EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Educational Administration: Principalship

Department of Educational Leadership

Interim Chair, Dawson Hancock

261-C College of Education Building

704-687-8856

http://www.uncc.edu/colleges/education/eart/

Degree

M.S.A.

Coordinator

Glenda Poole

Graduate Faculty

Professors

Bob Algozzine

John Gretes

Corey Lock

Jim Lyons

J. Allen Queen

Associate Professors

Claudia Flowers

Dawson Hancock

Richard Lambert

Ann McColl

Assistant Professors

Adam Friedman

Richard Hartshorn

Lisa Howley

Michael Jazzar

Grace Mitchell

Glenda Poole

Eric Porfeli

Chang Wang

Wayne White

MASTER OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

The mission of the Master of School Administration (M.S.A.) ) program is to prepare innovative, collaborative, effective, and reflective leaders who are prepared to develop school environments that ensure equitable and quality learning opportunities for a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse population and focus on improving the learning for ALL students. Program graduates qualify for two licenses; a PreK-12, Level 1 School Administrator’s license (Principal) and a PreK-12, Level I Curriculum Instructional Specialist license (Supervisor).

Program Objectives

Program objectives are aligned with the approved national standards of the Educational Leaders Constituent Consortium, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and the National Council for Accrediting Teacher Education. In particular there are six basic standards that serve as core curriculum components:

1) visioning for school improvement, 2) creating a positive school culture, providing an effective instructional program, and designing comprehensive professional growth plans, 3) managing the organizational, 4) collaborating with families and community, responding to diverse interests and needs, 5) acting with integrity, fairly, and equitably, and 6) interacting and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.

Additional Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, applicants must have a minimum of three years successful teaching experience, a Class A North Carolina teaching license or equivalent, a statement of purpose using guidelines provided the website (see http://education.uncc.edu/EART/SchoolAdmin.html), a complete resume showing evidence of leadership, a copy of the teacher license, and recommendations from school administrators who can attest to your potential success as a school principal. Application deadline is January 15 for enrollment in either the following summer or fall semesters.

Admission decisions are based on an analysis of applicant profiles made by program faculty and clinical instructors. Applicants with the highest profile rankings are invited to participate in interviews in March. Program faculty, clinical faculty, acting principals/assistant principals, and student interns serve on interview teams. These interviews are designed to provide the applicant an opportunity to show evidence of academic strengths, leadership potential, and personal characteristics. After the interview, the applicant will provide a writing sample from a given prompt.

The Master of School Administration Program faculty is committed to achieving diversity among the students admitted in each year's cohort group and will make admission decisions accordingly. The Graduate School will notify applicants of their admission status by mid-April.

Degree Requirements

The M.S.A. program requires a total of 48 hours in a combination of courses in educational leadership, research, technology, curriculum, and instruction. All students must complete a ten-month, full-time internship under the direction of a principal-mentor and a university supervisor. Prior to beginning the internship, the student must pass a written comprehensive examination. The exam challenges students to demonstrate a thorough and well-integrated understanding of the basic principles, research findings, and theories covered in their course work and apply these to educational practice and leadership situations.

Courses

ADMN6000 Topics in Educational Leadership (3)

ADMN6100 Fundamentals of Educational Leadership (3)

ADMN6105 Legal Aspects of Schooling (3)

ADMN6120 Instructional Leadership (3)

ADMN6130 Supervision of Instruction (3)

ADMN6140 Curriculum Leadership (3)

ADMN6161 The Principalship (3)

ADMN6410 Internship and Seminar Part I (6)

ADMN6420 Internship and Seminar Part 11 (6)

RSCH6101 Educational Research Methods (3)

RSCH7196 Educational Program Evaluation Methods (3)

EIST5100 Computer Applications in Education (3)

EIST6101 The Adult Learner (3)

Elective 3 Credit Hours at the 6000 or higher level

Capstone Experiences

The full-year internship requires the productive application of knowledge, skills, and dispositions, to the problems of practice. The experience provides a multitude of opportunities for the intern to progressively develop administrative competence. Interns are guided through their experience by their school-site mentor and university clinical supervisor.

