Bulletin/Catalog Year 2019-2020
Martha Dickerson Eriksson College of Education
Department of Educational Specialties
Dr. Thomas Buttery
Chair, Department of Educational Specialties
Professor
Location: Claxton Building, Room 304A
Phone: 931-221-7518
Email: butteryt@apsu.edu
Dr. Sherri Prosser
Assistant Professor
Doctoral Coordinator
Phone: (931) 221-7516
Location: Claxton Building, Room 309
Email: prossers@apsu.edu
The doctoral program in Educational Leadership is designed for professionals working in schools or other institutional settings. Program faculty are committed to the creation and study of environments that promote lifelong learning for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. The program is designed for working professionals attending the university part-time to complete the program in three years.
The program requires 60 credit hours, a comprehensive examination and a dissertation. There are 39 hours of core courses, 9 hours of approved elective courses, and a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation research. Students will typically take two courses each spring and fall and three courses each summer. Specific graduation requirements are provided below. Courses are conducted face-to-face, online, or in hybrid format; face-to-face courses are offered either on weekdays after 4pm or on Saturdays. Students have the option of an administrative licensure or a non-licensure pathway.
The doctoral program in Educational Leadership aims to enhance the knowledge and competencies of leaders so they may provide optimal conditions for the education of youth and adult learners. The program is designed to enhance intellectual understanding of leadership theory and policy, deepen leadership capacity, and position students for elevated organizational responsibility. The objectives of the program are to prepare leaders who (a) are inquiring, reflective practitioners; (b) are competent in identifying and solving complex problems; (c) understand the multitude of leadership and organizational theories and techniques related to their professional settings; (d) value, encourage, and facilitate the professional development of self and others in their organization; (e) value, understand, and support diversity in their organizations; (f) make contributions to the profession; and (g) make data-driven decisions.
Austin Peay State University is a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, which is the knowledge forum on the EdD. It has a membership of over 100 schools of education in the United States and Canada that working collaboratively to improve professional preparation in education at the highest level.
This program is intended to prepare practicing educational professionals to draw on educational theory and research, and the expertise of colleagues and faculty, to address the pressing problems of practice facing educational leaders today. Those with an EdD may work in a variety of higher education institutions, K–12 district- and school-level settings, private schools, non-profit organizations, businesses, and government. This program is not intended to prepare educators for tenure-track faculty positions in research-intensive universities.
Students seeking administrator licensure—the TN Instructional Leadership License-Beginning (ILL-B) will need complete additional coursework, fieldwork, and testing prior to applying for administrator licensure. Review the Tennessee Department of Education website for details: https://www.teaching-certification.com/teaching/tennessee-principal-certification.html. Please note you must have a minimum of three years of P–12 teaching experience prior to beginning licensure courses.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the College of Graduate Studies application requirements of an application fee, official transcripts, and official GRE scores, the Educational Leadership Doctor of Education program requires:
- A master’s degree in any field from a regionally or nationally accredited institution;
- A minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00;
- Resume or curriculum vitae;
- Statement of Purpose: Describe your purpose for pursuing this degree, your qualifications, and long-term career goals. Additionally, please include how your research, work, and life experiences have prepared you for this doctoral program (not to exceed 500 words);
- Essay: Given the important issues facing educational leaders today, what specific problem of practice are you interested in investigating during your doctoral study? Discuss the potential underlying causes for, or contributing factors related to, this problem and one or two strategies for change that might result in more equitable outcomes for the students or adults in your context, including citations and reference (not to exceed 750 words);
- Optional writing sample: Provide an example of past scholarly writing, including citations and references;
- Two (2) letters of recommendation
- One letter from a professor with whom the applicant worked in a graduate program who can speak to the applicant’s competency to conduct rigorous scholarly work,
- One letter from a school or organization official who can attest to the applicant’s qualifications to pursue a doctorate and the impact the applicant has had on his or her professional practice; and
- An interview via videoconferencing software with the doctoral admissions committee.
Applicants who are also seeking administrator licensure must submit the following additional components:
- Three letters of support from current or former employers describing the applicant’s potential as a leader;
- Past job performance evaluations;
- Personal philosophy of education;
- Leadership assessment;
- Valid professional teaching certificate;
- Successful teaching experience for a minimum of three years prior to taking the initial licensure class; and
- Interview with a team consisting of members of the doctoral faculty and members of the community with knowledge of and/or experience in educational leadership.