Educational Leadership in K-12, MEd
Preparing Leaders for Equity & Transformation with specific focus of closing the gaps in equity, opportunity and access for the marginalized children and their families around the world.
This program aims to prepare transformational school leaders through new understandings of 21st century leadership models and frameworks that support diverse, inclusive, equitable, safe, and caring learning environments to promote positive school culture. The program encourages academic and personal excellence through rigorous learning experiences in the areas of strategic leadership, ethical and reflective leadership, community leadership, and instructional leadership. Emerging leaders will be culturally competent to translate authentic research on school leadership into quality practice to serve in high need schools. This program adheres to the CAEP and NELP standards.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
The Delaware State University’s M. Ed. Program has received National Accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) for seven years. This accreditation is quality assurance that the program meets the standards set by organizations representing the academic community, professionals, and other stakeholders.
This program offers courses in an accelerated format (eight-week sessions) as per the following two schedules:
- Once a week (Monday through Thursday) from 5:00 to 10:00 pm, OR
- Two days a week (Mondays & Thursdays) from 5:30 to 8:00 pm.
We offer the following two instruction delivery options:
- face-to-face/hybrid
- online synchronous/asynchronous
Our graduates are prepared to facilitate service, leadership and learning in all environments: urban, suburban, rural, undeveloped, and underserved.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
In collaboration with the State of Delaware, the purpose of Delaware State University’s Master of Education (M. Ed.) in Educational Leadership Program is to prepare educators for prominent leadership and service positions in schools and other educational institutions. Through a rigorous educational foundation and directed field experience, students emerge as viable candidates for leadership positions. Since 2002, the master’s program has been consistently adjusted to meet the current needs of K-12 education institutions. At Delaware State University, students will find a unique balance between rigorous research, serious academic studies, collegiality, and personal development. Students will be prepared to make data-driven decisions to serve authentically and lead with integrity. Students will hone their personal leadership style, create a new career path, and learn to meet the challenges in any situation. Our program will provide students with the confidence, credibility, and knowledge to pursue a career as a principal or assistant principal and in administrative posts related to education, empowering students to bring their school/institution to new levels of efficiency and productivity. Our program does not provide a licensure or a certification and will not certify a student as a schoolteacher, principal, assistant principal, or Certified Central Office Personnel. Most states require a Master of Education to gain licensure to become a principal or assistant principal. More information about the requirements for principal/assistant principal certification in the State of Delaware can be found at: http://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title14/1500/1591.shtml
PROGRAM GOAL
The primary goal of Delaware State University’s Master of Education (M. Ed.) in Educational Leadership Program is to prepare leaders who are equipped with a repertoire of knowledge, skills, and dispositions to meet the challenges of school leadership. The additional goals are to prepare leaders who can:
- Articulate a new vision for public schools at the building levels, demonstrate technological awareness and competence, and create a positive school culture that promotes student learning and development to ensure each student’s success in all environments including urban, suburban, rural, undeveloped, and underserved.
- Display competency in digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to help the students thrive in today’s world.
- Engage diverse stakeholders and community in data collection, strategic planning, evaluation, and apply robust research to critical problems of practice and implementation processes that benefit the academic environment of the school.
- Demonstrate a deep commitment to diversity issues by recognizing and respecting a variety of ideas, values, and cultures to impact student learning.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Delaware State University commits itself to supporting students’ professional goals that will exemplify ethical and authentic leadership qualities in public schools and other related educational institutions. Leadership abilities will be developed and refined through the integration of educational philosophies, theories, leadership constructs, and critical thought in the arenas of educational literacy, communication, systematic and empirical research inquiries, socio-cultural perspective, professional development, and transformational leadership. This program includes a six-credit internship, through which students will have an opportunity to apply experience and develop their leadership competencies in a real-life education setting.
DSU Graduates will be able to:
- Develop, design, and implement a school mission, and vision that reflects a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, diversity, and digital citizenship.
- Develop a framework for examining the matters of significance in education in order to clarify personal viewpoints and develop a successful model of a school to support the future success and well-being of each student.
- Promote professional collaborations and demonstrate ethical and professional competence in their chosen disciplines to promote student learning through the innovative curriculum and responsive use of technology.
- Understand the special and complex educational needs of students in individualized and diverse ways and advocate for inclusive, equitable and culturally responsive instructional behavior support practices.
- Develop and implement management, communication, assessment, technology, and operation systems in a school; use data ethically and develop a multi-year school resourcing plan
- Design a comprehensive plan for providing school community members with a healthy and positive school environment.
- Collaboratively engage with diverse communities and develop relationships with other constituent groups around shared goals to benefit school programs, student learning, and promote equitable educational resources and opportunities.
- Demonstrate the knowledge and application of information sources, data collection and data analysis strategies, and related technologies to achieve professional success.
- Demonstrate authentic leadership qualities by being involved in the real administrative roles and collaborate with stakeholders on the instructional, organizational, strategic, and contextual decision-making process to ensure the success and well-being of each student and adult in their school.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS & DEADLINES
Application Timelines:
Rolling Admissions
- Priority given to applications received by June 30 for fall admission, and October 30 for spring admission.
