree focuses on visionary thinking and innovative solutions to current and future educational challenges as it develops the knowledge and skills of mid-career public school leaders for their current and future leadership positions. This program utilizes a problem-based learning approach that consists of a series of compressed thematic seminars on a week-end basis and week-long during the summer, in which emphasis is placed on identifying and developing advanced solutions to real-life professional problems. Additionally, this program incorporates interaction between students and faculty to determine the precise content and problems of practice that will be pursued under each broadly defined theme. The program consists of a minimum of 60 credit hours of study beyond the master’s degree, which includes 12 credit hours for dissertation study. Curriculum content is based on the National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) Standards. Doctoral students are required to participate in an externship with a school district or education agency outside their own employment. Students must also participate in a one-week policy-based seminar in Washington, D.C.

For application deadlines, please head over to Graduate Program Application Deadlines.

Accreditation

For information regarding accreditation at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, please head over to Academic Program Accreditations.

Learning Outcomes

  • Leadership candidates demonstrate the capability to promote the success and well-being of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary for: (1) a shared mission and vision; (2) a set of core values; (3) and continuous and sustainable district and school improvement.
    • Analyze and communicate a data-informed shared mission and vision for the school district focused on the academic success and overall well-being of each student and district and school personnel.
    • Promote core democratic values that define the district's culture, stress the imperative of child-centered education such as high expectations and student support, equity, inclusiveness, social justice, openness, caring, and trust.
    • Analyze, plan for, and promote continuous, sustainable, evidence-based school and district improvement.
  • Leadership candidates demonstrate the capability to promote the success and wellbeing of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary for: (1) professional norms; (2) ethical behavior; (3) responsibility; and (4) ethical behavior.
    • Enact the professional norms of integrity, fairness, transparency, trust, collaboration, perseverance, learning, and continuous improvement in their actions, decision-making, and relationships with others.
    • Model ethical behavior in their personal conduct, relationships with others, decision-making, and stewardship of the district's resources.
    • Ensure that unethical and unprofessional actions are addressed promptly and appropriately throughout the organization.
    • Promote essential educational values of democracy, community, individual freedom and responsibility, equity, social justice, and diversity.
  • Leadership candidates promote the success and well-being of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary for:(1) equitable treatment; (2) equitable access; (3) culturally and individually responsive practice; and (4) a healthy district culture.
    • Develop, implement and evaluate equitable district policies and systems that ensure that each stakeholder is treated fairly, respectfully, and with an understanding of culture and context.
    • Ensure that each student has equitable access to resources and support such as effective teachers, learning opportunities, and academic, social, and behavioral support.
    • Support the development of culturally responsive practices among teachers and staff so they are able to recognize, confront and alter institutional biases of student marginalization, deficit-based schooling, and low expectations associated with race, class, culture and language, gender and sexual orientation, and disability or special status.
    • Build and maintain an inclusive, responsive, safe, caring, and healthy district culture that provides coherent systems of academic and social supports, discipline, services, extracurricular activities, and accommodations to meet the full range of needs of each student.
  • Leadership candidates demonstrate the capability to promote the success and wellbeing of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary through: (1) systems of learning and instruction; (2) instructional capacity; (3) professional development of principals; and (4) principal effectiveness.
    • Analyze and manage district-wide use of coherent and technologically appropriate systems of curriculum, instruction, assessment, student services, and instructional resources that embody high expectations for student learning and align with academic standards across grade levels.
    • Plan for the support of principals and other school leaders to develop collective and individual instructional capacity of teachers and other staff members.
    • Promote systems of support, coaching, and professional development for individual principals to help them grow as instructional leaders.
    • Analyze and use research-anchored systems of principal supervision, evaluation, and feedback to improve principal practice.
  • Leadership candidates demonstrate the capability to promote the success and wellbeing of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary for: (1) community engagement; (2) productive partnerships; (3) two-way communication; and (4) representation.
    • Engage families, community, public, private, and non-profit sectors in meaningful ways.
    • Sustain productive partnerships with communities and public, private, and non-profit sectors to recognize and celebrate school and community improvement.
    • Maintain ongoing, two-way communication with families and the community to develop an understanding of the diverse interests, needs, and resources of the district community in the service of student development and educational improvement.
    • Represent the district and engage various stakeholders in building an appreciation of the overall context in which decisions are made in the service of student learning and development.
  • Leadership candidates demonstrate the capability to promote the success and wellbeing of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary for effectively managed: (1) district systems; (2) resources; (3) human resources; and (4) policies and procedures.
    • Manage the district's systems, including administration, management, governance, finance, and operations.
    • Seek, acquire, and manage fiscal resources, physical resources, technological resources, data, and other resources to support student learning, collective professional capability and community, and family engagement.
    • Manage the growth of individual and collective capability through systems of hiring, retention, development, supervision of school and district personnel, and pathways for effective leadership succession.
    • Promote effective policies and procedures that protect the welfare and safety of students and staff across the district.
  • Leadership candidates promote the success and well-being of each student, teacher, and leader by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to: (1) understand and foster Board relations; (2) understand and manage effective systems for district governance; (3) understand and ensure compliance with policy, laws, rules and regulations; (4) understand and respond to local, state and national decisions; and (5) advocate for the needs and priorities of the district.
    • Foster a respectful and responsive relationship with the District's Board of education.
    • Manage effective systems for district governance.
    • Ensure compliance with applicable policy, laws, rules, and regulations.
    • Appropriately respond to local, state, and national decisions.
    • Advocate for the needs and priorities of the district.

Upon Completion

  • Program completers will engage in a substantial and sustained educational leadership internship experience that developed their capability to promote the success and well-being of each student, teacher, and leader through field experiences and clinical practice within a building setting, monitored and evaluated by a qualified, on-site mentor.
    • Candidates are provided a coherent, authentic, district-based field experiences/clinical internships that provide opportunities to synthesize and apply the content knowledge, develop and refine the professional skills, and demonstrate their capabilities as articulated in each of the elements included in NELP District-Level Program Standards one through seven.
    • Candidates are provided a district-level internship or clinical experiences that include authentic leadership experiences within a district setting.

Requirements

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Doctor of Education - Educational Leadership

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Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

We provide instruction in and the delivery of innovative research to inform the educational process from early childhood through higher education via our master’s and doctoral degree programs as well as graduate certificates, including the Intercollegiate and Professional Sport Management program.

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College of Education

The College of Education creates an intellectual environment that promotes quality instruction, significant research, and professional service. With four unique departments, graduates receive the necessary tools and experiences to make an impact on local, national, and global scales.

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