Graduate Programs Leading to Certification for School Building or School District Leadership

Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies offers an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Education Leadership and Policy Studies, a Master of Arts (MA) in Education Leadership and Policy Studies for candidates seeking Administrator I certification for school building leadership by the State of Maryland; and a Doctor of Education in Education Leadership and Policy Studies. These programs are intended to foster the development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will enable educational leaders to ensure that diverse students reach challenging learning goals and achieve their potentials. We seek to develop educational leaders committed to using their knowledge of central concepts of leadership and appropriate tools of inquiry to ensure learning and success for all students. Consistent with the Conceptual Framework of the College of Education, the preparation of school leaders is also grounded in the commitment of OLPS faculty members to research and inquiry, diversity, collaboration and technology.

Framework of Knowledge and Skills in Educational Leadership

The goal of the programs is to prepare candidates who have a thorough understanding of the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the field of educational leadership. Leadership to support student learning and development is the central focus of the program.
Courses have been designed around a framework of essential knowledge and skills of educational leadership emphasizing the following aspects of leadership to support student and adult learning and development:

• Leadership as collaborative, distributive practices focusing on a vision of learning shared by all;
• Leadership as consensus building;
• Leadership for accountability for learning processes and results;
• Leadership for collaboration with families and communities;
• Leadership for policy development; and
• Leadership as moral and ethical agency.

Standards and Outcomes for School Building and School District Leadership

The programs of study for the Advanced Graduate Certificate, the MA and the Ed.D. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies leading to certification for school building or school district leadership provide candidates with opportunities to gain content knowledge, pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills and dispositions specified by the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) as a professional group of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The Certificate, MA and Ed.D.programs in Education Leadership and Policy leading to certification also provide candidates with opportunities to gain awareness and understanding of, and capabilities in meeting Maryland State Department of Education .

Instructional Leadership Framework

Candidates in these programs are expected to demonstrate awareness, understanding and capabilities of the role of educational leaders in establishing educational environments that:

• support student learning,
• facilitate collecting and analyzing data related to student learning, and
• apply strategies for improving student learning.

These expectations increasingly demand that educational leaders use appropriate technologies. Candidates are, therefore, provided opportunities to develop the awareness, understanding and capabilities associated with the Technology Standards for School Administrators (TSSA).

Basic Level of Proficiency in Standards for School Building and School District Leadership

In addition to meeting the requirements for graduate programs, candidates for EDPL Advanced Graduate Certification and the EDPL MA in Education Leadership and Policy leading to Administrator I Certification, and for EDPL Ed.D. Education Leadership and Policy leading to Superintendent Certification must Using the EDPL Web-based Performance Assessment System (EDPL PAS), candidates must demonstrate that through their program required courses, field work and seminar paper that they have achieved a Basic Level of Proficiency associated with Education Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards for school building leadership, the Technology Standards for School Administrators (TSSA) and the Maryland Instructional Leadership Outcomes.

Basic Level of Proficiency is demonstrated by student’s self assessment of evidence (from course assignments, field work, or capstone internship experiences) submitted to the EDPL’s Web-based Performance Assessment System (PAS) Advisor showing:

1. Awareness (defined as acquiring concepts, information, definitions, and procedures) at the proficient level in all indicators in ELCC Standards 1-6;
2. Understanding (defined as interpreting knowledge to school environments, integrating concepts with practice, and using knowledge and skills in context)at the proficient level in one indicator within each element of ELCC Standards 1-6;
3. Capability (defined as applying knowledge and skills to specific problems of practice) at the proficient level in all indicators in one element within each of ELCC Standards 1-6;
4. Successful completion of elements of internship to meet ELCC Standard 7: substantial, sustained, standards- based, experiences in real settings, planned and guided cooperatively, for credit;
5. Demonstration of dispositions associated with narratives in each of the ELCC Standards 1-6 in the ethical platform submitted in the candidate’s Professional Growth Plan along with a plan for meeting Maryland Instructional Leadership Outcomes upon conclusion of the program; and
6. Demonstration of:
   a) awareness at the proficient level of all indicators in TSSA Standards
   b) capability at the proficient level of one indicator in each of TSSA Standards 1-6

Post Masters Administrator I Certification

OLPS is currently designing an Advanced Graduate Certification in Education Leadership and Policy Leading to Administrator I Certification that will meet the requirements of the revised regulations for Administrator I Certification. Please contact EDPL for further information.

