About the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

The Joint Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is offered through a partnership of Cal State San Marcos and UCSD. It is designed as a professional degree for P-12 school and postsecondary leaders who will develop advanced leadership and research skills related to the advancement of the P-12 educational community. Fifteen to twenty new graduate students will be admitted each year. The program is designed for the working professional educator who will attend classes on weeknights and weekends. The program is designed to be completed in 36 months. This program views the students' workplace as a powerful laboratory for their own study. Students will conduct research on professional practice within their own institutions, addressing specific local problems that have national implications for teaching and learning, school reform, and professional development. Students completing the program will receive a joint degree from UCSD and California State University San Marcos.

 

What is the Program Focus?

The program is grounded in a desire to attain diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in educational institutions. Ensuring the success of all learners will be a common element in all course work. Students will take courses designed to develop four specific leadership capacities that form the foundation of the program. They are: (1) Leadership for Learning; (2) Leadership for a Diverse Society; (3) Leadership for Organizational Change and; (4) Leadership for Organizational Development. The program prepares leaders for culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse educational settings.

 

Four Leadership Capacities

Leadership for Learning: The foundation of this Joint Ed.D. rests on the belief that the work of school leaders must always attend to the common objective of increasing student achievement. Learning to apply the effective tools of leadership requires the acquisition of flexible communication skills, creative decision-making capabilities, a collaborative approach to problem solving, and the confidence to take calculated risks. At its core, effective leadership depends on one's ability to advance the skills and dispositions of the adults involved in the instruction of students.

Leadership for a Diverse Society: Leadership for a diverse society requires diversity of designs, practices, and solutions. Candidates in the Joint Ed.D. program will learn to implement inclusive practices, not only as a matter of policy, but as a matter of personal commitment and understanding of how institutions are historically transformed as a result.

Leadership for Organizational Change: Developing leaders who are prepared for and understand the importance of organizational change is a program priority. Meeting the needs of an evolving educational system will require leaders who support a myriad of strategic innovations that will lead to positive changes in their organizations. Candidates will focus on developing critical habits of action to support effective problem solving, build leadership capacity within institutions, and alter institutions in ways that significantly improve the learning condition for their students.

Leadership for Organizational Development: The program will help individuals design personal professional growth plans and encourage them to actively support each other as they work to implement their plans. This experience will help graduates understand the importance of building leadership capacity within their educational organizations. One of the essential features of the program is the development of a community of learners who have experience creating safe, reflective environments for academic study, risk taking, and the practice of academic leadership.