EDU 797: Leadership and the Art of Change Management

Credit Hours: 3

Estimated Hours Per Week: 20

Overview

“Good leaders change organizations; great leaders change people.” (Hoerr, 2005, ¶1) Great education leaders change students into life-long learners and create communities of practice that are learner-centered. Whether serving as teachers, principals, department heads, superintendents, or Chief Learning Officers, education leaders of the 21st century create a vision of the future that blends action with possibility. In their role as leaders they create a culture of education that allows individuals to make sense of the world, while establishing a culture of shared beliefs, values, and symbols (Bruner, 1996).

Today’s education leaders face many opportunities and challenges. They must address issues of curriculum and assessment; be accountable to their stakeholders; be responsive to community members; be proficient change agents; and be exceptional politicians and communicators. They must also stay current with best practices in management and leadership, as well as education theories, policies, research, and learning and instruction. These tasks demand that they:

Foster education excellence
Develop high-functioning institutions and individuals
Manage curriculum development, learning, and instruction
Set and maintain standards of assessment and accountability
Develop and administrate policy
Lead change
Manage conflict
Challenge the status quo
Develop new leaders
Embrace globalization
Navigate the education marketplace

This course, designed to blend theory with practice, investigates these leadership topics and provides a venue for students to develop their own philosophy of leadership and identify opportunities to lead within their own learning community. The course materials, assignments, and discussions assist students in their effort to integrate leadership principles and skills into their day-to-day activities and their action research projects. Leadership is a personal journey. Coming to know one’s leadership attributes requires a thoughtful analysis of competence, purpose, and opportunity.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Analyze and evaluate research in the areas of leadership and change management.
Investigate leadership concepts and use this knowledge to create thoughtful statements of leadership.
Analyze and evaluate how the day-to-day work of leadership advances (or impedes) learning organizations and individuals.
Create a personal leadership portfolio.

ENROLLMENT

To enroll in this course, please complete the online application.

Required Texts
EDU 797 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore