Program Revision Proposal M.Ed. in Educational Leadership Respectfully submitted by The Educational Leadership Faculty School of Education and Human Services 2003
PROPOSED PROGRAM REVISION FOR A M.ED. IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Introduction In December 2002, the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership was officially divided into two departments: the Department of Educational Leadership and the Department of Teacher Development and Educational Services. With the new department organization, the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership is requesting a program revision separating the leadership degree program from the degree program based on the curriculum and instruction concentration. The current M.Ed. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership began in 1969 as the M.A. T. in Elementary Education and became the second graduate degree at Oakland University. Over the years the degree has changed from the original M.A. T. in elementary education with few electives, to a M.A. T. in elementary education with five concentrations, and then to the M.Ed. in curriculum, instruction, and leadership with two concentrations: one in curriculum and instruction and the other in leadership. The M.Ed. degree with the leadership concentration has evolved in an effort to provide quality educational leaders at the principal's level for the schools in Southeastern Michigan and beyond. The faculty teaching the leadership core has been engaged in research, scholarship, and other creative activities focusing on major leadership issues. Some of these issues have included: exploring opportunities to support women in leadership positions, providing leaders to support and promote opportunities for diverse student populations, researching various program strategies to provide the best qualified candidates for principal and other leaderships positions in the schools, and examining community outreach efforts to meet the needs of students. Review and accreditation The educational leadership concentration in the current degree was thoroughly reviewed in the most recent NCA TE accreditation process. For this review, the leadership concentration was revised to meet new Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards for the preparation of educational leaders. These standards are currently held by accreditation agencies to be the accepted standards for the preparation of educational leaders. The ISLLC standards are as follows: STANDARD 1 - A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community. STANDARD 2 - A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school climate and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff growth STANDARD 3 - A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
. STANDARD 4 - A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources. STANDARD 5 - A school administrator is an educational leader who promoted the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner. STANDARD 6 - A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context. Each standard has a specific knowledge base, dispositions, and performance outcomes. Meeting these standards necessitated the development of two new courses with one providing an administrative internship and the other providing a new introductory course for graduate study in educational leadership. SEHS' Committee on Instruction (COI) has approved the two new courses. Additional course changes were made to meet the standards and to articulate the master's degree with the specialist and doctoral degrees in educational leadership. All substantive changes were approved by SEHS' COl. At the end of the NCATE review, a letter was received from E. Joseph Schneider, Chair of the Educational Leadership Constituent Council, praising the newly revised master's program in educational administration. In the concluding paragraph Dr. Schneider wrote (The complete letter is attached): Your department of educational leadership is to be commended for providing a high quality program that meets or exceeds NCATE and ELCC standards of excellence. You can be assured that NCA TE and the constituent members of the ELCC - American Association of School Administrators (AASA), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (AS CD), National Association of Elementary Principals (NAESP), and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) - will be marketing your "Nationally recognized" program to a wide audience of practitioners. Features of the program The program changes made during the review process have resulted in an accredited and nationally recognized master's program in educational leadership. It is the desire of the Educational Leadership faculty to have this degree program recognized on its own merits as a separate degree. Upon successfully completing the proposed program, the student will be eligible for the already approved Oakland University Graduate Certificate in Educational Administration.
During this past year, and the first year for the internship courses, the instructors have utilized e-mail as a means of providing on-going communication. The syllabus is currently on the web. We believe that this is the first step to moving to web-assisted instruction and supervision for the internship. In addition to the internship courses, all courses have an internship component The master's degree program being proposed is outlined below. It is a prescribed degree program without electives and a first step in moving toward a cohort model as utilized in the specialist program. As a part of the proposal, we are requesting a change in prefix from CIL to EL. The EA prefix is currently being used for the specialist program in educational administration and a request to change the prefix to EL will be forthcoming. New course numbers have been affixed. The proposed program revisions are as follows (All syllabi are attached): Course Descriptions EL 500 Introduction to educational leadership (4 Hrs.) New Course An introduction to educational leadership and preparation for the principalship. Examines current educational research and its use of to improve instruction and leadership practices. Students examine the ISLLC Standards and their implications for practice. Appropriate research methodologies for data collection and analysis are examined. Students begin a professional portfolio writing a statement outlining their desire to become an educational leader with appropriate references to the ISLLIC standards, SEHS Conceptual Framework, and the knowledge and experience gained through field assignments in the course. EL 520 Schools, students and educational equity (4 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 509 Examines curricular, organizational, and resource strategies for achieving educational equity for a wide range of student variability in a variety of school settings. Students use case study or action research techniques to study a program, process, unit or practice in an educational setting relevant to the issue of equity for all students. EL 530 Theories and techniques of leadership (4 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 580 Examines leadership theories and techniques. Identifies and critiques several theories of leadership and their application to various school environments. Explores major historical, philosophical, ethical, social, and economic influences affecting education in a democratic society. Students demonstrate the ability to use technology to support personal learning and enrichment of the curriculum. Extends the internship experience through exposure to skilled practitioners in various administrative roles. Students develop a vision and strategic plan for administering a school. Examines leadership skills to address student and family conditions affecting learning. Community and district power structures are explored. EL 540 Educational Administration (4 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 658 Emphasizes processes and procedures in the management of educational systems, including personnel development. Explores the role of federal, state, and local governments at elementary, middle, and secondary school settings. Examines a common core of knowledge gained through study in selected areas of school administration. Prepares students to assume responsibility for school administration with appropriate skill in communication and management
