Principal Leadership in Education

Doctor of Education

EDU 980

Breyer State University

Instructor: Catherine Moran, PhD.

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Principal Leadership in Education, 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 K-12 Educational Administration.  In this course you will study the seven Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) Standards developed specifically for school leaders.

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:”The Principal – Creative Leadership for Excellence in Schools”, by Gerald C. Ubben, Larry W. Hughes and Cynthia J. Norris.  Prentice Hall Publishers.  ISBN:  0-205-48137-X

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 one of the issues discussed in 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. Have an understanding of creating a vision of leadership and learning.
2. Discuss the social systems theory.
3. Understand the learning community within the sociological and psychological nature of groups.
4. Define decision making.
5. Understand the decision process.  Define the Maier Model, the Vroom-Jago Decision Process Model and the implications of these models.
6. Define and understand problem solving.
7. Identify the process of gathering baseline data.
8. Understand action planning and project management.
9. Understand the process of creating a positive learning climate.
10. Discuss and understand violence and disorder and the counseling program.
11. Define and understand curriculum theory and the principal’s role in curriculum administration.
12. Understand: curriculum analysis, curriculum design, curriculum delivery, flexibility, balance and model.
13. Understand the process of school accountability and student achievement.
14. Define and discuss ethics in administration.
15. Understand the family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the IDEA and the IDEIA acts.
16. Detail and discuss the process in human resources development.
17. Understand the process in recruitment, selection and termination processes in the school system.
18. Understand the process in restructuring the instructional personnel, staffing patterns for elementary, middle and secondary schools.
19. Define and understand schedule flexibility, schedule design.
20. Understand the process in fiscal accounting, budgeting and building management.
21. Define the technology applications for the school office, data, LANs and the internet.
22. Discuss the issues in interacting with the external school environment.
23. Understand the legal bases for schools, the due process, 1st Amendment and 4th mendment.
24. Have an understanding of developing a positive school culture.
25. Have an understanding of managing the organization.

COURSE CONTENT: A brief abstract of content-

1. Social systems theory 
2. The school – context for leadership
3. Leadership challenge.
4. Sociological and psychological nature of groups.
5. Decision making
6. Decision process.
7. Maier Model
8. Vroom-Jago decision process model.
9. Problem solving.
10. Gathering baseline data.
11. Evaluative criteria.
12. Action planning and project management.
13. Problem analysis.
14. Project planning.
15. Creating a positive learning climate.
16. Developing good rules.
17. Violence and disorder.
18. Counseling programs.
19. Student services.
20. The role of the principal in curriculum administration.
21. Curriculum theory.
22. Student achievement.
23. Grouping students.
24. Research on teaching.
25. Ethics of administration.
26. Special education services.
27. The IDEA, and IDEIA acts.
28. Human resources development.
29. Professional development
30. Staff evaluation cycle.
31. Recruitment
32. Teacher tenure.
33. Termination process.
34. Staffing patterns for the schools.
35. Scheduling.
36. Fiscal accounting, budgeting and building management.
37. Supplies and equipment management.
38. Technology management.
39. School and community issues.
40. Legal rights of the staff and students.

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