Master of Education in Educational Leadership (MEd-EdL)

Foundations for Graduate Study in Education is a course designed to give students an introduction to the field of education with particular emphasis on providing students with an overview of graduate-level skills, such as self-reflection, time-management, academic integrity, effective use of the Northcentral University library, comprehensive understanding of complex scholarly texts, research articles, and critical writing, including presenting an annotated bibliography, goal writing, and application of feedback. Students will complete the course with a better understanding of scholarly writing and a roadmap to navigate their way to the completion of their educational aspirations through research.

This course is about effective leadership in educational organizations. The course is particularly relevant for practicing school administrators, those who desire to become administrators, and classroom teachers who recognize the importance of leadership in positively impacting schooling across the United States. As you consider your own leadership theories and philosophies, you will explore the influence of national standards and local school culture, climate, and performance.

Students in educational leadership roles need a working knowledge of school law, especially as it pertains to the rights of students and teachers. Concepts addressed in this course focus on a history of the legal system and the federal government’s role in setting public school policy. Topics include student rights regarding free speech, search and seizure, due process, and discipline. Policies regarding teacher certification, academic freedom, due process rights, anti-discrimination, and employment considerations will also be addressed. The course “School Law” is critical to understanding the basic structure and guidance that governs school boards, schools, administrators, teachers, and students.

The purpose of this course is to examine the theoretical framework and practical applications of instructional leadership within the economic, social, political, and educational context of schooling. This course proposes a concept of supervision and leadership designed to help educational leaders build a repertoire of approaches and strategies that will enhance professional growth while showing the importance of sensitivity to individual needs. Emphasis is placed upon gaining a clear understanding of the interrelatedness among supervision and leadership, instruction, and assessment.

In this course, you will explore the application of both existing and emerging technologies to the learning needs of educational organizations. As you grow as a leader, you will need to plan for technology integration through the evaluation, selection, funding, and adoption of specific hardware and software that meet your organization’s needs. This course will help you to tackle these challenges and more.

In this course, you will examine school finance at multiple levels, including individual schools, local education authorities, states, and federal agencies. You will examine sources of school funding, fiscal control, and accountability at the local, state, and federal levels. You will also consider how school budgets reflect stakeholder priorities and principles of equity and inclusion. The implications of school choice and other factors are considered, as well.

Concerns about school safety have increased dramatically and remain in the public spotlight. As an educational leader, you are responsible for planning and implementing procedures that can save lives. In this course, you will assess factors that contribute to safe learning environments, and analyze the characteristics of emergency response management plans. You will also evaluate how school culture and climate impacts school safety. As a cumulative assignment, you will develop authentic plans related to multiple threats to school safety.

In this course, students are provided the leadership concepts and skills needed to be dynamic, innovative, and adaptive school leaders. One of the major roles of school leaders is to cultivate the development of a culture that promotes learner-centered schools. In a learner-centered school, there is a shared responsibility of leadership among the entire school staff that fosters the creation of authentic learning communities. This course offers students the opportunity to explore the authentic learning communities from a shared – school based leadership perspective.

Students enrolled in this course will explore the latest in research in the politics and policies in education. Special emphasis is placed on governance, curriculum and standards, accountability, community relations, finance, and school choice. Students will address topics in this class such as how to interact with business leaders, local institutions of higher education, boards of education and community leaders, parents, and other stakeholders. Internal and external issues such as relationships with colleagues and team members will also be explored.

This course represents the culmination of your master’s degree. In this course, you will synthesize the knowledge, skills, and attitudes developed throughout your program into a proposal that addresses an identified need in an organization related to your specialization. Within your selected organization, you will examine, identify, and justify a specific need or problem to be addressed. Using your recently developed competencies, you will propose a practical, comprehensive solution to mitigate the need or problem.