Educational Leadership

Doctor of Education

EDU 973

Breyer State University

Instructor: Catherine Moran, PhD.

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Educational Leadership, a doctorate level course in the curriculum for the Degree, Doctor in Education. I am pleased to instruct you in this course.

This is an upper level course that prepares you to work in the field of Educational Administration, superintendent.  In this course you will study the practice and specific leadership sills that create effective schools.  Specifically you will study the foundations, issues, principles and responsibilities of executive leaders in educational administration.

I know you will enjoy this course. Please learn as much as you can as you progress through it, as it does lay down a solid foundation for the rest of the curriculum. It is my pleasure to have you in the course.

TIME FRAME: This is an (5) five-semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the ten-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbook has arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. Extensions of time are permitted if needed with my and/or departmental approval. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded five (5) semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOKS: There is (1) required textbook for this course.

Book 1: “Executive Leadership for Effective Administration”, by M. Scott Norton.  Prentice Hall Publishers.  ISBN:  0-205-38671-7.

This book may be found in your local bookstore. Your local bookstore most often will order it as a special order for you if it is not in stock. Or, you may purchase this book online from:

	» Click Here to Enter
» Additional Student Resources at StudyTactics

EXAMINATIONS: There is a cumulative final exam required for this course covering the entire textbook. The final exam must be taken by the end of the tenth week in the course.  The exam is programmed and is located in the classroom for this course. The examination is "open book" objective type. You will have one (1) day to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom. To access the exam, you must send me an email and request to have access to the exam. Upon registration, you will receive my email address. I will then program your access in. You will receive an email back from me telling you that you are now authorized to go ahead and to access your exam. To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking. You will need your User ID and PASS WORD to access the exam. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have twenty-four hours to submit your answers. The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers. Thus, the program is timing you. When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit. Shortly, you will receive the exam in your email box with your computed score. You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, and what the correct answer is. I also receive a copy of your exam and your score.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would like. Our classroom for this course has a "chat" room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: There is a paper required for this course.  You will write a paper on a critical leadership topic of your choice taken from the textbook.  The requirements for the paper are as follows:

1). Cover page, with your name, course number and title, and title of paper.
2). A minimum of 10 pages.
3). 1-inch margins.
4). Double-spaced.
5). APA style format.
Breyer State University Approved Guidelines for Written Papers

Breyer State University requires adherence to its approved guidelines for any course that requires a written paper. Please access the link below and review the required criteria for required papers. If you have any questions, be sure to contact your instructor.
View Guidelines

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: I, Catherine Moran, Ph.D., currently teach undergraduate and graduate courses at Breyer State University and Canyon College. I hold Ph.D. in Education and a Master’s degree in Education from Breyer State University.  A Bachelor of Science from Kent State University with a major in Chemistry and Biology and Speech. I have worked in several hospitals as a Med. Tech. I lecture at conferences on “Assessing and Teaching Children with Learning Disabilities”.  I am the Registrar of Breyer State University.   

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will:

1. Define theory and describe its importance in the development of new knowledge in the field of educational administration and the implementation of effective executive leadership.
2. Explain how concepts of executive leadership have evolved historically and how leadership is inextricably related to organizational design of the system in which it is practiced.
3. Explain how the executive leader can benefit by developing a research posture and how a knowledge of theory can serve in problem analysis and decision making.
4. Develop a more comprehensive understanding greater appreciation for the efforts & contributions of many individuals to field of organizational development and executive leadership in schools.
5. Describe the contemporary theories and concepts of organizational development and executive leadership.
6. Understand the relationship of organizational design and effective styles of leadership.
7. Discuss leadership in a boarder context.
8. Describe the evolution of thought concerning the concepts of leadership.
9. Differentiate between organizational culture and organizational climate.
10. Describe how culture permeates the school and school district.
11. Understand the significance of organizational culture.
12. Discuss the significance of organizational climate, how it can be measured and ways to improve it.
13. Identify trends in organizations relative to the utilization of human assets.
14. Clarify the importance of the executive leader.
15. Describe the 12 specific processes that comprise the human resources function.
16. Describe the changing demographics in the US and the implications for executive leadership in education.
17. View diversity from a broader, more comprehensive perspective.
18. Describe the significant role of education in achieving the goal of equity and justice for all citizens.
19. Describe the role of leaders in creating an ethical organizational environment.
20. Describe the primary responsibilities of school leaders for the development of the educational programs for students.
21. Understand the differing viewpoints regarding the definition of the term curriculum.
22. Identify several models of curriculum development.
23. Describe several of the issues facing school leaders in the area of curriculum programming.
24. Describe the major issues and problems facing executive leaders in school systems.
25. Describe the executive leaders’ role in meeting the major problems being encountered in school districts.
26. Differentiate school board governance policy from administrative regulations.
27. Distinguish between educational governance policy and administrative regulations.
28. Understand the reality of the politics of education.
29. Identify the many sources of power that exist within an organization.
30. Describe the relationship of power and authority in organizations.
31. Understand the importance of developing a cooperative working relationship.
32. Describe the legislative, executive and judicial functions of school governance.
33. Identify the specific responsibilities of educational leaders in effective programs of school-community relationships.
34. Explain the specific role of the executive leader in working with employee groups within organizations.
35. Understand the comprehensiveness of the collective bargaining process in organizations.

COURSE CONTENT: A brief abstract of content:

1. Concepts and practices in leadership.
2. Defining executive leadership.
3. Theory and how it is developed.
4. Systems theory.
5. Transactional and transformational leadership.
6. Leadership metaphors
7. The learning organization.
8.  Competency-based leadership.
9. Organizational culture and climate defined
10. The assessment of school climate.
11. Human resources processes
12. Major leadership responsibilities in HR administration.’
13. Leadership for diversity.
14. Curricular issues and problems facing school leaders.
15. Models of curricular improvement and change.
16. The issues of inadequate finance.
17. State testing requirements.
18. Managing conflict in organizations.
19. Policy making and policy decisions.
20. Taxpayers and financial reform.
21. Students and their rights.
22. Teachers, organizational power and related politics.
23. Legal basis for state and district educational systems.
24. Responsibilities of the chief executive officer.
25. School-community relationships defined.
26. Guiding standards and ethical codes.
27. Employee-employer relationships.
28. Collective bargaining.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may address them to adm@breyerstate.com. An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.

ˆ Back To Top ˆ