Program Overview

Educational Leadership (EDL) Program

The Educational Leadership (EDL) program offers a comprehensive range of courses designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to excel in educational leadership roles.

Courses

• EDL 502: School Finance: This 4-hour course explores the sources of school revenue, analysis of expenditure policies, intergovernmental relationships, introduction to economics of education, trends, and issues, along with other aspects of school finance, including clinical experiences.
• EDL 503: School Law: Examination of the legal aspects of public education, including statutory and case law, rights and responsibilities of boards, administrators, teachers, and students, legal principles, and specific applications.
• EDL 504: Politics Of Education: Political effects on education at federal, state, county, and local levels, including the political roles of superintendents, boards, and special interest groups, and the effects of court decisions and legislation.
• EDL 505: Introduction To Research: Basic research methods in educational administration, covering qualitative and quantitative research design, sampling, ethics, instrumentation, and validity.
• EDL 508: Effective Practices in Online Teaching and Learning: Study of effective practice frameworks and resources for online teaching, including learning styles, instructional strategies, and assessment methods.
• EDL 509: Organizational Dynamics: Structure and function of an organization as a social system, including individual, group, and leadership processes and behavior, with clinical experiences.
• EDL 511: School Improvement: Major ideas and emerging trends in research on effective school improvement, including reform initiatives for improving instructional programs and the roles of teachers and school leaders.
• EDL 512: Student Assessment for Online Learning: Introduction to various assessment strategies, tools, and frameworks for evaluating students in online environments.
• EDL 515: Online Teaching and Learning: Introduction to online and blended teaching and learning, covering major concepts, issues, research, and practical strategies for designing and teaching online courses.
• EDL 516: Instructional Design for Technology: Techniques of instructional design with an emphasis on technology-based learning, including models and steps for designing units that integrate technology.
• EDL 517: Education Technology Leadership: Effective planning, deployment, implementation, evaluation, and legal aspects of technology in educational environments, including social, ethical, legal, and security issues.
• EDL 518: Educational Technology Systems: Basics of researching, designing, selecting, and implementing technology to enhance the educational process in K-12 settings.
• EDL 519: The Principalship: Competencies, role, and responsibilities of building principals, including current research, issues, and problems, with clinical experiences.
• EDL 521: Current and Emerging Technologies in Education: Survey of current and emerging technologies, techniques, and tools in education, including delivery, engagement, assessment, and administrative technologies.
• EDL 525: Supervision Of Instruction: Application of principles of supervision in instructional settings, aiming to improve curricular and instructional practices through the supervisory role.
• EDL 526: Principal Internship I: On-site principal internship providing real-world leadership experiences, required state assessments, and the opportunity to work with a certified mentor principal and a university supervisor.
• EDL 527: Principal Internship II: Second semester of on-site principal internship, offering real-world experiences, required formal assessments, and the opportunity to work with a certified mentor principal and university supervisor.
• EDL 531: Capstone I: Planning and implementation of an inquiry-based school improvement effort in a local school setting, serving as team leaders to define problems, analyze causes, and develop action plans.
• EDL 532: Capstone II: Implementation of an inquiry-based school improvement effort, analyzing results, and making recommendations for continuous improvement.
• EDL 533: Administration and Evaluation of Special Education Issues: Current issues confronted by directors of special education, including new legislation, policies, and regulations, with an emphasis on personnel evaluation, budget management, and governing boards.
• EDL 534: Capstone Cont Enroll: Continuing enrollment for capstone projects, required for students who need additional time to complete their projects.
• EDL 538: Mid School Methods & Philos: Methodological and philosophical study of key issues impacting middle schools, including organization, advising, and resource selection based on current trends and research.
• EDL 539: Adolescent Dev and Learn: Examination of the transitional years from puberty to early adulthood, focusing on physical, ideological, social, emotional, cognitive, ethical, and vocational development.
• EDL 541: Educational Research Methods: Basic research methods in education, including qualitative and quantitative design, sampling, ethics, instrumentation, and validity, to increase critical and analytical capabilities.
• EDL 542: Action Research for Leadership: Examination of leadership characteristics and application of action research processes, aiming to understand and apply problem-solving tools in educational settings.
