UNIVERSITY of DELAWARE :: SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

Curriculum, Technology, & Higher Education (CT&HE)

Overview of the concentration:

Download the complete Program Policy Statement

This concentration is designed with flexibility in course electives and serves education instructors and administrators from a variety of professional backgrounds, both from K-12 and postsecondary organizations. Much of the coursework focuses on curriculum, teaching, technology, and student and academic program coordination and development. (This concentration does not confer K-12 administrative certification.)

Required and Elective Courses in CTHE - This concentration has seven required and seven elective courses. The required courses are broadly applicable, “foundational” type courses and develop knowledge and skills in writing, presenting, scholarly analysis, organizational problem-solving and planning, curriculum theory, education technology, program and personnel evaluation, and doctoral thesis planning.

Courses Available for Specialization Areas - These courses give you flexibility to pursue coursework around your own intellectual and professional interests. We refer to these as “specializations” – a cluster of courses falling into one of the following specialization areas: literacy, science, math, technology, and higher education. To see lists of courses that are associated with the different specialization areas, select the following link: http://www.udel.edu/educ/graduate/edd/special_CTHE.html

Note: There may be specific courses required by specialization areas. Please talk with your advisor.

Upon admission to the Ed.D. program, you will consult with your advisor to work out your specialization cluster of courses.

Admission Requirements:

Applicants must hold a Master's degree from an accredited university by the month in which they begin doctoral work. They must demonstrate scholastic ability by having achieved a minimum graduate grade point average of 3.00 in the applicant's master's program and must submit two (2) letters of recommendation from course instructors certifying unquestionable ability to engage in scholarship/research at the doctoral level.

Applicants must demonstrate educational leadership by submitting three (3) additional letters of recommendation from administrators or other educational leaders certifying outstanding instructional skills; evidence of serving as a resource for colleagues through inservice presentations, demonstration teaching, or other means; recognition by colleagues as an outstanding educator; evidence of an active role in professional associations; nominations by district or state administrators.

These three (3) letters of recommendation – two attesting to scholarship and three attesting to leadership - may be submitted on the official Recommendation form which is part of the on-line application form: http://www.udel.edu/gradoffice/

Applicants must demonstrate satisfactory evidence of appropriate preparation and expertise in the area of specialization. This may be documented, for example, by a master's degree in the area of specialization. In all cases, faculty in the area of specialization will determine the appropriateness of the applicant's preparation.

Applicants must be able to communicate effectively in an interview situation and in writing. After the initial screening of applicants is completed, the best qualified candidates will be invited to submit a writing assessment. The responses to this assessment are reviewed by the faculty for ideas and evidence, organization, and mechanics and the best qualified candidates are offered admission to the program.

Program Requirements:

Ed.D. Doctoral Core Courses:

9 credits

Effective Communication for Educational Leaders (Educ824)

Program Evaluation (Educ863)

Organizational Problem Analysis/Planning (Educ891)

CT & HE Concentration Core Courses:

12 credits

Curriculum Theory (Educ860)

Elementary Statistics (Educ665)

Qualitative Research in Educational Settings (Educ850)

Foundations of Educational Technology (Educ818)

CT & HE Electives:

21 credits

Your elective courses should cluster into one of the following specialization areas: literacy, science, math, technology, and higher education. Candidates must identify their specialization area at the time of their request for entry into the program. Candidates will be assigned to an appropriate faculty member as their advisor; normally this faculty member will serve as the candidate's advisor throughout the program. However, later in the program, a candidate might be assigned to a different advisor if it is determined that the student's interests would be better served by changing advisors.

Doctoral Thesis:

12 credits

Total Credit Required:

54 credits

Program Specific Information:

ADVISEMENT

The program coordinator assigns each student a faculty mentor in the summer before matriculation. Changes of mentors can be made by the student if the new mentor agrees to take on the advisee. In the first two years of the program contact with the mentor is fairly infrequent and mostly concerns choices of electives, but the mentor is crucial once s/he begins to guide your "EPP."

For students in Kent and Sussex counties, the Director of Programming for the Southern Campus provides program orientations and advisement. His office is located in the William A. Carter Partnership Center on the campus of Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown (855-1621).

EVALUATION PROCEDURES

Course performance. A grade point average of 3.0 (B) must be maintained in the courses (not including courses transferred in).
First year review. Within two weeks after the end of the spring semester, the program faculty will meet to discuss the work of all first year students. If two or more faculty identify deficiencies in a student's written work, that student will be given specific feedback and coached to improve in the area(s) of weakness. The review is advisory; probation, dismissal or other sanctions cannot be applied as a result of the review.
Executive Position Paper Proposal. Before the submission and defense of the proposal, the student, in consultation with the mentor, forms a committee for the planning and writing of the Executive Position Papers. The committee membership must meet the University of Delaware's guidelines on dissertation/EPP committees.

In a meeting with his/her committee, the student will present a proposal that explains the topic's significance and fully describes the student's methods for conduacting the EPP study. At least two weeks before that meeting the student will give a copy of the proposal to each committee member. Successful proposals typically range from 15 to 25 pages, but there is no minimum or maximum length.

