Unique Curriculum Focus

Developed in consultation with community partners and based on best practices, the program includes coursework and field experiences that prepare students to understand and respond effectively to the complexities of leading schools and colleges in urban communities. The curriculum includes several courses on leadership and change agent skills, as well as courses on budgeting and financial management, human resources, and organizational theory.

The curriculum departs from more traditional programs in Educational Leadership in its inclusion of courses addressing educational equity, the needs of diverse learners, the politics of education, and communication skills. Topics such as board relations, fundraising, legal issues related to special needs learners (i.e. older adult learners and students with disabilities) are also covered, areas often neglected in traditional programs.

The program is unique in its emphasis on instructional leadership and its perspective that all administrators are responsible for improving the fundamental function of schools; the improvement of teaching and learning. The program’s faculty strongly believe that administrators must know how to bring the latest and most advanced curricular approaches to teaching low-income students.

The program is also unique in developing research methodology skills in the context of problem solving in 5 content courses. Integrating the learning of methodology within other content, as opposed to self-contained methods courses, better reflects how administrators use data in the real world.