CSU Chico Educational Leadership and Administration

CSU Chico Educational Leadership and Administration

ProgramSummary

ProgramDesign

TheEducationalLeadership and Administration Programislocatedinthe SchoolofEducation undertheleadership oftheSOEdirector and the EducationalLeadership and Administration programcoordinator. Boththe directorand the programcoordinatorserve ontheSchoolof Education Governance Council, which is the coordinatingand internaladvisorycommitteeforthe SchoolofEducation.This councilfacilitates communication, consistencyand collaboration amongprograms of the Schoolin regard to Schoolandprogramoperation,credentialingand accreditation.Theprogramcoordinatorchairs meetingsof the EducationalLeadership and Administration Programfacultyand supervisors whomeetatleastoncepermonth to share informationabout the credentialprogram, changes inadmission requirements,andupdatesfrom the CaliforniaCommissionon TeacherCredentialing.

Curriculumoversightattheuniversitylevelisprovidedbythe All-UniversityResponsibilityfor TeacherEducation Committee(AURTEC), which is composed of the DeanoftheCollege of Communicationand Education;the Dean ofthe College ofHumanitiesand Fine Arts;the Dean of Graduate, InternationalandInterdisciplinaryPrograms; the Directorofthe SchoolofEducation; the Coordinatorofthe LiberalStudiesProgram; the Chairofthe EducationalPoliciesand Procedures Committee(EPPC)ofAcademic Senate,and facultyrepresentingArts and Sciences SubjectMatterPrograms.AURTECprovides programand policyoversightforallprograms of teacherpreparation,includingboth undergraduatesubjectmatterpreparation programs and teachercredentialingprograms. Significantchangestocredentialandsubjectmatterprograms are communicatedtothe ProvostbyAURTEC.

TheEducationalLeadership and Administration ProgramatCSU, Chico is organized aroundthe followingfive leadershiproles:Role 1:Leaderas PrincipalTeacher;Role 2:Leaderas Purposeful Manager;Role 3: LeaderasInquirer, Reflector, and Connector;Role 4:LeaderasCommunity Organizer;and Role 5: Leaderas Change Agentin a Democracy. Theleadership rolesand accompanyingcandidateoutcomesalignwiththe California StandardsforProfessionalLeaders (CPSELS)and California Commission onTeacherCredentialing(CCTC)programstandards.

Candidates complete the requirements forthe EducationalLeadership and Administration Credentialin atwo-yearcohortsystemthattracks candidatesthrough a developmentalsequence oflearningand structured field experiencesthatmeetthe requirements forthe Preliminary Administrative Services credentialandalso allow studentsto obtain aMaster’sdegreein Education,EducationalAdministrationOption.The cohorthelps candidates acquire networking contacts andskills essentialto theirsuccess as leadersatthe school, district,orcountylevels. Someflexibilityis designed into the cohortsystemtoallowadministrative candidatesand administrative intern credentialholdersto participate in theadministrative credentialprogram together.Thecohortdesign isintended toreflectbestpracticesforadultlearningwhile recognizingthatworkingprofessionals at times needflexibility.

Learningactivitiesincoursesandfield-embeddedexperiencesprovidefortransferoftheoryto practice.Theinfusionmodel,inwhichtopicsareintroducedexplicitlyinspecificcoursesthen addressedingreaterdetailandrelatedtoteachingandlearninginsubsequentcoursesandfield- embeddedexperiences,ensuresthatcandidates’understandingofteachingandlearningprocesses iscontinuallyinterrelatedandreinforced.Nosignificantprogrammodificationshavebeenmade to the programin the pasttwo years.

TheSchoolofEducationAdvisoryBoardprovidessupport,feedback,resources,andguidanceto enhancethequalityanddevelopmentofcredentialprograms.TheSOEAdvisoryBoard representsconstituentsfromavarietyofschoollevelsandgeographicregionsintheservicearea. TheBoardiscomposedofthedirector,theassistantdirector,thepathwaycoordinators,three schoolsiteadministrators,fourcooperatingteachers,twocredentialcandidates,twoalums,and oneBTSArepresentative.Additionally,theSchoolofEducationstayscurrentonthepoliciesand prioritiesoftheschooldistrictsthroughrepresentationontheNortheasternCaliforniaTeacher EducationCollaborative(NECTEC),whichincludesthedirectorsofthethreeBTSAinduction programsoperatinginthe12-countyserviceareaofCSU,Chico.NECTECmeetsthreetimesper yearandfocusesoncommunicationabouttheoperationofprofessionalpreparationandinduction programs.

EducationalLeadershipandAdministrationProgramsitementorsarealsoencouragedtooffer feedback oncandidates. A training and focus group event with each cohort that includes mentors, candidates and faculty provides a forum for feedback and discussions aboutprogram quality and processes. Graduates provide additionalfeedbackthrough completion ofan exitsurveyat the endoftheirprogram.

