2007-09 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

Graduate Catalog: Section 10.6http://graduate.ua.edu/catalog/22300.htmlEDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATIONProfessor David Dagley, Office: 302A Graves HallDoctoral Degrees. The doctoral degrees offered by the program in educational administration emphasize theapplication of theory and research to the practice of administration in P–12 schools as well as the preparation ofindividuals for positions in other educational policy arenas. The programs provide individuals with knowledge, skills,and dispositions needed to function as scholarly, ethical, and reflective decision makers in the areas of executivemanagement, educational leadership, and policy. The programs prepare individuals to lead complex educationalorganizations in ways that improve schools, foster democratic communities, and promote those principles ofeducation established by legally and nationally established mandates.The primary purpose of the doctor of education (Ed.D.) degree program is to prepare individuals for leadershippositions as assistant principals, principals, supervisors, assistant superintendents, superintendents, state levelpersonnel, and other policy arenas. Individuals seeking this degree have often earned both A-level administrativecertification obtained at the master's level and AA-level administrative certification obtained at the Ed.S. level.The primary purpose of the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program is to prepare students for careers in theprofessoriate. As compared to the Ed.D., such preparation includes more extensive contact with the university culturein the form of residency requirements and more rigorous expectations for research (i.e., additional courses anddissertation hours).INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIPProfessor John Petrovic, Office: 323C Graves HallThe Instructional Leadership Program is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, the improvement ofprofessional practice, and service to learning communities, including distributive and shared leadership teams. Wedevelop future generations of scholars, researchers, policy makers, and institutional leaders. Our work is guided bythe principles of reflective practice, professional growth and development, individual responsibility, the pursuit ofsocial justice, an ethic of caring, and a commitment to the communities we serve. The program differs from the onein educational administration in that it focuses primarily on the development of leaders with expertise in fields suchas curriculum, instruction, supervision, technology, and the social and cultural factors influencing learning.Doctoral Degrees. The Ed.D. in instructional leadership provides learning opportunities in the areas of policy,curriculum, supervision, and human resource and professional development for educators who hold or aspire toleadership responsibilities for policy making, planning, instruction, and supervising and evaluating programs inschools and other agencies. Students who hold degrees in instructional leadership are prepared to teach incommunity, four-year colleges, and universities in the areas of their expertise. Courses in the program are designedto provide the technical, human, and conceptual skills essential to theory and practice. Additionally, a Nurse EducatorSpecialization in the Ed.D. program is available to practicing nurses whose career goals include teaching in a nursingprogram in community colleges or universities.The Ph.D. in instructional leadership prepares educational leaders, scholar practitioners, policy makers, professors,and researchers who can draw upon knowledge of learning processes, pedagogy, and the social foundations ofschooling to make ethical and politically informed judgments that advance K–12 education while respecting diversity,honoring difference, and promoting social justice. Courses focus on curriculum, professional development,supervision, learning, pedagogy, and questions of diversity and social justice. Throughout, the overarching aim is todevelop the skills of reflective decision making so that graduates are able to construct theoretically informed practicalsolutions to the complex and multi-dimensional problems that face schools. The Ph.D. offers two optionalconcentrations. The concentration in instructional technology trains future researchers, teachers, and corporatetrainers in the field of computer assisted instruction. The concentration in the social and cultural foundations ofeducation prepares students for jobs in the professoriate that focus on the social foundations of education ormulticultural education.HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATIONProfessor Claire Major, Office: 328C Graves HallThe exclusively graduate-level program in higher education administration, through its varied course offerings andstructured learning experiences, meaningfully serves a broad clientele, especially current and future administrators inviable roles in the administration of two- and four-year colleges and universities. Course offerings are designedprimarily to train, sensitize, and broaden the information base of administrators and personnel already affiliated withinstitutions of higher learning, and to prepare others for employment with institutions of higher learning in Alabamaand the Southeast. The program offerings also complement other courses of study undertaken by graduate studentspursuing other majors within the area, the College, and the University. The program in higher education