Doctorate Courses: Professional Leadership

Courses

PLP 845: Introduction to Research Methods

This course introduces students to research methods at the doctoral level. Students will refine their research topics and begin to craft their research projects. This includes obtaining approval for their Institutional Review Board (IRB) application. Depending on the student’s intended methodology, the student’s course will explore either quantitative methods or qualitative methods.

PLP 846: Research Statistics

This doctoral-level course develops advanced competence in quantitative research methods and applied data analysis for professional and educational leadership contexts. Emphasis is placed on the integration of research design, measurement, ethical inquiry, and statistical analysis to support evidence-based decision-making. Students examine descriptive and inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, t tests, nonparametric analyses, chi-square procedures, correlation, and regression modeling, including multiple and logistic regression. Through applied SPSS activities, scholarly critique, and case-based analysis, students develop the skills necessary to design, analyze, interpret, and communicate quantitative research suitable for dissertation, capstone, and applied doctoral projects.

Notes

Formerly Data Analytics I

PLP 871: Special Educaiton School Law

This course is a study of the legislation and litigation involved with individuals with disabilities, specifically concentrating on those students from birth to 21 years old. The course covers the legal system at the federal and state level as well as critical litigations that have influenced the field of special education. Students will gain a deep understanding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), the major legislation governing the provision of special education services. Students will become familiar with federal statutes and regulations concerning assessment and evaluation procedures, due process and mediation, discipline, individual education plans (IEP’s), free appropriate education (FAPE), and the lease restrictive environment (LRE). This course will guide students in developing legally sound and educationally appropriate special education programming.

PLP 872: Advanced Educationl Proceduers for Exceptional Learners

The course provides knowledge of child development, prevalence, and etiology of health conditions that contribute to disruption in cognitive, learning, behavioral, and occupational performance in children. The course explores specific disorders and service provisions by the application of the foundations of genetic, brain science, and neurological processes. This course focuses on current best practices in curriculum, methods for adapting the general education curriculum, strategies for working with exceptional learners.

PLP 873: Special Education Supervision and Administration

This course covers disability policy, historical roots, policy, and legal perspectives, as well as effective, collaborative, and instructional leadership practices that support the administration of special education. The course explains the role of special education administrators in the development of Individualized Educational Programs, student discipline, placements, fiscal management, and legal issues. The course also prepares educators for the challenging role of special education leaders. This course provides leaders with tools to review programs, implement special education law, and build special education programs that effectively supervise and support teachers.

PLP 874: Special Educaiton Leadershp Practices

The course examines the essential elements that contribute to the construct of inclusive education and explores the implications for school leadership practice. This course examines the challenges that face the school leader, particularly in establishing a culture of inclusion, the implications of this at a classroom, school, and the role of government and non-government organizations in inclusion.