Approval of the proposal requires the unanimous vote of the EPP committee. If one or more committee members votes to not support the proposal, s/he will have one more opportunity to secure proposal approval. A second unsuccessful defense may result in termination from the program.
Executive Position Paper Defense. The defense, open to the university community and the public, requires the student to present the EPPs' findings and respond to questions from the committee and the audience. Copies of the EPPs must be distributed to all committee members and the Office of the Director of the School of Education at least two weeks before the defense. Approval of the EPPs requires a majority vote of the EPP committee (a tie vote is an unsuccessful defense).

SATISFACTORY PROGRESS TOWARD THE DEGREE

The University requires completion of all degree requirements within five years. Extensions for a sixth year can be granted as long as the student has successfully defended the proposal by the end of the fifth year. Requests for leaves of absence should be sent to the program coordinator.

Faculty affiliated with this program:

Doug Archbald (Ph.D., Wisconsin) teaches graduate courses on curriculum, research methods, and legal issues in education. Dr.Archbald's research interests include accountability and testing policies, curriculum standards, and school choice policies. He has published numerous reports and articles on these subjects, directed several large national policy studies, consulted with state and national education agencies and foundations and written, with Fred Newmann, “Beyond Standardized Testing: Assessing Academic Achievement in the Secondary Schools”. Dr. Archbald formerly taught in elementary schools as an environmental education teacher, worked with the Unified Learning Institute in curriculum development, and conducted policy research for the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.

Barbara Curry (Ed.D., Harvard) conducts research that focuses on higher education or adult and postsecondary education and professional development including the treatment of gender, race and ethnicity; the adult learner, and adult identity development; structural, functional, and psycho-social aspects of organizations and related human resource issues. In the Educational Leadership program, she teaches courses on organizational management and leadership theory.

Robert Hampel’s (Ph.D., Cornell) research interests focus on the history and politics of school reform. He wrote “The Last Little Citadel: American High Schools Since 1940”, the third book in the trilogy from Theodore Sizer's A Study of High Schools, and recently coauthored “Kids and School Reform”. Dr. Hampel has been a trustee of the Sanford School, a consultant with the Coalition of Essential Schools, and a Public Service Fellow in the Governor's Office.

Fred Hofstetter (Ph.D., Ohio State) coordinates the educational technology specialization in the Ed.D. program. A specialist in multimedia, he developed the GUIDO ear-training lessons, the PODIUM presentation software, and the Serf instructional management system. Winner of a gold CINDY award for his work with interactive media, Dr. Hofstetter is the author of McGraw-Hill's Internet Literacy textbook. He teaches courses in multimedia literacy, Internet technologies, advanced Web design, multimedia design, and data-driven Web design.

Dennis Loftus (Ed.D., Temple) brings to the Educational Leadership program 22 years of experience as a school district superintendent or assistant superintendent. In 1994 he was selected as the Delaware Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators. In addition to teaching and school administration, Dr. Loftus was also a State Supervisor in Delaware’s Department of Public Instruction. In addition to his faculty affiliation with the Educational Leadership program, Dr. Loftus is currently the Program Coordinator of the Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL), a position he has held since 2000. He teaches courses on organizational management as well as directing the leadership practicum within the Educational Leadership program.

Frank Murray (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins), H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education, specializes in educational psychology and teacher education. Dr. Murray has sixteen years of experience in higher education administration, including serving as a college dean and chair of the national Holmes Group, a consortium of colleges and universities dedicated to reshaping teacher education. Dr. Murray is currently president of The Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). Recent books to which Dr. Murray contributed chapters or served as editor include “The Teacher Educator's Handbook: Building A Knowledge Base for the Preparation of Teachers”, “The Role of the University in Preparation of Teachers”, “Higher Education and School Reform”, and “Myths of Teacher Education”.

Audrey Noble (Ph.D., Arizona State University) is Director of the Delaware Education Research and Development Center and teaches courses on qualitative research methods. She has written extensively on the subject of educational policy and standards-based reform initiatives and is the lead evaluator of the state’s NSF sponsored science reform. Other areas of interest include research examining issues of curriculum and instruction, assessment, capacity-building, and governance.

James Raths (Ph.D., New York University) is a leader in the field of teacher education. In addition to being the Executive Editor of the “Journal of Educational Research” for over 25 years, Dr. Raths has written or co-authored over 20 books or book chapters and over 40 professional articles in addition to numerous monographs and book reviews. He is very active with professional organizations such AACTE, AERA, TEAC, and The Holmes Group. He has twice been the recipient of the School of Education’s Distinguished Faculty Award and he teaches courses in educational research.

Jacquelyn Wilson (Ed.D., Wilmington College) is the Director of Programming for the Southern Delaware Campus, has over 30 years of teaching and administrative experience in public education. Dr. Wilson was Distinguished Principal of the Year in 2002 and led her school to achieve national recognition as a "Blue Ribbon School." As Director of Professional Accountability for the Department of Education, Dr. Wilson helped secure several national foundation grants and coodinated a statewide leadership development program. Her current professional focus is on improving the effectiveness of principal induction and internship experiences.