Principal Fellows

Each year a limited number of scholarship/loans for persons seeking an M.S.A. as full-time students are available from the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (http://www.ga.unc.edu/Principal Fellows/). Funded by the North Carolina General Assembly to help highly qualified persons study school administration on a full-time basis, the program provides $40,000 over a two-year period and requires repayment with either four years of service as a school administrator in a North Carolina public school or monetary reimbursement of the original loan, plus interest.

Courses in Educational Administration

ADMN 6000. Topics in Educational Administration. (1-6) May include classroom and/or clinic experiences in the content area. With department approval, may be repeated for credit for different topics. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

ADMN 6100. Fundamentals of Educational Leadership. (3) The developing role of educational organizations in the United States and the societal and cultural influences that affect the delivery of schooling. Structure and organization of American schools, administrative and organizational theory, legal, moral, and ethical dimensions of schooling within the context of restructuring and reform. (Fall)

ADMN 6105. Legal Aspects of Schooling. (3) Education law for education professionals which focuses on the legal rights and responsibilities of students, teachers, and administrators and how these legal provisions affect educational policy and practice. ( Spring)

ADMN 6106. Legal Issues in Special Education. (3) Survey of federal and state statutory and administrative provisions governing the delivery of education and related services to exceptional students. (On demand)

ADMN 6107. School Law for Counselors and Related Professionals. (3) Legal issues and problems of special relevance to school counselors, psychologists, social workers, and related professionals who work with school-age children. (On demand)

ADMN 6110. School Leadership and Management. (3) Examination of school leadership and administration, focusing on the role, tasks, and responsibilities that accompany school-based leadership. (Summer)

ADMN 6120. Instructional Leadership. (3) Examination of research-based teaching/learning models and the relationship between instructional decisions and curriculum experiences. Dynamics of group development and problems/practices related to providing instructional assistance to teachers. (Summer)

ADMN 6130. Supervision of Instruction. (3) Corequisite: ADMN 6410. Introduction to clinical supervision and development of skills in classroom observation, analysis, evaluation, and assistance. Systems of observation, principles of adult development in school settings, techniques for conducting classroom observations and conferences, and development of staff development programs to remedy assessed weaknesses. (Fall)

ADMN 6140. Curriculum Leadership. (3) Examination of internal and external influences on curriculum formation and development at the building level with emphasis on development of administrative strategies for curriculum decision-making which are driven by staff involvement. (Spring)

ADMN 6161. The Principalship. (3) Examination of school administration focusing on the role, task and responsibilities associated with the principalship with special attention to the conceptual, human and technical skills associated with the principal. (On demand)

ADMN 6166. Educational Leadership. (3) Examination of leadership in formal organizations and social and behavioral science research concerning leadership ability with emphasis on educational organizations and the role of the leader in the accomplishment of organizational goals. (On demand)

ADMN 6410. Internship and Seminar Part I. (3-9) Corequisite: ADMN 6130. Full-time, academic year internship in educational administration designed to allow theoretical and course-based practical learning to be translated and interwoven into a supervised field-based experience. (Fall)

ADMN 6420. Internship and Seminar Part II. (3-9) A continuation of the internship experiences and seminar begun in ADMN 6410. (Spring)

ADMN 6490. Internship and Seminar: Administration. (3-6) Prerequisite: Department approval. Internship under the supervision of University and on-site personnel in a setting consistent with the student's professional goals in which the student will be involved in the diverse activities expected of the professional administrator. Seminars are held concurrently. (On demand)

ADMN 6491. Internship and Seminar: Supervision. (3-6) Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Internship under the supervision of University and on-site personnel in a setting consistent with the student's professional goals in which the student will be involved in the diverse activities expected of the curriculum-instructional specialist. Seminars are held concurrently. (On demand)

ADMN 6601. Seminar in Administration and Supervision. (1-3) Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Examination of selected areas of interest in educational administration and supervision. May be repeated for credit with departmental approval. (On demand)

ADMN 6800. Individual Study in Educational Administration. (1-6) Prerequisite: Permission of the student's advisor. Independent study under the supervision of an appropriate faculty member. May be repeated for credit. (Fall, Spring, Summer)