M.Ed. in Leadership Courses

This course introduces students to the reality of schools as diverse spaces encompassing a range of student needs and examines efforts to ensure equity in education. Issues of race, class, culture, language, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and ability will be discussed and examined, especially how they intersect to reproduce inequality. Students will reflect on individual beliefs in relation to social justice education and democratic education and examine unintended consequences of policy/practice that create or perpetuate inequitable environments and opportunities in schools. Strategies for promoting educational equity and inclusivity will be discussed.

This course will examine intersectionality and the complex racial, gendered and class-based dimensions that perpetuate inequitable environments and opportunities in schools. We will explore critical race theory (CRT) and its theoretical relevance as a framework to examine and challenge disparate educational opportunities for students of color. The course will offer an examination of the policies, procedures and structures that perpetuate disproportionality and overrepresentation. This course will analyze assumptions about race, gender and class as well as how these dynamics play out in U.S. public schooling and history through political, sociological, theoretical and pedagogical lenses.

This course will examine disability through the lens of democratic education. The concepts of equity, ableism and “othering” will be examined through philosophical educational theories to unpack pervasive disagreement about the best methods for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. The course will explore repositioning schools as democratic spaces where diversity and individuality can be enhanced and better understood. Theories of democracy and democratic education will be explored as a means of creating a more socially just orientation of disability.

This course will examine the complexities of gender, identity, expression and sexual orientation in schools, as well as how their interrelated dynamics and complexities unfold in the history of U.S. schools to the present day. The course will explore the concepts of identity development and school structures that disenfranchise nonbinary and LGBTQA+ students and examine constructions of gender identity, sexuality, and equality and binary/nonbinary conceptions. The course will examine inclusivity and exclusion through an examination of gender models, perpetuation of stereotypes and implicit biases. The course analyzes key conceptual and methodological frameworks of gender, class, sexuality, power and intersectionality.

This course focuses on race, religion, culture and language through the lens of social justice education. This course will unpack bias and explore the diverse ways in which power and traditional structures intersect with different cultural, social, and religious practices. We will examine strategies for designing and creating safety in classrooms, schools, educational spaces and communities that honor students’ cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. The course will explicitly examine privilege, equity and cultural responsiveness in educational spaces.

This course introduces school leadership through the lens of equity, diversity, justice and belonging. The legal, ethical, social, and political landscape, including education reform related to PreK-22 and higher education in the U.S. will be the main focus of this course. Participants will explore education policy development, analysis, and change in schools and education organizations. The course will explore leadership frameworks and analytic methods to support course participants to design, implement, and evaluate policies at the school, community, and state level. The history of education reform in Massachusetts, as well as related federal, state and case law statutes, will be explored. Students will interrogate power structures within educational organizations, identify structural barriers, and consider how policy plays a role in both advancing and deterring educational progress.

This course focuses on preparing future leaders of schools to create inclusive cultures within schools. In this course, leaders will explore how to evaluate learning environments, with a specific focus on interrogating structural barriers within learning environments. Strategies for ensuring the environments are student-centered and inclusive of all students will be explored. Leaders will also explore how to ensure student assessment data is utilized to determine student learning, overall trends, and how to evaluate assessment data for bias and inequities. This course will also examine strategies for supporting and providing equity-focused feedback to staff.

This course will expose educational leaders to strategies for engaging with diverse stakeholders, including families, communities, and staff. Leaders will discuss how to build trusting and productive relationships with different groups of stakeholders, including how to break down structural barriers that may prevent or limit engagement from minoritized groups. Leaders will also explore methods to develop strategic relationships with the community, including organizations and businesses. Strategies for addressing concerns from diverse stakeholders in an equitable manner will be highlighted.

This course prepares school leaders to make decisions that are data-based, and equity focused. Utilizing multiple sources of evidence with inclusivity as a lens, leaders will analyze issues and challenges and highlight inequities, in order to make decisions that improve all students’ learning and experiences within schools. Data from the school, state, and federal level will be examined, with a focus on equity. Leaders will participate in inquiry-based practices to evaluate current practices within schools and will make changes utilize these data. The development of strategic and equity-orientated action plans and goals will be discussed, including how to measure the achievement of plans and goals and impact on student success.

This course will highlight financial principles and budget management in schools. Economic and demographic data will be analyzed, using a lens of inclusivity, to determine how and why financial decisions are made within schools. Leader candidates will review local, state, and federal education budgets and will evaluate equitable management of resources and ways to ensure budgets are informed by input by diverse stakeholders, including community members, families, and staff. Strategies for recruitment, hiring, and retention of diverse staff will be discussed, as well as HR policies and procedures that contribute to an anti-oppressive and inclusive culture.

Capstone experience integrating the coursework of the Leadership Masters’ Program into a clinical experience. Students spend a minimum of 300 hours in a supervisor/director role. They work with qualified practitioners in partner school districts to gain teaching experience while assuming gradual responsibility of supervisor/director role. A weekly seminar accompanies the clinical field experience.

Graduate clinical licensure additional practicum, based on previous experience/consultation with advisor. Candidates spend an additional semester in supervisor/director placement to gain experience while assuming gradual responsibility of the supervisor/director role.