• EDL 543: Assessment for Learning: Examination of the role of standards and curriculum in shaping educational changes and reforms, focusing on curriculum and instructional issues within the context of reform efforts.
• EDL 544: Expectations, Standards, and School Improvement: Discussion of theories, research, and application of standards in school reform, aiming for a deeper understanding of improvement and the role of standards and standardized testing.
• EDL 545: Supervision of Instruction for Teacher Leadership: Theories, research, and processes of collegial supervision of classroom instruction, including analysis of teaching, effective practices, and communication.
• EDL 547: Technology in the Curriculum: Examination of technology standards for teachers and teacher educators, including software applications and the use of the Internet in the classroom.
• EDL 548: Reading And Literacy: Exploration of best practices in literacy education, including improving literacy and teaching literacy across the curriculum.
• EDL 549: Strategies for Improving Teaching of Language Arts and Social Studies: Examination of teaching methods for language arts and social studies, and means to improve these methods in relation to standards.
• EDL 550: Theoretical Foundations of Teaching English as Second Language: Designed to provide ESL teachers with an understanding of basic concepts and theories related to teaching English language learners.
• EDL 551: Strategies for Improving Teaching of Mathematics and Science: Examination of teaching methods for mathematics and science, and means to improve these methods in relation to standards.
• EDL 552: Introduction to School Finance: Focus on financing public school systems in the United States, examining fiscal, political, legal, and economic aspects of developing school finance policy.
• EDL 553: Assessment of Students' Learning Difficulties and Disabilities: Examination of methods for assessing students with learning difficulties or disabilities, focusing on the interpretation and use of assessment results.
• EDL 554: Characteristics of Exceptional Children: Examination of characteristics for various classifications of special education students, focusing on identification criteria for students with special needs.
• EDL 555: Foundation for Technology in the Curriculum: Basic technology skills and knowledge necessary for education professionals, including computer operation, electronic communication, and computer applications.
• EDL 556: Strategies for Teaching Children with Special Needs: Preparation for teachers to support students' learning and behavioral needs through effective assessment and instructional strategies.
• EDL 557: Matching Teaching and Learning Styles: Relationship between teaching styles and student learning styles, including determining teaching styles, recognizing students' learning styles, and exploring teaching strategies.
• EDL 563: Mentoring for Excellence in Teaching: Research and practical application of issues involved in mentoring teachers at various development levels.
• EDL 564: Technology Strategies for Teachers: Advanced knowledge of instructional applications of modern technologies, including philosophy, purpose, and strategies for classroom implementation.
• EDL 565: Addressing Quality Improvement in Educational Settings: Knowledge base and practical skills to identify and solve problems, enabling teachers to achieve improved academic results through systematic use of statistical and problem-solving tools.
• EDL 566: Strategies for Teaching in Early Childhood Situations: Knowledge and skills for early childhood teachers to promote excellence in teaching through observation, interaction, and intervention with students.
• EDL 567: Learning Improvement Through Student Accountability: Knowledge base and skills to teach students how to plan, track, and achieve improved learning.
• EDL 573: Survey of Exceptional Children: Examination of students with special needs, aiming to understand their educational needs and ways to meet those needs.
• EDL 574: Critical Legal Issues in Education: Exploration of critical issues in the education workplace, including policy, legislation, court cases, and current issues in school reform.
• EDL 575: Legal Aspects of Special Education: Legal rights of students with disabilities and the corresponding responsibilities of schools and educational personnel.
• EDL 576: Minimizing Legal Risks in the Education Workplace: Practical perspective on legal risks associated with the educational workplace, including legal principles that every school employee needs to know.
• EDL 577: Schools In The Legal System: Fundamental legal concepts applicable to educators, including general law, school law, and the legal system, with examples from educational settings.
• EDL 578: Educational Workplace Employability Issues: Basic legal principles related to employment in the educational workplace, including constitutional rights, employment discrimination, and collective bargaining.
• EDL 579: Collective and Interest-based Bargaining: Issues involved with collective bargaining rights and responsibilities in the educational workplace, including legal rights, bargaining strategies, and approaches.
• EDL 580: Teacher, Parent, and Student Rights: Fundamental legal issues impacting elementary and secondary school districts, including topics that affect the constitutional and statutory rights of teachers, students, and parents.
