PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Overview of the Program
Mercer University's Educational Leadership Program was developed to assist leadership candidates in the development of leadership knowledge and skills. The program is designed for individuals who wish to prepare themselves for administrative or supervisory positions of leadership. The program will fulfill the requirements for the Master's degree in Administration and L-5 certification by the Professional Standards Commission.

The design for Mercer's Leadership Program was based upon input from many sources. Mercer's education faculty met on several occasions to discuss various components of the program. During these meetings, topics of discussion included conceptual framework, philosophy of the program, objectives of the program, curriculum development, delivery systems, scheduling possibilities, program personnel and library holdings.

In addition, input was obtained from local school system personnel as to what school practitioners would like to see in such a program. Organizations such as the University Council for Educational Administration and the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration were consulted during the program development phase. The current standards from NCATE and PSC were carefully reviewed and employed in Mercer's program design. In fact, the educational leadership program at Mercer is based upon the most current national standards in educational leadership, the revised ISLLC standards of 2002, from the Education Leadership Constituent Consortium (ELCC).  The quest to be thorough led Mercer faculty to review other leadership programs both regionally and nationally. Specific attention was given to programs nationally that were NCATE approved and employed ELCC standards. Top of page

The review of these programs and current literature reveals a range of practices. However, during the past few years, concerns about the preparation of educational leaders have arisen. These concerns have brought about some reform in leadership preparation programs. The realization is emerging that there is a need to blend theory and practice. Internships are being designed to give leadership candidates a taste of dealing with real school concerns. Colleges and universities are working with local public school personnel to develop partnerships for the preparation of educational leaders.

Mercer's Educational Leadership Program has been designed to provide leadership candidates with a solid blend of educational theory and practice. The curriculum leadership strands were developed around the current concepts, ideas, and topics leadership candidates should be exposed to during their program of study. A great deal of effort was undertaken to determine the content and experiences to be offered in the program. Mercer's conceptual framework, curriculum strands, NCATE/ELCC standards, Professional Standards Commission Standards and program outcomes were a guide in the development of course outlines in the Master's program, thus providing a tightly designed curriculum within and across courses.

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The Educational Leadership Program is guided by the unit's conceptual framework, To Know, To Do, To Be, and its theme "The Transforming Practitioner." The transformation-tradition philosophy as described by Jackson (1986) fosters fundamental, qualitative changes in the learner that go beyond incremental changes in the quality of knowledge or skills. The unit's faculty believe that an educational leader who contributes to the transformation in his/her faculty and students is successful in bringing about enduring changes in the school's disposition and character. This philosophy captures the essence of the educational leader preparation program at Mercer.

The educational leadership program supports the unit's conceptual framework by preparing educational leaders to become "transformational leaders." As is noted in the conceptual framework, all candidates are to become transforming practitioners who will possess the ability to "test ideas, questions and critique knowledge, analyze and evaluate data, solve problems and demonstrate an understanding of the teaching/learning process as it relates to the development of the whole child."

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The transformational leader is to be the catalyst in this process, becoming the "living link" between the student and learning. It is the belief of the Tift College of Education faculty that an effective educational leader must actively effect change in teachers who will impact students, thereby transforming students to become life-long learners who will apply their knowledge meaningfully and responsibly in a continually changing world. It is to this end that the transformational leader understands the value of experiential-based learning and effectively utilizes teachers' backgrounds and experiences to build future constructs of knowledge, constantly affecting a transformational process as the teacher grows, develops and learns.

The unit's conceptual framework - To Know, To Do, To Be - supports the educational leader candidate in the quest to become a transformational leader. As the educational leader candidate matriculates through a particular program of advanced study, it is important that he/she be able:

To Know – Foundation – leadership content and professional knowledge
To Do – Application – blending leadership theory and professional practice
To Be – Attitudes – characteristics of a "transformational leader"

The conceptual framework is consistent with the University and unit mission to prepare students to blend theory with practice (To Know and To Do), to think critically and interact effectively in a technologically complex, global society (To Be). It is solid in content and deeply ingrained in theory and research as it relates to current educational leader program practices. It is to this end that the following goals of the program were developed.