skills, respect and value of human diversity, and the ability to work with a diverse population. Explores the use of technology to support professional practice. Students articulate a professional framework or philosophy based on research, best practices, and reflection when addressing professional issues. EL 550 School finance and business administration (4 Hrs.) New Course Examines the core principles that govern the development and implementation of school funding formulas and presents the basic principles of quality required to provide leadership for other aspects of operations management. Utilizes technology to support personal learning, productivity, and curriculum enhancement. Explores theories of leadership utilized in programs and finance systems. Identifies major concepts that drive state school funding formulas and interprets the sociopolitical theories that determine how legislators craft state school funding systems. Expands field-based knowledge of school administration through studying real problems of practice and fashioning solutions for important problems in school environments. EL 560 Staff & Curriculum development school Improvement (4 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 685 Examines the current areas of curriculum development and research as they relate to local school district planning and implementation. Focuses attention on various indices and paradigms of effective staff training and development from the literature and research as related to practical applications for school improvement. Explores changing educational needs of students in the 21 st Century, learning styles and teaching methods to meet individual needs, and collaborative action research to rethink the change process. Students design curriculum based on theory, research, and the ISLLC standards. Diversity, technology, and inclusion are incorporated in curriculum development. Students develop a School Improvement Plan to include administrators, teachers, parents, and students. EL 620 Law for teachers and administrators (4 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 585 Introduces school law, with a unique opportunity to study crucial areas in public/private education that affect all educators. Investigates landmark cases and legislative statues concerning the rights and responsibilities of teachers, students and parents. Students evidence knowledge of school law pertaining to teaching and schooling and demonstrate the ability to analyze and utilize school and district policies and procedures in preparing manuals, collective bargaining agreements, school codes, student handbooks, and other policies that impact the school and district. Students will demonstrate respect and value for human diversity through interpretation of court decisions that impact equity issues. Students will articulate a professional conceptual framework and plan to stay current of legal decisions that impact learning and schooling.
EL 630 Internship for school leaders (2 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 691 EL 640 Internship for school leaders (2 Hrs.) Formerly CIL 692 Internship for school leaders is designed to apply the learnings from graduate leadership courses to the school setting. Students explore leadership issues and work under the supervision of a mentor and university field instructor to develop budgets, construct schedules, and interact with parents, community members, social agencies, and the media. Students must enroll in consecutive semester for the two 2 credit hour courses. Students spend approximately 40 hours a semester in internship activities, attend seminars, prepare logs, and finalize portfolio sections for a culminating presentation. EL 690 Culminating master's practicum in educational leadership (4 Hrs.) 695 Formerly CIL Explores and applies knowledge and skills gained in the M.Ed. in educational leadership. Students prepare professional development workshops for the class and then present their workshop in a school setting. Students engage in an eight week peer coaching activity with a teacher in the field, observing the student, providing professional assistance, modeling the instructional skill or curricular material being developed, charting the progress of the person being helped, and writing a final report. Students analyze th'eir own professional and personal progress during their masters program. Students complete a professional portfolio and present the portfolio as a final assessment of the master's program. Providing a competitive degree to enhance enrollment The ten courses listed above meet all ISSLIC standards established by professional accreditation associations for degree programs in educational administration. The proposed program of 36 hours is now fully articulated with our specialist program in school administration. The specialist program is also a 36 credit hour program. We have changed to a 36-hour format for another reason. In surveying universities in our immediate vicinity offering master's degrees in educational administration the following information was obtained: University Hrs. Required Tuition per Credit Hr.* Saginaw Valley State University 33 $188.60 Eastern Michigan 37 $246.00 Wayne State University 30 $238.90 Oakland University 40 $268.50 * Based on 2002-2003 data. In the last academic year, Wayne State University dropped the hours required from 35 to 30.
As can been seen by this information, Oakland University not only requires more hours to complete the master's degree but each credit hour is more expensive. Since we are able to meet all requirements in a 36-hour program, and since this would make this program more competitive with programs offered by other universities, the faculty has adopted this format. By going to a 36-hour format, we would be eliminating an elective course. All course syllabi for the proposed master's degree in educational administration are attached. Resources It is anticipated that the proposed program will not require additional resources. In fact, moving to a 36-hour rubric should slightly reduce the demand for faculty and teaching space resources. Administration and Instruction: The master's coordinator will be Dr. Jacqueline Lougheed, a tenured, full professor in the School of Education and Human Services and a member of the Educational Leadership Department. Professor Lougheed was one of four faculty members to design the original program in 1968 and she has guided the program through the years. The Educational Leadership faculty will continue to teach in the proposed program. Facility and Equipment: The proposed program requires no additional facilities or equipment than that already available within the university. Most classes will be taught in the evenings or on weekends throughout the year.