Core courses (21 credits)
EDUC 829 Historical foundations in education and social justice (3)
Examines the historical foundations of US education (PK-12 and higher education) through a social justice lens. Explores how gender, race, class, religion, sexuality, and ableism interact with changing purposes, systems, and institution-building of education considering access to, leadership within, and provision of education. Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
EDUC 830: Social Justice Theory and Practice (3)
Examines social justice theories and their implications for educational practice and leadership. Identifies the social, cultural, political, and economic factors that influence schooling in a diverse society. Applies multiple perspectives to problems affecting various stakeholders across educational systems (PK-12 and higher education). Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
EDUC 827 Leadership and practice in education (3)
Deeply examines leadership perspectives in organizations. Utilizing a historical and organizational perspective, critically examines leadership and management, including leadership theories, models, and, application to emerging social justice scholarship and practice. Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
EDUC 822 Organizational Change and Education (1x3)
Explores organization theory, attending to administration and policy associated with education organization for social justice leaders. Students create a conceptual understanding of education organization and governance so that participants can apply multiple theoretic constructions to critically examine educational organization functioning. Students develop competency as critical examiners of educational organizational functioning. Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
EDUC 831: Education Law, Policy, and Justice
Explores federal, state, and local education law for PK-12 and higher education systems in the context of the current policy environment. Includes the evolution of state and federal education policy, Constitutional rights for students and educators, and educational practice from a lens of educational justice. Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
EDUC 833: Education Finance
Explores how revenues are generated, negotiated, distributed, and budgeted to achieve desired educational outcomes in PK-12 and higher education systems. Course topics include funding equity, strategic budgeting, and making financial decisions from a lens of educational justice to create change and support student needs. Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
EDUC 871 Special topics doctoral seminar (3)
A special topics seminar examining social justice and education leadership across Pk-12 and higher education. Topics alternate according to instructor and year of offering. Prerequisite: Admission to Ed.D. program.
Method Courses (9 credits)
EDUC 841: Quantitative Methods (3)
Introduces students to the purpose and use of quantitative methods in educational decision making. Through applied projects, this course acquaints students with survey design, sampling, forms of data collection, the preparation of data for statistical analysis, and descriptive statistical procedures. Provides a conceptual overview of quantitative research designs and inferential statistics.
EDUC 842: Qualitative Methods (3)
This course examines literature about and how to do basic qualitative research. Students will devise and conduct a small study to learn about qualitative research in practice. They will engage in: design, participant recruitment and sampling, data collection (e.g., interviews, observations, and documents), analysis, and write a research paper about their work.
Advanced Methods
Students take one of the following:
EDUC 846 Advanced Quantitative Methods (3)
Extends understanding of quantitative research designs and the statistical analyses most appropriate for answering research questions under each for the purpose of educational improvement. Introduces statistical procedures used to make inferences. Supports satisfying the early research project requirement of the program. Prerequisite: 841 and 842
EDUC 847 Advanced Qualitative Methods (3)
Extends understanding and skills involved in qualitative research. Explores advanced qualitative design approaches to qualitative data gathering, analysis, and interpretation. Students produce an original piece of qualitative research as part of this course. Supports satisfying the early research project requirement of the program. Prerequisite: 841 and 842
Dissertation (15 credit hours)
EDUC 820 Writing a Literature Review A-C (1x3)
A (1): Systematically develops knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to produce a literature review that demonstrates mastery of a topic with an emphasis on each student producing their dissertation literature review. Students will conduct library research, topic refinement, bibliography development, and literature analysis.
B (1): Systematically develops knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to produce a literature review that demonstrates mastery of a topic with an emphasis on each student producing their dissertation literature review. Continues with literature analysis, synthesis, critique, and writing the first draft. Deepens conceptual understanding of research methods used in the literature reviewing.
C (1): Systematically develops knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to produce a literature review that demonstrates mastery of a topic with an emphasis on each student producing their dissertation literature review. Culminates with writing a final draft, including compliance with all technical standards for manuscript preparation.
EDUC 860: Dissertation development and proposal writing A-C(1x3)
A. Students use this course to start work on their dissertation research proposal. With the guidance of the course faculty member students will devise a dissertation topic, recruit a chair, hone in on a research question(s), and produce a piece of work that establishes the importance of the topic and the scope of the problem.
B. Students update and refine their literature review based on the development of the research questions in 860A. Further develop the context, purpose, and scope of their dissertation study.
C. Students submit a dissertation research proposal that includes methodological content congruent with the purpose and scope of the study.
EDUC 861: Dissertation writing (1-9)
Dissertation writing is completed under the supervision of the candidate’s faculty research chair. Students may also attend a voluntary workshop while enrolled. Normally, candidates enroll in EDUC 861 for three terms for 3 credits each term. If the dissertation process extends longer than 9 credits, candidates enroll in EDUC 862 for 0 credits until finished. Credit/no-credit only. Prerequisite: successful completion of one advanced methods course
EDUC 862 Dissertation writing extension
If the dissertation is not complete and accepted after the awarding of 9 credits of EDUC 861, candidates will need to enroll in this course until the dissertation is completed and accepted. There is a seven-year deadline from the last term of enrollment in EDUC 861 to complete the dissertation. Credit/no-credit only.
Concentrations (15 credit hours)
1. Education Administration - for credentialed K-12 school leaders
2. Preliminary Administrative Service Credential - for aspiring K-12 leaders who do not yet have a PASC credential
3. Higher Education and Student Affairs - for aspiring higher education professional
4. Community-Engaged Leadership in Schools and Society - for teachers who want to make a difference in their community through advancing their classroom work
5. Individual Path: Make Your Own 5 Courses - for leaders in the community who want to create their own program
Non-load bearing program requirements (0 credit hours)
EDUC 890: Core content exam (0)
Taken during August at the end of the first year (for 3 year pathway), students will answer a take-home prompt for their core content exam. If students pass, they proceed to the second year of courses. If students fail, they proceed to second-year courses but must enroll in a 0 credit support course to help prepare to take the exam a second time. Students may choose to reduce their courses and take their concentration classes after passing the core content exam but this will lengthen their program. Students take the exam a second time in April. If students fail twice, they are dismissed from the program.
EDUC 889: Student success seminar (0)
To support students as they prepare to take the first-year exam for a second time. Students take in Fall and Spring before taking the core course exam in April. Prerequisite: failure of core course exam
Early Research Project Requirement (0)
The early research project reinforces skills students need as part of their readiness to engage in the dissertation. The project is submitted as the final paper in their advanced methods course. Passing the course fulfills the requirement. Failing the course does not fulfill the requirement.
Dissertation (0)
Students design, conduct, write and submit an individual research project working with a chair and committee of faculty members with expertise in their topic area.
Dissertation proposal defense (0)
Students must defend their dissertation proposal to their committee to progress to conducting the research.
Dissertation defense (0)
Students must successfully defend their dissertation work to their committee to be able to earn their degree.
Doctorate for Leadership in Educational Justice Pathway