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Goals of the Educational Leadership Program

1. To prepare educational leaders for Georgia schools.
Research and experience indicate that principals and supervisors have a crucial role in the success of our schools. Real school improvement takes place in the local school setting. The opportunity to educate the educational leaders who will give direction to our public schools is significant and impactful. Mercer University seeks to prepare dynamic leaders who will be transformational in the professional community.

2. To meet the growing demand for highly trained school leaders in Georgia.
Many public school officials have talked to Mercer University's faculty informally about adding a program for preparing principals and supervisors. The need for highly trained school leaders is becoming more critical for Georgia school systems

3. To provide an alternative for teachers seeking an advanced degree.
A leadership program will provide qualified teachers additional opportunities for personal and professional growth.

4. To develop partnerships with public schools and agencies.
Mercer University's Statement of Goals recognizes the importance of developing partnerships with other institutions and agencies to improve the educational and leadership development of the community.
Program outcomes were developed to support the goals and to develop transformational leaders. These outcomes are based on national ELCC standards and hold candidates to the highest of academic measures.

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Educational Leadership Program Outcomes

Candidates who complete the master's degree program are educational leaders who will be able to promote the success of ALL students by:

1. facilitating the development, articulation, implementation and stewardship of a school vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.

2. advocating, nurturing and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

3. ensuring management of the organization, operations and resources for a safe, efficient and effective learning environment.

4. collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs and mobilizing community resources.

5. acting with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner.

6. understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal and cultural context.

7. synthesizing and applying program knowledge and skills through substantial, sustained, standards-based work in real settings.

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Program Responsibility

The unit for the educational leadership program is the Tift College of Education. Undergraduate and graduate programs are housed at one or more of the following sites: Macon, Eastman, Henry County, Douglas County and Atlanta. The educational leadership program will initially be offered at the Atlanta, Henry County and Macon campuses; however, all program admissions and operations will initiate in Henry County. Two new faculty members will be hired and housed at the Henry County campus.

One of these faculty persons will be responsible for program admissions and coordination. Both will be responsible for advising candidates, coordinating placements and supervising internships and teaching courses in the program. In addition, five current faculty members have degrees in educational leadership and will provide support to this program in varying capacities.

Educational leader candidates will be supervised during summer internships by new educational leadership faculty, adjuncts (preferably retired principals and/or superintendents) and current faculty with expertise in the field.

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Proposed Course of Study

Mercer's Educational Leadership Program has been designed to provide leadership candidates with a solid blend of educational theory and practice. After extensive research of nationally accredited programs, the following curriculum leadership strands were developed around the current concepts, ideas and topics leadership candidates should know and be able to do upon completing the M.Ed. in educational leadership. Each of these strands is correlated in a related syllabus in the program.

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Curriculum Leadership Strands:

Mercer's conceptual framework, curriculum strands and program outcomes were a guide in the development of course outlines in the Master's program thus providing a tightly designed curriculum which ensures that all leadership candidates will receive a core knowledge base. Please see the Projected Sequence of Courses, Program Advisement Planning Sheet, Course Descriptions for an overview of the content addressed in the educational leadership program.

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Unique Program Elements

In addition to course content, the Educational Leadership program provides additional unique aspects to support the leadership candidate in meeting program standards. The Leadership Academy, the Leadership Portfolio and the Online Leadership Network will assist candidates as they transform into highly effective educational leaders prepared to meet today's challenges.

The Leadership Academy
Each year in the leadership program a carefully planned series of academies will be conducted. Faculty, with input from students, will jointly plan yearly leadership academy activities that will provide unique experiences for our leadership students. These experiences will both complement and enhance the leadership curriculum.

