Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership
The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Cal State LA is built around four program goals:
- Educational Leadership in the Service of Justice, Access, and Social Change,
- Leadership Grounded in Knowledge and Expertise in Teaching, Learning and Organizational Change,
- Critical Reflection Embedded in Leadership Practice, and
- Leadership that Engages with the Broader Community
With emphasis placed on leadership in practice, the program fosters expanded understanding of the many contexts in which educational leadership takes place. It focuses on the expertise, scholarship, and community-based inquiry necessary to advance all students’ rights to an education that supports social and economic justice and academic success. The program aims to develop leaders who engage in collaboration with members of diverse urban communities to analyze how the policies and practices of educational, political and legal institutions have addressed issues of access, equity, and full democratic participation. The program goals are woven through the three emphases offered in the Cal State LA program: Educational Leadership for System and School Redesign; Educational Leadership for Urban Teaching and Learning; and Educational Leadership for Students' Special Needs and Supports.
Students will select an emphasis area when applying to the program and incoming cohorts will be balanced with students from each area of emphasis. Course work will consist of core courses taken by all students in the cohort and courses specific to the emphases will be taken by students specializing in those areas. To provide students with peer support and faculty advising and mentoring from entry to the doctoral program through completion of the dissertation process, each session students will enroll in small lab courses (laboratories of practice) led by faculty members whose scholarly and research expertise match students’ interests. In this way, students not only benefit from the collective knowledge, experience and interest of a diverse cohort but also from the ongoing collaboration and participation in research-related activities that small peer-group settings can best provide.
