The EdD curriculum consists of the 24 Knowledge Areas (KAs) listed below. To earn an EdD degree, you must complete the four required KAs from the Core Curriculum, plus four other KAs of your choice from the Elective Curriculum. KAs function as expanded courses; most KAs are equivalent to 10 traditional course units.  Woven through the curriculum are Linkage themes: Action-oriented research; systems thinking and intervention; diversity; information systems; education and learning.

Core Curriculum

ELC 751 Action-Oriented Research
Introduction to research from an action-oriented perspective.
The overview of this KA focuses on the dimensions of research
and the cultures of inquiry; the depth explores research design
principles; the applied is the application of those principles to
a project or learning opportunity which allows for practice in
research design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation.

ELC 752 Leadership and Change
Role of leaders and managers, and theories and concepts of
leadership. This KA explores fundamental values, beliefs, and
attitudes in a changing society. Students investigate durable
coalitions of people organized around common goals, link the
art of leadership to the concept of change, and investigate the
”what“ and the ”how“ of change—how it evolves and how it
can be accomplished.

ELC 753 Systems Thinking and Intervention
Analysis of systems thinking: what it is, how it evolved, and
current approaches. This KA examines how to apply systems
thinking to education issues; how a system relates to other
systems, large and small; the dynamics and flow of information
within the system; and the use of systems thinking to
understand the interconnectedness of actions, organizations,
and social systems.

ELC 769 Structural Inequality and Diversity
Examination and critical analysis of the educational system to determine the conditions that create and maintain social stratification and disproportionality. This KA explores how inequality is constructed in society, how it functions in social institutions. It emphasizes the transformation of schools into equitable and just places for all students to learn, a challenge to the leadership of educational systems.

Elective Curriculum
Students choose four electives from any area below.

ELC 754 Area of Specialization
Students designate an area in which they have a special interest or expertise as a Knowledge Area.

ELC 755 Area of Research Specialization
Students designate a specific research practice as a KA, then
work with a faculty member to design a program which includes
exploring and practicing the methodology chosen.

Administration and Policy

ELC 756 Ethics, Education, and Law
Educational law and morality: ways in which the law, by nature, cannot be separated from morality. This KA examines theories of law and its relationship to social and ethical values. Students explore how leaders can help others working through moral dilemmas associated with the law.

ELC 757 Organizational Theories
Functions of theory: interrelationships between theory, science, practice, and research. This KA presents classic and contemporary organization theories and how they relate to trends in education and other institutions. Students develop a theoretical perspective associated with leadership and becoming a change agent.

ELC 758 Public Policy
Understanding literature that focuses on public policy, pedagogy, and leadership. This KA covers contemporary urban educational reform movements, related policy issues, and the role of major players in setting policy. Students evaluate the effect of policy on change in public education and other settings.

ELC 759 Management Theories and Practice
Improving educational institutions and other organizations through improved management practices. This KA examines how to avoid old mistakes and face problems and challenges with confidence. Topics include government intervention in education, the organization as a target of legislative reform, solving problems before they become unsolvable, and improving management strategies.

ELC 760 Community Relations
Roles of school, business, and community partners in providing best educational practices for students. This KA emphasizes working with the power structure and applying techniques to improve community relationships. Students learn to recognize and build symbols of group identity and achieve social cohesion.

ELC 761 Budget and Finance
Students learn how to lead educational financing and understand budgets at every level: department, school, district/institution and state/federal. This course includes school finance, aspects of school business administration and legal issues.

ELC 780 The Community College
A reflective study of the history, context, leadership, vision, and contribution of community colleges. Local environments, diversity, degrees/certificates, governance, curricular and professional dimensions as well as best practices, concepts, and trends will be discussed.

ELC 782 Higher Education
A reflective study of the history, leadership, and mission of higher education.

Interaction and Development

ELC 762 Capacity Building
Understanding organizational, educational, and developmental dimensions. This KA examines staff development, mentoring, group dynamics, the psychology of professional/personal development, institution building, and personal dimensions in education. It also covers the effects of social change and the relationship of research and theory to practice.

