Educational Leadership, Administration and Foundations

Masters of Education (M.Ed.) –School Administration & Supervision

Program Description:

Masters of Education PictureThe 39 credit hour M.Ed.-School Administration and Supervision program prepares students for positions of leadership as school administrators. The M.Ed. program fulfills, in part, the requirements for the Building-Level Administration License prescribed by the Division of Professional Standards, Indiana Department of Education. In order to qualify for the Building-Level Administration License, the student must complete the M.Ed. school administration and supervision program, must hold an Indiana teaching license, must present evidence of at least two years of teaching experience, and must pass the state licensure examination. A person who already holds a master’s degree leading to other teaching licenses may qualify for the Building-Level Administration License by completing the Post-Master’s, Non-Degree License Program for School Administration.

The distinct features of the program include:

Principal Internship Experience:

The Principal Intern Program, founded in 1971, is designed to provide students with a rich, 8 month long field experience (Fall and Spring semesters) under the guidance of a principal mentor and faculty supervisor. Students engage in 10 hours/week of school administration work in one’s own school or in another easily accessible school. In-field work is augmented by once per month Saturday seminars with other interns. The program is structured to provide an opportunity to apply course content knowledge to real issues of administrative practice and to the development and refinement of leadership skills and competencies. The Principal Intern Program is a 12 credit hour experience (ELAF 758 & ELAF 793) that students take sometime after completing ELAF 650, 681, and 655 at a minimum. For more information, please consult the Principal Intern Handbook.

Participation in the Principal Intern program requires a supplemental Intern Program Application, signed by the supervising principal mentor and that also includes 3 letters of recommendation using the evaluation form included in the Intern Program Application packet. Applications are to be submitted in the spring semester prior to beginning the experience in the Fall semester.

Information on scholarship and grant opportunities:

There are a variety of sources of funding to support your studies. The federal, state, and institutional opportunities can be found on the School of Graduate Studies website. The department also has some limited scholarship and grant award opportunities (ranging from a few hundred dollars to $1-2,000). These are typically awarded every Spring via application from students who are enrolled in the program. Thus, you would be eligible once you have begun your studies. Please let the ELAF Office know of your interest so you can be contacted once the award programs are announced, generally in mid-March.

Program Curriculum:

While course sequencing is generally patterned, the curriculum is sufficiently flexible that a person can begin coursework in any semester or over the summer. A student who takes 2-3 courses per semester, including during the summer, can be finished with the program in two years.

ELAF605 Philosophy of Education—3 hours. Educational theories and practices are analyzed using the concepts and skills of philosophy.

ELAF650 Foundations of Educational Leadership—3 hours. Emphasis on theories of leadership, management aspects of leadership, vision building, professional ethics, working with groups, educational program development, and the political, social, cultural and legal aspects related to educational leadership.

ELAF655 Legal Aspects of School Administration—3 hours. Origin and development of school law with emphasis given to its application in contemporary school problems.

ELAF656 School and Community: Collaborating for Effective Schools—3 hours. Practices and procedures that may be employed to develop mutual understanding between the citizens of a community and their public schools.

ELAF681 The School Principal: Leadership for Changing Schools—3 hours. A study of the role of the school administrator as it is concerned with instructional staff and programs, educational vision and values, diverse student needs, team leadership, continuous school improvement, change, and the effective leadership and management of the school setting.

ELAF683 Leadership for Learning Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment to Support Improved Student performance—3 hours. Designed to provide emphasis on foundations and concepts of curricular and instructional leadership related to organizational patterns and practices, staff productivity, team building, special needs students, instructional technology, curriculum trends, and the change process. Students and program assessment will focus on applying assessment to improve teaching and learning in the classroom.

CIMT 660 Curriculum Fundamentals (or ELED 660)—3 hours. An introductory course in curriculum which includes the foundations and meaning of curriculum, principles and patterns of curriculum, forms and ways of organizing curriculum, development of curriculum for special groups, forces and processes in curriculum change, current criticisms of curriculum, and curriculum for the future school.

EPSY 621 Life Span Development—3 hours. Students will undertake a thorough examination of developmental changes that occur throughout life. In addition to milestones of development, mechanisms of development and psycho-educational strategies to facilitate optimal development are considered.

CIMT 610 Research in Education—3 hours. Instruction in the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to plan and understand research. Topics include library use, scientific methodology, observation, measurement, selection of a question, design, data collection, analysis of data, and generalization from data.

OR

COUN 620 Foundations of Research—3 hours. Instruction in behavioral research. Topics covered include scientific methodology, measurement, observation, data collection, statistical analyses, design of experiments, interpretation of and generalization from data.

OR

EPSY 620 Foundations of Qualitative and Quantitative Research—3 hours. Introduction to qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in behavioral sciences. Topics covered include scientific methodology; measurement; evaluation; quantitative/qualitative designs; data collection; data analysis; interpretation of and generalization from data.

PLUS the Culminating Principal Internship Experience

ELAF 758 Principal Internship—6 hours. Practicum for students in the principal internship in a school under the joint supervision of a certified school administrator and the University. This course is designed to provide students with practical experience related to principal certification standards. A portfolio will be developed to show performance activities that meet certification standards.

ELAF 793 Seminar in Effective Practices for Principals—6 hours. On-campus, regional seminars, and directed study on a variety of contemporary topics related to effective practices for principals. Such topics may be related to leadership and human relations, culture and climate, curriculum and educational program improvement, career planning, staff development, crisis intervention, educational technology, maintenance of facilities, professional ethics, and power and politics.

How to Apply:

Admission Requirements:

  1. Bachelor’s degree with a major in an appropriate area from an accredited college or university with minimum GPA of 2.50.
  1. Minimum GPA of 3.25 on all graduate work attempted.
  1. Hold or eligible for an Indiana teaching license.
  1. Minimum of 2 years full-time teaching experience.
  1. Additional requirements for admission and/or progress toward the degree may be applicable. See the Graduate Catalog from the School of Graduate Studies.

Application Materials Required:

  1. The bulleted items below are to be sent to the ELAF Department via
    email attachment : ELAF@indstate.edu or Fax : 812-237-8041 or Mail to : ELAF Office, 1202 College of Education,
    Indiana State University,
    Terre Haute, IN 47809
    • Resume/vita
    • Personal Narrative of professional goals and past experiences.
    • Documentation of all licenses and certifications held.
    • Letter of recommendation from one’s school principal or other person able to comment on one’s potential as a school administrator.
  2. The items below are to be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies:
    • School of Graduate Studies application submitted on-line.
    • Official transcripts from each undergraduate and graduate institution attended sent to the School of Graduate Studies.
    • Official GRE scores sent to the School of Graduate Studies.
  3. Students preparing for their principal internship experience are to fill out the application available for download.

Failure to submit all of the above items in a timely manner can delay your admission decision.

GRE information:

We do not have minimum performance expectations on the GRE nor do we use GRE scores in isolation from other components of your application given that the research on its use for admissions decisions emphasizes the benefits of the GRE in combination with other application elements. However, stronger scores are always more advantageous than weaker scores. Thus, we advise that students take the time to adequately prepare for the exam, including purchasing a test prep guide, and/or consider taking a test prep course. Guide materials can be obtained from most bookstores. The GRE can be scheduled and taken at any Sylvan or Prometric Learning Center and your unofficial scores will be available to you immediately after the exam given that the test is taken on computer. Please email your unofficial scores to the ELAF Office immediately after taking the exam to: ELAF@indstate.edu since your official scores will generally not be received by the School of Graduate Studies for approximately 3 weeks.