• EDL 581: Legal Responsibilities for the Education Workplace: Responsibilities of educators in the educational workplace, including statutorily mandated legal information necessary for effective response in educational settings.
• EDL 582: Political Action And Advocacy: Role of the educational employee as an advocate for issues affecting education and children, including analysis of policy issues relevant to the educational workplace.
• EDL 583: Teaching Law In K-12 Schools: Integration of law and legal materials into school curriculum, including law-related educational resources and common law-related methods.
• EDL 584: Assessment of ESL Students: Understanding of the impact of assessment in the ESL classroom, including ESL instruments, administration, interpretation, and linguistic and cultural aspects of standardized testing.
• EDL 585: Foundations of Online Learning: Examination of learning and being part of an online community, including strategies for e-learning, leadership in virtual learning communities, and graduate-level research and writing.
• EDL 586: Capstone Project: Demonstration of knowledge and skills acquired through the MAE program by leading the design and implementation of an improvement effort in a school district.
• EDL 592: Linguistics: Broad context of linguistics, including understanding the theory of modern linguistics and application of linguistic theory in the ESL classroom.
• EDL 593: Cross Cultural Studies for ESL: Understanding of cultural values, systems, norms, and expectations, and demonstration of cross-cultural teaching and learning skills and strategies.
• EDL 594: Methods and Materials for ESL: Broad spectrum of tools to assist in teaching and learning second language literacy skills, with an emphasis on Second Language Acquisition research connected to ESL classroom practices.
• EDL 595: ESL Clinical Experience: Demonstration of strategies through clinical experience in an authentic supervised classroom, with a focus on integrating theory into practice.
• EDL 598: MAE Capstone Continuing Enrollment: Continuing enrollment for capstone projects, required for students who need additional time to complete their projects.
• EDL 599: Independent Research And Study: Supervised investigation into a specific topic or research project selected by the student with faculty approval, which may include library or field work.
• EDL 603: Advanced Seminar on Law and Public Policy: Examination of federal and state constitutional, statutory, and policy sources applicable to educators, and legal and policy issues affecting educational administration.
• EDL 604: Politics of Education: Federal, State and Local Politics and Policies: Analysis of the political and social environment of public education in Illinois, including the power structure and its influence on educational policymaking.
• EDL 605: Research in Educational Leadership: Examination and critique of education research and issues related to designing and planning research studies and improvement projects.
• EDL 611: Superintendent as Instructional Leader: Study of major ideas and emerging research on school improvement issues of the superintendent, including reform initiatives for changing schools and instructional programs.
• EDL 612: Management of Educational Funds and Facilities: Study of financing public education in Illinois, including school finance policy, budgeting, financial administration, and management of educational facilities.
• EDL 621: Superintendent and Central Staff/Personnel Management: Legal, social, ethical, and financial issues relating to employment, supervision, and evaluation of employees, and development and leadership of the administrative team.
• EDL 626: Clinical Experiences/Internship I: On-site field experience providing opportunities for candidates to work with administrative leaders and faculty coordinators to improve professional developmental needs.
• EDL 627: Clinical Experiences/Internship II: Continuation of on-site field experience, offering real-world experiences and the opportunity to work with administrative leaders and faculty coordinators.
• EDL 628: Clinical Experiences/Internship III: Advanced on-site field experience based on previous course work, administrative experiences, and certification course work, with a focus on applying knowledge in real-world settings.
• EDL 635: Organizational Theory and Leadership: Overview of sociological and behavioral theories related to the administration of educational organizations.
• EDL 640: Business Application Revenues: Techniques and methods of estimating local, state, and federal revenues, and alternative methods for reducing costs or increasing revenues.
• EDL 645: Business Application Expenditures: Principles of school fund accounting, including budgeting for expenses, payroll administration, personnel costs, and analysis of financial statements.
• EDL 586: Capstone Project: Students are required to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired through the MAE program by leading the design and implementation of an improvement effort in their school district.
• EDL 598: MAE Capstone Continuing Enrollment: This course is offered to those students who enrolled in EDL 586 and were unable to complete the project, requiring registration for zero credit hours until the project is completed.