Introduction to Educational Administration I
This course examines conceptual foundations of educational administration with the aim of using theory and research to solve the problems of practice. The focus of this course is on the school as a social system with special emphasis on teaching and learning, structure, politics, decision making, and quality outcomes. The class will include discussion and analysis of cases, examination of experiences in schools, and the application of theory to practice.
Our goal is to go beyond simply participating in these activities and use experiences together with relevant theory and research to expand your understanding of the school as a social system. In particular, we will deal with the following set of guiding questions:
Guiding Questions
- What is the nature of the social as a social system? What are the critical elements of the school social system? How do these elements affect each other?
- What kind of school structures enables teachers to be effective? How can structure be a positive force in teaching and learning? What are the negative consequences of structure? How can they be avoided?
- How can principals empower teachers? How does one make power legitimate in the school? To what extent is school politics dysfunctional to the operation of the school? What are the political games and tactics that face administrators and teachers? How can the administrator avoid destructive school politics?
- What models of decision making are most useful to school administrators? To what extent can school decision making be rational? What are the forces that impede rational decision making? What kinds of decisions are “good enough”?
Click Here for Course Syllabus (Intro I)
Introduction to Educational Administration II
This course is an extension of Introduction to Educational Administration I. The focus of the course remains on the school as a social system with emphasis on motivation, school culture, organizational climate, shared decision making, and leadership. The class will include discussion, analysis of cases, examination of your own experiences in schools, and the application of theory to practice. Our goal is to go beyond simply participating in these activities and use your experiences together with relevant theory and research to expand your understanding of school organizations, motivation, decision making, and leadership. In particular, we will deal with the following set of guiding questions:
Guiding Questions
- What is the nature of the culture and climate of your school? How do you measure school climate? How do you improve it?
- What are the basic principles of motivation? How do you use them to motivate students and teachers?
- How can principals empower teachers? When and how should you involve teachers in important school decisions?
- How can theories of leadership, participative management, motivation, and school culture be used to solve administrative problems of practice?
Click Here for Course Syllabus (Intro II)
Organizational Theory and Research in Educational Administration
This is a course in research and theory for educational organizations. The focus is to explain organizational and administrative behavior in schools and examine sound theoretical research. Relevant theories are used both to generate research hypotheses and to solve problems of practice.
Course Objectives
Students will:
- Gain knowledge about historical and theoretical foundations of educational administration.
- Gain knowledge about the structural, cultural, political, and individual elements of educational organizations.
- Gain knowledge about decision-making and motivation theories.
- Gain knowledge and understanding about variables and hypotheses in scientific research.
- Apply the knowledge gained from these theoretical perspectives to solving actual administrativeproblems.
- Synthesize theory and research in a selected area of organizational behavior and develop a set of original hypotheses.
Click Here for Course Syllabus (Organizational Theory and Research)