Candidates must complete complete all 18 credits for Post Masters Administrator Certification in EDPL courses.

MA for Administrator I Certification

OLPS is currently revising its MA in Education Leadership and Policy Leading to Administrator I Certification that will meet the requirements of the revised regulations for Administrator I Certification. Please contact EDPL for further information.

Doctor of Education in Education Policy and Leadership
Specialization in Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies with
MSDE Superintendent Certification

Please note:
The Ed.D. with MSDE Superintendent Certification is only admitting new students in cohorts.

The next cohort admission date: To be announced.

Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership and Policy Analysis

PLEASE NOTE:

The Ed.D. with MSDE Superintendent Certification is only admitting new students in cohorts. The next cohort admission date: To be announced

Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies offers a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Education Leadership and Policy Studies. This program is intended to foster the development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will enable educational leaders to ensure that diverse students reach challenging learning goals and achieve their potentials. We seek to develop educational leaders committed to using their knowledge of central concepts of leadership and appropriate tools of inquiry to ensure learning and success for all students. Consistent with the Conceptual Framework of the College of Education, the preparation of school leaders is also grounded in the commitment of OLPS faculty members to research and inquiry, diversity, collaboration and technology.

Framework of Knowledge and Skills in Educational Leadership

The goal of the program is to prepare candidates who have a thorough understanding of the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the field of educational leadership. Leadership to support student learning and development is the central focus of the program.

Courses have been designed around a framework of essential knowledge and skills of educational leadership emphasizing the following aspects of leadership to support student and adult learning and development:

• Leadership as collaborative, distributive practices focusing on a vision of learning shared by all;
• Leadership as consensus building;
• Leadership for accountability for learning processes and results;
• Leadership for collaboration with families and communities;
• Leadership for policy development; and
• Leadership as moral and ethical agency.

Standards and Outcomes for School Building and School District Leadership

The Ed.D. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies leading to superintendent certification or provides candidates with opportunities to gain content knowledge, pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills and dispositions specified by the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) as a professional group of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The program to also provide candidates with opportunities to gain awareness and understanding of, and capabilities in meeting Maryland State Department of Education Instructional Leadership Framework

Candidates in this program are expected to demonstrate awareness, understanding and capabilities of the role of educational leaders in establishing educational environments that:

• support student learning,
• facilitate collecting and analyzing data related to student learning, and
• apply strategies for improving student learning.

These expectations increasingly demand that educational leaders use appropriate technologies. Candidates are, therefore, provided opportunities to develop the awareness, understanding and capabilities associated with the Technology Standards for School Administrators (TSSA).

NOTE:
Administrator I certification is not a requirement for admission to the Ed.D. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies but it is a requirement for completing this program. If you do not have this certification you should contact MSDE or your local district’s Office of Human Resources/Certification for information on certification requirements. With this information in hand you should work with the program coordinator and your faculty advisor to develop plans to complete the additional coursework that must be taken in order to apply for MSDE Administrator I certification. The MSDE website provides general information on certification: www.msde.state.md.us/certificationwww.msde.state.md.us/certification .

Their certification assistance line is open M-F from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It can be accessed by calling 410-767-0412.

• Requirements for Ed.D. with specialization in Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies



• Requirements for Ed.D. with MSDE Superintendent Certification

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• Jacqueline Cossentino, Ed.D., Harvard University
  Research Interests: Instructional improvement, particularly the development of teaching practice in social and cultural context. A practicing school administrator, Dr, Cossentino is currently engaged in an intensive ethnographic study of Montessori education. Dr. Cossentino works closely with students interested in teacher policy, the professional lives of teachers and administrators, the role of language in educational reform, and the context of practitioners’ work in a variety of educational settings. Dr. Cossentino’s courses include learning communities, teacher leadership, instructional reform, and qualitative research methods.