Most academy topics will relate directly to program objectives or our listing of curriculum strands. By bringing in a wide selection of presenters, our students will be exposed to diverse ideas and methods. Leadership academy presenters will be selected based on their expertise in a particular area. These activities could be held on Mercer's campus or at various school sites. Our students from all program delivery sites, as well as other school system officials, will be invited to come together for a large group learning experience and exchange.

During their leadership program at Mercer, students will have the opportunity to attend several such events. Three leadership academies will be conducted each year. For example, during a two-year leadership cycle, students would have the opportunity to attend at least six academies. Students will be required to attend four out of six academies (documenting attendance in their leadership portfolio). Academies will be scheduled on Friday and Saturday far enough in advance for students to plan their schedules accordingly.

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The Leadership Portfolio
Each student in Mercer's Leadership program will maintain a leadership portfolio. The leadership portfolio will be used as a formal student assessment tool. As is noted in the Curriculum and Performance Matrix, candidates will submit assignments to their leadership portfolios as a requirement of each course in the program. A rubric will be used to assess portfolio outcomes.
Leadership portfolios will be utilized by the leadership faculty to provide data for curriculum planning and program revision. However, the primary purpose of the leadership file will be to "showcase" work samples and experiences of our leadership students.

Procedures:
• A leadership portfolio will be established for each graduate student in the leadership program.
• Students will be required to place one or more designated assignments in the leadership portfolio from each course.
• Each student will be responsible for the maintenance and the updating of his/her portfolio via WebCT.
• The leadership portfolio will become the property of the student upon graduation or withdrawal from the program.
• Documentation for each leadership academy, workshop or seminar attended will be maintained in the leadership portfolio.
• Tift College of Education will retain a copy of each student's leadership portfolio.

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The Online Leadership Network

One unique aspect of Mercer's Leadership Program will be the establishment of an on-line leadership network. This network will allow each leadership candidate the opportunity via a personal computer and modem to communicate with other members of his/her cohort group and Mercer's Leadership Faculty. The bulletin board network will provide a forum where on-line discussions can take place on various topics and issues in educational leadership.

For instance, the following question could be posted on the bulletin board for discussion by faculty and students: "If a local school principal is considering the implementation of site based decision making in his/her school, what factors/steps would need to be considered?" Students and faculty would be able to initiate questions and responses on the network to the above question.

Every student and faculty member will be given Mercer's online URL and assigned a password. By using this password, students and faculty will have access to Mercer's on-line leadership network. Training for the faculty and students on how to use the Online Leadership Network System will be provided by Mercer's Instructional Technology Department.

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Description of Field Experiences: Internship and Mentoring

In accordance with ELCC Standard 7, candidates will participate in internship experiences that will allow them to synthesize and apply program knowledge and skills through substantial, sustained, standards-based work in real settings.

Internship experiences are an integral part of the leadership program at Mercer. The first internship experience will begin with the very first course in the program. Each course includes at least one assignment that must be completed in an internship setting. In addition, two sustained summer internships give the candidates an immersion experience of leadership practices.

The model designed for the educational leadership program requires the collaboration of the local school system and principals to support the educational leader candidates as they progress through their program. Mercer University will work with the school systems to choose mentors (highly effective leaders who have demonstrated superior leadership skills) to supervise the internship experiences.

Candidates will be required to shadow these administrator mentors four days per semester, completing class assignments, observations and leadership portfolio requirements. Two summer internships of three semester hours each will be jointly supervised by the summer building principal as well as a Mercer University supervisor. The two supervisors will work together to provide support and professional development for the leadership candidate.

To ensure diversity of placement requirements, each candidate will be assigned to one principal mentor during the first year in the program and a different mentor in a different grade level and school during the second year.

Before internships begin, faculty at Mercer University will conduct an orientation session with principal mentors to establish internship requirements and program goals and provide them with assessment instruments based on ELCC standards to provide feedback to the candidates and to inform program improvements.

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