Why Educational Leadership at Barry?

Mission Statement

The mission of the Ed.D. program is to prepare professionals working in all levels of education to apply action research, leadership principles, and technology to improve education, and ultimately, student learning in schools.

Five themes are essential to the Educational Leadership Program:

• leadership
• the changing environment (economic, social, political, cultural, and technological)
• organizational design and redesign (people, structures, systems, and purposes)
• the enhancement of student development and programs
• conceptualizing and conducting continuous action research

Key Beliefs

The themes identified above are linked to each other through eight key beliefs that guide the program:

• Leadership qualities are not necessarily innate gifts, but can be developed in most people.
• Leadership has an important ethical dimension that cannot be overstated. We are each accountable for our own actions.
• Transformative leaders -- those who lead through others -- are of vital importance in today's increasingly complex society.
• Educational leaders must look beyond their own institutions and understand how to interpret changing conditions to improve student achievement.
• Leaders must possess the tools and know-how to redesign schools to become more responsive to the constituencies they serve.
• Educational leaders must know the art of action research and making provisions for feedback and correction.
• Important new knowledge created by changing conditions can be derived from close observation of practice.
• Learning theories and their application to improving education and student achievement is most effective when it is "co-created" between faculty members and students.