- Enrollment Is contingent upon receipt of all required documents no later than two weeks prior to the enrollment period for U.S. applicants.
International Admission Deadlines:
- Fall enrollment – May 1: Spring enrollment: Oct. 1
Applicants who wish to seek admission in the M. Ed. program must meet the following requirements:
- An earned baccalaureate degree in education or an allied field with a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.00.
- Completed online application for admission.
- The non-refundable application fee of $50.00 made payable to Delaware State University.
- Official transcript(s) of all academic work completed.
- Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT) scores. Testing must be within 5 years of the application. Scores must be submitted prior to being admitted into the program. The acceptable cut off scores: (i) GRE: 40 percentiles (+ - 1) and a score of 3.0 or better on the Analytical Writing component; or (ii) MAT: 40 percentiles (+ - 1). Or the on-campus writing sample (i.e., an on campus writing sample). in lieu of the GRE/GMAT scores.
- A current professional resume.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation (two academic/ professional recommendations and one character recommendation) – via the online application process.
- A Statement of Purpose/Intent that needs to be content specific, focused on educational leadership. The candidate must specifically explain why he or she wants to be admitted to the M. Ed. in the Educational Leadership program. Specifications: 1-2 pages, APA format, grammatical error free.
- A valid Delaware Initial, Continuing, or Advanced License; or a Limited Standard, Standard or Professional Status Certificate issued by the Department prior to August 31, 2003, OR a such or similar licensure from another state.
- The applicants not holding the licensure may also be admitted into the program but on a clear understanding that the masters’ degree will not fulfill the requirements of any licensure and they will still have to follow the individualized plan to meet the licensure requirements.
- The Director, Education Programs, along with the Education Graduate Admission Ad Hoc Committee will review each application and make the recommendation for acceptance into the program to the Dean, School of Graduate, Adult and Extended Studies, who will extend an offer of admission to the applicant.
Additional Requirements for International Applicants
Please review application procedures for international students. In addition to the requirements noted above, international applicants must submit WES or ECE evaluation of all academic work completed as well and results from the TOEFL or IELTS examination if the earned baccalaureate degree is from a non-English speaking country.
All international students must also meet the visa requirements of the Office of International Student Services (OISS) before a Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant (F-1) Student Visa (I-20 A-B form) can be issued.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
This Program of Study requires the completion of 36 graduate credit hours. Included as an integral component of the program is a 6-credit hour Applied Educational setting.
Note: Transition to changed/modified curriculum will be implemented for 2020 & 2021 cohort w.e.f. Fall 2021.
CAPSTONE
Students are required to:
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Pass the Comprehensive Exam after completion of 24 credit hours. This capstone requirement is designed to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to conceptualize and critically analyze the content knowledge.
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Complete 240 hours of internship at the approved placement site and submit and present their internship portfolio comprising artifacts collected as a part of their internship activities and experience before a panel of the faculty. This internship experience represents a synthesis of key content and high-impact field-based experiences extended over time that result in the intern’s demonstration of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions articulated in the NELP Building Level Standards, and, most importantly, the intern’s success in improving student achievement within a school.
TRANSFER OF CREDITS
Applicants who have earned a grade of “B” or higher in graduate courses taken at an accredited institution and related to their proposed Program of Study can request consideration for transfer of credit. These courses will be evaluated on an individual basis by the respective Graduate Program. Applicants admitted to master’s degree graduate programs may transfer a maximum of 9 graduate credits from another accredited institution toward the master’s degree provided these credits have not been used to meet the requirements of a degree previously earned.
Applicants must provide supporting documentation, as may be required by the Director, Education Graduate Programs, at the time of admission or in any case no later than the first semester of study. The Director, Education Graduate Programs, will review all the submitted documentation and note the allowable course waivers in the program’s recommendation to the Dean, School of Graduate, Adult and Extended Studies, who will approve the hours allowed to be transferred.
PROGRAM FACULTY PROFILE
The Department of Education’s distinguished faculty members include nationally and internationally known authors, researchers, and academicians. The faculty members have achieved notable distinction in their respective fields. The faculty combines academic expertise with direct experiences in the field of education. Their knowledge, skills and experience enable them to offer practical guidance and mentorship, helping students adapt to the professional world and make wise career choices.
Program Faculty:
- Dr. Justin Alexander, Assistant Professor
- Dr. Joseph Falodun, Associate Professor
- Dr. Chetanath Gautam, Associate Professor
- Dr. Richard Phillips, Professor
- Dr. Yvette Pierre, Associate Professor
- Dr. Pietro Sasso, Associate Professor & Program Coordinator, Ed.D.-Higher Education
- Dr. Reshid Walker, Assistant Professor & Program Coordinator, M.Ed.
- Dr. Brenda G. Wynder, Associate Professor & Program Coordinator, Ed.D.-K-12
- Dr. SaeYeol Yoon, Associate Professor