EDD CONCENTRATION IN K–12 LEADERSHIP
Our K–12 schools are where tomorrow’s leaders are formed. Help provide the best possible environment for young people to grow with our online EdD concentration in K-12 Leadership.
Alverno’s online EdD in K-12 Leadership will help you gain the expertise you need to serve as a strategic leader in public or private schools at the K–12 level. You can also develop skills for leadership at the district level with our additional course content and practicum designed to prepare you for the superintendency.
What you can do with an EdD in K–12 Leadership
When combined with your previous experience, the leadership skills taught in this concentration program can equip you to compete for roles such as:
- Teacher Leader
- Education coordinator
- School superintendent (must already hold principals license)
Curriculum: K–12 Leadership Concentration
Core EdD Courses
The core of our EdD program focuses on developing leadership skills inside the classroom and the administrative suite.
EDD 801: Principles of Responsive and Transformational Leadership
Explore the conceptual models, theories and frameworks that will empower you as an educator and leader. Analyze and define your professional practice by applying principles of responsive and transformational leadership.
EDD 803: Ethical Organizational Leadership
Explore principles and frameworks of ethical organizational leadership. Examine how your professional values inform your responses to issues and challenges in educational contexts.
EDD 812: Equity in Diverse Educational Settings
Propose strategies to address issues of disproportionality, inequity and bias based on an analysis of diversity and equity issues and how they impact education. Equipped with this knowledge, design meaningful interventions to address inequity or bias.
EDD 814: Scholarly Communication
Refine your power as a writer and communicator through substantive feedback on your dissertation as it nears completion. Evaluate diverse methods for communicating your research findings by writing conference proposals, book proposals and peer-reviewed journal articles.
EDD 850: Transformational Leadership: Practice and Impact
Assess your current practice within the context of responsive and transformational leadership, define yourself as a leader and describe how your research has informed your leadership.
Dissertation and Research
Unlike many doctoral programs, Alverno College provides support on the development of your dissertation from day one to ensure you can complete your degree on time. If additional time to complete your dissertation is necessary or if revisions are requested following your initial submission, you have the option to take an additional semester of dissertation support.
EDD 800: Dissertation Advisory I
In this first dissertation course, you will identify a potential area for study, identify members of your dissertation committee, develop your initial research question and complete a draft literature review.
EDD 802: Research in Educational Contexts
Define your areas of interest in relation to existing research by reading broadly and deeply from a variety of scholarly sources. Begin the framework for your literature review by developing a bibliography in APA format.
EDD 804: Research Methods
Create an initial plan for a research method for your dissertation after analyzing and evaluating diverse research paradigms and methods. You can also explore the possibility of co-authoring your dissertation in this course.
EDD 810: Dissertation Advisory II
Complete the introduction and literature review and begin development of the methodology section of your dissertation.
EDD 811: Statistics and Data Analysis
Deepen your understanding of statistical and quantitative data and evaluate tools for effective analysis. Undertake a critical evaluation of the use of statistics to support arguments and claims. Identify appropriate tools and approaches for your own research design.
EDD 813: Advanced Research Methods and Data Analysis
Take on deeper study of advanced research methods to identify methods aligned with your dissertation focus and complete a draft of your research methodology for your proposal.
EDD 820: Dissertation Advisory III
Complete and defend your research proposal. Compile, receive feedback on, revise and submit your Institutional Review Board (IRB) documents.
EDD 830: Dissertation Advisory IV
Engage in data gathering and analysis and begin write-up of your dissertation.
EDD 840: Dissertation Defense and Dissemination
Defend your dissertation, receive feedback and make any needed revisions.
EDD 860: Dissertation V (Optional)
If necessary, you can opt for an additional semester to complete or revise and defend your dissertation.
K–12 Leadership Courses
The K–12 Leadership concentration includes courses focused on leading primary and secondary institutions, plus the option to complete an additional three credits to prepare for the superintendency.
EDD 821: Leadership, Educational Law and Policy Leadership
Deepen your knowledge of the authority, liability and legal responsibility of school personnel in public and private institutions, analyzing the impact of local, state and national constitutions, statutes and court decisions on education. Analyze policy development as a political process; develop an understanding of power structures and the role of leadership in impacting policy; and learn to work with influential groups and lobbies.
EDD 822: LEA Governance, Management and Finance
Study the organizational structure and administrative relationships in school settings through the lens of systems thinking and the study of administrative behavior. Explore organizational theory, the collection and distribution of tax revenue at all levels of government, problems and issues in funding education and resource allocation.
EDD 823: Assessment, Technology and Data for School Improvement
Explore the use of evaluative information for administrative decision making and the administration and evaluation of educational projects and programs. Develop your ability to assess needs and plan projects and programs, use technology for efficiency and effectiveness and evaluate the impact of educational programs and decisions.
EDD 825: The Superintendency: Climate, Personnel and Supervision (Optional)
As a superintendent candidate, explore the commitment and skills required for success as a school superintendent. Develop the competencies you need to create climates and capacities of learning across organizations through study of systematic leadership theory and best practices in instructional leadership.
EDD 826: Superintendency Practicum (Optional)
Supervised practicum. You will practice administrative leadership in a setting beyond an individual school site. Examine a range of challenges in school administration, develop and implement a practicum plan to meet the needs of the field experience and provide evidence of learning through the completion of a final portfolio.