   

• Robert Croninger, Ph.D., University of Michigan
  Research Interests: Education policy analysis, sociology of education, educational equity, and quantitative research methods.

• Barbara Finkelstein, Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University
  Research Interests: History of family policy and values; history of childhood and youth; history of education; and intercultural education policy and practice.

• Willis Hawley, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
  Research Interests: The politics of education and issues of education policy, especially concerning desegregation/integration and improving teaching quality.

• Meredith I. Honig, Ph.D., Stanford University
  Research Interests: Policy design, implementation, and organizational change in cities and its institutions. In particular how public policy making bureaucracies such as school district central offices manage ambiguity, complexity, and innovation. Dr. Honig’s current advisees examine organizational change in school districts, schools, and higher education; learning in non-school settings; and policy implementation. Her ongoing research projects address the role of school district central offices in supporting small schools implementation, learning in after-school programs, and how organizations use research and other information for improvement.

• Francine Hultgren, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University
  Research Interests: Curriculum theory, story and narrative in understanding curriculum text, hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry, paradigm shifts of teachers in curriculum reconceptualization, and being-with students in teaching.
  

• Steven Klees, Ph.D., Stanford University
  Research Interests: Political economy of education and development; educational policy, planning, and evaluation; disadvantaged children; social movements.

• Betty Malen, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
  Research Interests: Educational policy and politics; political systems and power influence theories of political behavior.

• Hanne Mawhinney, Ph.D., University of Ottawa
  Research Interests: Political and institutional dynamics of leadership and change in education organizations; politics of education governance at school, district, state, and federal levels; interpretive policy analysis; comparative education policy change across state systems; qualitative research methods. Dr. Mawhinney’s advisees study leadership in managing change in educational organizations, and the politics of education governance in the policy context of high stakes accountability. Dr. Mawhinney is currently completing a comprehensive study of the institutional dynamics of systemic reform in one mid sized school district. In this mixed-methods study of the implementation of a district change initiative across 50 schools, she examines the relationship between conditions conducive to creation of school-based professional learning communities and teachers’ collective efficacy beliefs; changes in conditions supporting professional learning under the No Child Left Behind Act; and challenges in fostering school-based professional learning communities identified by district instructional leadership facilitators. Dr. Mawhinney also conducts ongoing research on education governance in the context of the challenges of globalization in democratic societies. She is currently studying rescaling governance through chartering education in urbanized cities.

   

• Carol Parham, Ed.D., University of Maryland
  Research Interests: Educational leadership, public school personnel administration, and labor negotiations. Dr. Parham is a former school superintendent and works closely with students interested in pursuing careers in educational practice. She currently heads the Maryland Program for Excellence and Leadership, an Ed.D. degree program serving educational practitioners in Montgomery County.

• Jennifer Rice, Ph.D., Cornell University
  Research Interests: Education policy analysis; economics of education and education production function phenomena; reform initiatives for students at risk of educational failure.
  

• Patricia M. Richardson, Ph.D., University of Maryland
  Research Interests: Educational leadership in the school improvement process; data based decision making; curriculum development; and the application of leadership and supervision theory to the school and school system setting. Dr. Richardson’s courses include managing instructional improvement. She serves as the program advisor of the Performance Assessment System (PAS) for administrators.

• Steven Selden, Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University
  Research interests: Theory, history, and evaluation of curriculum, influence of various ideologies on early twentieth century American education and the teacher's role in curriculum development; and the critical analysis of links between the American eugenics movement and American education in the twentieth century.
  

• Carol Anne Spreen, Ph.D., Teachers College, Columbia University
  Research Interests: Comparative education and international education policy, with an emphasis on international studies of school reform, curriculum planning and instructional leadership

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