Inclusive Education

| Program Description | Program of Study | Transfer Credits| Admission Application |

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Department of Inclusive Education: 770-423-6577

The focus of the Concentration in Inclusive Education is to prepare teacher leaders who are committed to creating culturally responsive educational environments that ensure that all students, including those with disabilities and/or those who are culturally and linguistically diverse, have equitable opportunities for achieving high academic standards in the state-approved curriculum. The program of study deepens and broadens the knowledge and skills of the candidates in their content by emphasizing eight essential components of preparation, including: (a) recognition of one's own ethnocentrism; (b) knowledge of students' cultural backgrounds as well as their cognitive and learning abilities; (c) understanding of the broader social, economic and political context; (d) ability and willingness to use culturally appropriate, positive behavior management strategies; (e) commitment to building caring classrooms that are intentionally inviting and inclusive; (f) understanding and use of research-based practices in general education environments; (g) the ability to analyze school wide, complex problems and resolve issues such that all teachers, students and parents are supported and successful; and (h) an understanding of global issues in education and how they translate into the education of students in the United States. The program of study is predicated on the assumption that in successful schools teachers collectively hold a powerful belief system of high expectations that rejects deficit assumptions about students, their cultures, abilities and life circumstances.

Back to Top

PROGRAM OF STUDY

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION IN LEADERSHIP FOR LEARNING
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

COMMON CORE COURSES IN DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP
TOTAL: 27 Semester Hours
EDL 8000 Foundations of Distributed 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

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION CORE COURSES
TOTAL: 15 Semester Hours
EDUC 8325 Creating Culturally Responsive Schools
EDUC 8350 Increasing Achievement of Diverse Learners through Practical Application
EDUC 8375 Practicum in Cross-cultural Communication & Global Learning (9 hours)

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ELECTIVES
TOTAL: 12 Semester Hours from the following
EXC 8305 Critical Issues in Administering Special Education Programs
EXC 8310 Inclusive Policies & Practices in Special Education
EXC 8315 Supervision, Mentoring and Collegial Coaching in Special Education
EXC 8320 Special Education Administrative Internship
EDUC 8330 Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms
EDRD 8360 Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners
EDRD 8365 Literacy Instruction for Students with Disabilities
EDUC 8340 Planning, Implementing & Assessing Instruction for Diverse Students
EXC 9300 Critical Issues in Student Learning
EXC 9350 Doctoral Directed Study

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.

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. program director.

EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST DEGREE: 33 SEMESTER HOURS
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION DEGREE: 42 SEMESTER HOURS
TOTAL: 75 SEMESTER HOURS

Back to Top

TRANSFER CREDITS

Transfer Credits
Up to 15 post-master's graduate semester hours of comparable transfer credit may be accepted by the Doctoral Admissions Committee toward completion of the requirements for the Ed.D. program at KSU. Transfer credit will not be accepted for the core course requirements that are central to the program's distinctive focus and to the development of the program's cohort expertise. Consequently, transfer credit considerations will typically be restricted to courses in the concentration, guided electives, and the initial course in applied research methods. Decisions about the acceptability of transfer credit will be made on a case-by-case basis. To request transfer credits please refer to the admissions requirements section to complete the appropriate paperwork.

Back to Top

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

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