Ed.D. in Leadership for Learning
Concentration: Elementary & Early Childhood Education

The Elementary Education & Early Childhood concentration is designed for teachers in Pre-K through fifth grade. This program of study provides the skills necessary for elementary and early childhood education teachers to become active members in a variety of distributed leadership roles at the elementary school level or to pursue a track as a teacher educator at the college and university level. Candidates in this concentration develop in-depth knowledge and skills in the areas of curriculum and instruction. Through their ability to synthesize and apply the latest research in curriculum decision making, they demonstrate leadership as change agents for students and education.

The concentration is aligned with NCATE and PSC standards and is consistent with the Bagwell College of Education conceptual framework. Graduates model leadership as experts in teaching and learning. They demonstrate leadership as mentors to support and guide pre-service teachers to improve teaching and learning for all.

Graduates will be advocates for curriculum improvement while specializing in the art and craft of teaching. Through a thorough theoretical base of curriculum development, understanding of global education issues, and an appreciation for the philosophical inquiry and ethical issues in education, graduates will become the change agent of tomorrow's schools. Understanding, implementing and evaluating the Georgia Performance Standards while addressing the requirements of No Child Left Behind will be an interwoven aspect of all the EECE courses.


COMMON CORE COURSES IN DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP
TOTAL: 27 Semester Hours
EDL 8000 Foundations in Leadership for Learning
EDUC 8100 Advanced Study of Learning
EDUC 8300 Intercultural Communication and Global Learning
EDRS 8000 Applied Quantitative & Qualitative Research
EDL 8100 Critical Issues in School Transformation
EDRS 8900 Applied Field Research
EDRS 9100 Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
EDRS 9200 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
EDUC 9800 Doctoral Seminar

ELEMENTARY & EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CORE COURSES
TOTAL: 12 Semester Hours
ECE 8100 On the Shoulders of Giants:
Philosophic and Ethical Foundations for Teacher Leaders
ECE 8110 Contemporary Curriculum Inquiry
ECE 8130 Assessment of and for Learning
ECE 8140 Current Critical Issues in Elementary Education and the Teaching Profession

ELEMENTARY & EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CONCENTRATION
TOTAL: 15 Semester Hours from the following
ECE 8120 Critical Analysis of Instruction and Learning
ECE 8150 Technology Enriched Curriculum
ECE 9100 Cognitive Processes and Educational Practice
ECE 9110 Classroom Communities for Maximized Learning
ECE 9120 Mentoring Future Teacher Leaders
ECE 9140 Internship for Developing Teacher Leaders
ECE 9220 Curriculum Decision Making K-5
or
ECE 9230 Curriculum Decision Making Birth – 5 years
ECE 9250 Teacher Leaders and School Reform

GUIDED ELECTIVES
TOTAL: 12 Semester Hours
Candidates will use guided electives to expand their breadth of their course work and expertise beyond that specialty area of their concentration or to delve deeply into timely critical issues through in-depth scholarship in directed study or special topics courses for the purpose of increasing their leadership potential and career opportunities in schools. Candidates may use guided electives to broaden their knowledge of goals by selecting international and multicultural opportunities for study or to seek additional endorsements and deepen their expertise in high need areas such as ESOL and reading. Candidates may select these hours with the approval for their concentration advisor and Ed.D. coordinator.

DISSERTATION
TOTAL: 9 Semester Hours
The Dissertation will follow commonly accepted standards in doctorial education for structure, format, sophistication, and creative contribution, within a field-based problem-solving focus on significant applied research that improves schools and student learning through planned and sustainable change. The prospectus as well as the final product of the candidate's dissertation research will be defended and judged in relation to the program's 8 Performance Outcomes, many of which should have been advanced substantially by the dissertation experience. The Ed.D. dissertation is expected to make a creative contribution to advancing the practice of educators and the applied professional literature of the field of education.

TOTAL: 75 SEMESTER HOURS


For more information you may contact
the Office of Graduate Programs in Education at
770-423-6043 or send us an email.
We are located in Kennesaw Hall Room 3026.

For additional information on certification, please e-mail Kelli Oxford koxford@kennesaw.edu, Certification officer in the Teacher Education Advisement Center at KSU.