EDU 505 : Leadership: Theory and Practice

EDU 505 explores the theory and practice of leadership across a variety of cultures, genre, perspectives, and individual cases, where the kind and degree of leadership is essential for achieving educational objectives that promote peaceful human development. The history of modern thought about leadership is one of debate about the most effective ways of influencing behavior, whether for the sake of individual happiness or to bring about beneficial societal change. Nowhere is this problem felt perhaps more acutely than in schools and other educational institutions, where students, educators and, administrators form the nucleus of a socialization process the outcome of which affects all of us. As aspiring educational leaders and administrators, students conduct research on the most challenging and controversial issues within school systems, familiarize themselves with research-supported best practices in school leadership, and become intelligent consumers of research as it impacts the theory and practice of leadership generally. Course topics include Leadership Development; Effective School Leadership; School Reform and Restructuring; Organizational Development; Curricular Administration and Student Achievement; Resource Management; Preparing to be a School Leader; and Effective Professional Development.