JDP - Joint Doctoral Program in Leadership for Educational Equity CSU UC


Program

Student-Cohort Model


The JDP utilizes a student-cohort model that provides support and builds professional relationships among peers. This radically new and innovative UCB-CSU doctoral program is preparing reform-minded leaders to fill positions as administrators in school districts, county offices of education, and other school consortia.

The JDP offers the professional preparation and experience necessary to ensure that graduates are prepared to address effectively the challenges facing urban school districts in the U.S. The JDP also prepares reform-oriented leaders committed to improving the quality of schools in metropolitan areas and rural districts.

Each annually admitted group of students admitted to JDP is instructed to function as a distinct cohort. When graduates make their way into high-level leadership roles at the school district level, they will do so having emerged from a program with a highly interactive community of practice, where information sharing, spirited debate, and knowledge building is the norm rather than the exception.

The students have in common the goal of educational reform, and study and conduct research in a community of like-minded professionals with whom they can engage in professional and intellectual exchange during the three years of their program, and, if the spirit of communitas endures, even after they have embarked upon their new careers. Another advantage of the cohort model is that it is consistent with another JDP objective, which is to encourage students to work on generative and adjacent thesis research projects.


 

jdel@berkeley.edu
Updated: 8/26/05