Educational Leadership

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Program develops courageous educational leaders who engage their minds, hearts, and spirits in the moment of action to lead socially just improvements in schools, communities, and universities. Framed by the Standards for Effective Educational Leaders and Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership, and the principles of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), the program intentionally integrates both practical and research knowledge to produce leaders who can make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, schools, organizations, and communities. These discerning leaders are guided by an ethical imperative for equity and excellence and can translate visionary ideas into real-world success for all children and youth.

The three-year, accelerated, competency-based, practitioner-oriented program results in a doctorate in educational leadership (Ed.D.) and features a cohort model taught by the faculty in the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership at the Duquesne University School of Education. Cohort members, who come from diverse backgrounds, progress together through cohesive, field-based learning experiences that employ collaborative inquiry, situate learning in real-world problems of practice, and require flexible thinking and evidence-based decision making.

Graduates of the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Program are uniquely prepared for leadership positions in schools and school systems, higher education institutions, as well as community-based educational organizations, and agencies.

Cohort members who desire certification for principal, superintendent, or central office roles in Pennsylvania school districts can complete additional courses to meet Pennsylvania specific requirements and obtain the PA Letter of Eligibility.

Required Courses

• EDDL 701: Stewardship of Practice, 3 credits
• EDDL 702: Education and Social Justice, 3 credits
• EDDL 710: Educational Policy and Politics, 3 credits
• EDDL 711: Research Literacy for Educational Leadership, 3 credits
• EDDL 720: Learning and Learning Environments, 3 credits
• EDDL 721: Educational Improvement and Accountability, 3 credits
• EDDL 730: Community Engaged Leadership for Social Justice, 3 credits
• EDDL 731: Program Evaluation, 3 credits
• EDDL 740: Ethics and Educational Law, 3 credits
• EDDL 750: Assessing Learning and Achievement, 3 credits
• EDDL 751: Data Analysis and Evidence-Based Improvement, 3 credits
• EDDL 752: Qualitative Inquiry and Social Justice Advocacy, 3 credits
• EDDL 801: Qualifying Portfolio Seminar, 3 credits
• EDDL 802: Dissertation in Practice Seminar, 3 credits
• EDDL 810: Catalyzing and Communicating Improvement Across Boundaries, 3 credits
• EDDL 811: Dissertation in Practice I, 3 credits
• EDDL 820: Scholarly Practitioner, 3 credits
• EDDL 821: Dissertation in Practice II, 3 credits

Total Credits Required: 54 Credits

Admission Criteria

Candidates seeking admission into the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Program must fulfill the following requirements and submit them in a completed applications packet that contains:

• Current Curriculum Vitae or Resume
• Official transcripts from all institutions of higher learning attended
• Documentation of a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale on the last 30 hours of graduate work
• Master's Degree in education or related field from an accredited institution.
• 2 written essays
• 5 years of educational experience preferred

Venue

All classes meet face-to-face on the Duquesne University campus in Pittsburgh, PA. Classes are supported by online resources and enriched with field-based opportunities that promote the critical analysis of real issues in real time through multiple perspectives in order to promote meaningful collaboration and socially just improvements.

Learning Outcomes

The mission of Duquesne's Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Program is the formation of effective educational leaders who aspire to social justice and promote equity and excellence in learning environments for all children and youth.

The program's learning outcomes represent the fusion of its three foundational design elements-social justice leadership, evidence-based improvement research, and community engagement-to nurture a community of effective educational leaders who engage their minds, hearts, and spirits in the moment of action.

Program graduates will be effective educational leaders who:

• Understand how their personal narrative shapes their views about the literature, schools, organizations, groups and their own approach to social justice leadership.
• Understand how to create collaborative environments that welcome and serve diverse members, including cultural/linguistic diversity, gender, special needs, and age-span differences.
• Appreciate how social, cultural, political, and historical forces have influenced educational leadership, educational policy, and program evaluation locally and globally, with an understanding of how student experiences in schools and educational outcomes of historically underserved populations have occurred.
• Are knowledgeable of the legal, ethical, and political advocacy processes, policies, practices, and partnerships in which education is embedded.
• Demonstrate understanding of the role of conflict and the importance of ethics in leadership and decision-making.
• Understand and support the importance of trust and the ethical expectations of the education profession and strive to make their professional practice serve the needs of students, family, school, district, and community.
• Exhibit appreciation for evidence in decision-making, that is drawn from multiple sources via sound means of collection, and tested against scholarly literature and the realities of changing circumstances to hold themselves and all stakeholders accountable for effective practice and improved learning opportunities for all students.
• Are able to undertake first-hand investigations of local problems using applied research methods to make meaningful, interpretable, valid, reliable, and authentic improvements.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of research that allows them to interpret findings, make judicious applications of research, evaluate programs, and advise others in policy positions and improvement initiatives.
• Use the results of research and a deep understanding of organizational structures, cultures, and networks, to lead effective and accountable improvement efforts within their organizations.
• Can explain the strengths and limits of research and scholarly literature, and the basis of validity, reliability, credibility, and interpretability.
• Will foster and encourage effective educational practice within their schools, districts, universities/college, communities and educational organizations based on research and scholarly literature.

Contact Information

(412) 396-5568
edleadershipFREEDUQUESNE