ELC 763 Human Development in Context
Effective development and lifelong learning for leaders. This KA covers intellectual honesty and humility, ethical behaviors associated with leadership, and the articulation of purpose and practice. Students develop transformational and transactional leadership skills that contribute to their educational and human progress as whole persons.

ELC 764 Forces of Motivation
Competencies in self-reflection, critical consciousness, vision, and creativity. This KA covers cross-disciplinary historical influences on adult learning theory, current trends in adult learning, and the psychology of motivation. Students apply the principles of lifelong learning to personal and educational systems.

ELC 765 Interpersonal Communication and Collaboration
Theory and process of interpersonal communication for effective listening, sending, confrontation, problem solving, and conflict resolution. This KA examines cybernetics, information theory, linguistics, nonverbal communication, written communication, and gender and cross-cultural differences.

Power and Change

ELC 768 Rethinking Schools and Organizations
Critical pedagogical approach to creating systemic change in schools and applying dynamics to fit the students' distinctive needs. This KA presents homeostatic forces versus innovative forces to promote change, as well as stages for school improvement including climate, technology, curriculum, and organization. Students develop synergistic insights on schooling and the ecology of good schools.

ELC 770 Creativity and Problem-Solving
Recent advances in cognitive sciences: theories and practices underlying creativity and problem solving. This KA encourages students to use critical thinking, imagination, and knowledge to create visions of the future, solve complex problems, and examine the challenges of effective teaching through the use of innovation and critical thinking.

ELC 771 Theories of Educational Change
Feminist, multicultural, neo-Marxist, and postmodern educational theories. This KA concentrates on positive change as it generates new learning, new commitments, new accomplishments, and greater meaning. Students evaluate theories related to educational change and identify new paradigms for educational change.

ELC 772 Information Systems and Change
Structure, function, and procedures for developing information systems associated with change. This KA covers selecting appropriate equipment and interfacing with instructional information systems. Students explore the power and influence of information systems as well as their relationship to the history of change.

Teaching and Learning

ELC 774 Redefining Curriculum
Curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation. This KA explores how to meet the needs of a diverse learning community. Students become familiar with current movements in curriculum; appropriate use of technology; hands-on and theoretical aspects of redefining curriculum; and the role of staff, parents, students, and community.

ELC 775 Theories of Learning
Exploration of learning theories in the context of how children and adults learn. This KA deals with philosophical, theoretical, and social bases of learning; terminology, historical background, acquisition, etiology, and problems; societal, instructional, and personal dimensions; and the relationship of research and theory to practice.

ELC 776 Program Evaluations, Theory, and Application
Gathering comparative information and evaluating results. Students learn how to place results within a context for judging size and worth and how to make results more credible through careful choice of the evaluation design. Students create a systemic evaluation of a program and develop pragmatic steps for improvements.

ELC 777 Cultural Influences in Education and Organizations
The purpose of education in a democracy: diversity and equal outcomes. In this KA, students examine key levels of instruction such as vocabulary, language, and learning styles; concepts of culture, cultural values, and cultural environments; approaches to inequality; and the quest for equal educational opportunity.

ELC 778 Technology, Learning, and Teaching
Technology as a tool for communicating, learning and teaching. This KA explores technology as an essential learning experience; interfaces multimedia with learning and teaching; examines data and research collection; and applies technology to administration and academic improvement, with sensitivity to its effects on culture and values.

ELC 779 Child Development
Physiological systems and perspectives on child growth and development. This KA focuses on health, safety, and nutritional needs associated with optimal early child development. Students use multidisciplinary approaches to plan and implement child development programs and examine family involvement.

ELC 781 Media Studies
This KA applies psychology, communication, and system theories to media in diverse ways, aggregating and applying learning to technology. Topics include pscybermedia, artificial intelligence, understanding physical and emotional aspects of the brain, psychologies of expression, persuasion, sexuality, and gender. Believability, cognitive learning and mapping, mastery, persistence and failure will also be studied.