CourseofStudy (Curriculumand Field Experience)

Through a systematic programofstudycandidateslearn about leadership roles and concepts of democracyand democraticschoolandclassroompractice. Candidatesbegin withthe foundational courses EDAD612 School Leadershipand EDMA600Critical Perspectives in Education. Nexttheytake EDMA610Introduction toInquiry in Educationtolearn skillsforaccessing, comprehending, planningand conductingresearch studiesand basic statistics. In EDCI601 and EDCI602 theylearn aboutcurriculumdevelopment instructionaldesign andassessmentand evaluation oflearning. Leadershipforeducationalequityand accessis the focusofEDAD609. In EDAD610 theyacquire and practicethecommunication skills necessaryforschool administrators. In EDAD611 theystudysupervisionand staffdevelopmentforschool improvement. Theylearn howto manage fundsand facilities in EDAD613and theylearn about thelawandeducationin EDAD 614. In theirlastsemestercandidatestake EDAD615 Field Based Accountability:Managingfor Learningan extendedfield-based capstone course and EDMA696 Synthesizing ExperienceinEducationtoin ordertosynthesize theirlearningandprepareforthe MAin Educationcomprehensive exam. Candidates have the option of a thesis or project as a culminating activity. In this case candidates would replace EDMA 696 with EDMA 611 and EDMA 699.

Each course intheEDADcoursesequence includesfield-embedded experiences thatprovide candidates with opportunities toapplytheleadership knowledge, skillsand dispositionsthatthey acquirethroughoutthe programto theirfieldexperiences.Theyparticipate inanintensive field experiencesintheirlastsemester duringEDAD615 Field Based Accountability:Managingfor Learning.Theparticipationofsitementorsand otherschooldistrictpersonnelwho have knowledge and experiencein schoolleadership extends and enhancescandidatelearning.

Toaccommodate thefull-time scheduleofmostcandidates, courseworkin the Educational Leadership andAdministration Programis offered in both hybrid-online and weekend formats.

Bydesign, the programprovides multiple opportunities forcandidates tolearnhowto maximize academic achievementforallstudents. Candidates demonstratetheircompetencyon allcandidate outcomes through formative and summative assessmentsin course andfieldembedded experiencesunderallfive leadership roles. Understandings and experiencesassociated with

maximizingacademic achievementforstudents ofallethnic, race,socioeconomic,cultural, academic,linguistic orfamilybackgrounds;gender, genderidentityand sexualorientation; students with disabilitiesand advancedlearners;andstudents with acombinationofspecial instructionalneeds occursmostdeeplyin EDAD609Leadershipfor Educational Equity and Access andassociated assessments. A recent modification to the program requires each candidate to engage in two experiences at schools with diverse populations (other than their own schools.) Additionally, the programincorporates multi-media technologies throughoutallcourses.

Field-embedded assignments are afeature ofeach EDADcourseintheprogram. Thesefield experiencesprovideopportunities forcandidatesto make connections between whattheyare learningintheircourses and applytheseunderstandings at theirschools. Each candidate works with a universitysupervisorandsitementorto develop a field experience plan. Thisindividualized plan must(a)be comprehensive (i.e., multiplesites, programs, levels, organizationalentities,and demographics),(b)addressboththestrengthsand learning/experienceneeds of the candidate, and (c)be tiedtothe California ProfessionalStandards forEducationalLeaders(CPSELs), as wellas address NCATEand CCTCstandards.Candidates meet with site mentors and university supervisors in two face-to-face meetings at the candidate’s site. These meetings take place at the beginning and end of the school year. One additional meeting to check for progress takes place mid year. This supervised field supervision experience takes place over the two-year term of the program. Field experience progress is reflected in the portfolio.

AssessmentofCandidates

Throughoutthe program,multiple assessmentmeasures areused to monitorand evaluate candidate’s developmentofthe knowledge, skillsandprofessionaldispositions needed byhigh qualityadministrators. Thesemeasuresinclude pre admission application including recommendations and initial writing sample,formativeclassroom-andfield-basedassessments, as wellas keysummative assessments, includingfieldobservations, midtermreview, finalportfolio evaluation, exitinterviewand comprehensive examination(fortheMAdegree). Assessmentdatafor these assessments are includedBiennialReports submitted to the CTC.

Candidatesareinformedofprogramexpectations,includingtheportfolio,andtheresources availablethroughtheinitialprogramorientationmeetingheldpriortothebeginningoftheir programandeachsemesterthereafter. Theylearnaboutprogramrequirementsthroughthe throughtheEducationalLeadershipandAdministrationProgramHandbookandthroughclear coursesyllabithatlinkobjectivesandassessmentstoprogramleadershiprolesandcandidate outcomesandCPSELs.Candidatesareprovidedadditionalinformationregardingtheprogram throughouttheircourses.Candidatesaregivenmanyopportunitiestoaskquestionsandseek clarificationthroughouttheirprogram.