Educational Leadership, M.Ed.

Program Description

The M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program instructs aspiring school administrators in current scientific research, pedagogy, and instructional technology. Students are empowered to maximize school effectiveness and improve supervision and leadership skills in diverse P-12 school settings. Students will develop the strategies required to lead for learning, including creating a school-wide vision and using data to inform decision-making. The program is aligned with Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) for effective leadership and is designed to create culturally aware and competent administrators.

Program Outcomes

Collaboratively lead, design, and implement a school mission, vision, and process for continuous improvement that reflects a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, equity, diversity, digital citizenship, and community.
Understand and demonstrate the capacity to advocate for ethical decisions and cultivate and enact professional norms.
Develop and maintain a supportive, equitable, culturally responsive, and inclusive school culture.
Evaluate, develop, and implement coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, data systems, supports, and assessment.
Engage families, community, and school personnel in order to strengthen student learning, support school improvement, and advocate for the needs of their school and community.
Improve management, communication, technology, school-level governance, and operation systems to develop and improve data-informed and equitable school resource plans and to apply laws, policies, and regulations.
Build the school’s professional capacity, engage staff in the development of a collaborative professional culture, and improve systems of staff supervision, evaluation, support, and professional learning.
Conduct, synthesize, and apply research to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult in the school.

Mission Statement

The M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program prepares committed, competent and ethical leaders to contribute to the professional education community. Through systematic problem solving and data-driven decision making, students create highly effective learning environments and become positive, reflective, and responsive leader practitioners.

Course List (34 Total Semester Credits)

Leadership Courses (24 Semester Credits)

Literacy Course (3 Semester Credits)

LIT5243 - Leading Literacy Improvement

Research Course (3 Semester Credits)

RES5173 - Research Methods for Educational Leaders

Internship Experience Course (3 Semester Credits)

Capstone Experience Course (1 Semester Credit)

Concurrent enrollment with internship course, 5 week format
EL5091 - Capstone Experience for Educational Leadership

Note

EL5981 Educational Leadership Internship Hours Completion

Is required for students who need to document additional internship hours before enrolling in the EL5983 internship course.
Is available for students who need to document additional internship hours after the successful completion of the EL5983 internship course to satisfy specific state requirements.

Note for Florida Educational Leadership Students

Graduates of this program are required to take and pass the FELE examination and provide scores to ACE in order to be endorsed as a completer and eligible for Florida Principal Certification.
Educators in Florida who hold a master’s degree and are interested in adding Certification in Educational Leadership should review the requirements in the Florida Modified for Educational Leadership .

Notes for Texas Educational Leadership Students

Information about ACE’s Educational Leadership program performance (pass rates) over the past five years is available on the Texas Education Agency’s website.
Information about the effect of supply and demand forces on the educator workforce can be found on the EEP website and from Texas Workforce Commission
Texas Educational Leadership Students who wish to seek principal licensure in Texas will need to achieve an 80% or better on a practice examination within six months of testing approval request as outlined in the Texas Approval to Test Policy.

Internship Requirements for State Licensure

The Educational Leadership internship experience will be fully documented in a 10-week course designed to allow students the opportunity to engage in a variety of field experiences to enrich their professional growth, skills, knowledge, and attributes as school leaders. Students will apply academic learning to practice in the field and display competency through a series of projects. Details and requirements related to the experiences may be found in the Internship Toolbox in Student Commons. Students will receive a failing grade if the requirements of the internship are not completed by the end of the course. Those students will be re-enrolled in the internship course and will be required to pay all associated tuition and fees.

The Educational Leadership program’s internship requirement is a minimum of 120 clock hours, regardless of the requirements for the state in which the student intends to seek licensure. The Ohio approved ACE M.Ed. in Educational Leadership version requires an internship of 200 clock hours. The Texas approved ACE M.Ed. in Educational Leadership version requires an internship of a minimum of 160 clock hours. If candidates seeking licensure in other states need to complete additional hours to meet requirements for licensure reasons, they can request additional hours to be evaluated through submitting a request form.

Location of School-Based Internships, Field Experiences, and/or Student Teaching

Internship, student teaching, and/or field experience activities are designed to be compatible with the US school system. In order to best support students, ensure appropriate supervision and equivalent experiences, students must complete all field experiences and/or internship activities in the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Students with special circumstances (such as working at a Department of Defense School) may apply for a Clinical Experience Exception Approval.

American College of Education does not offer visas or other types of work permits. Securing any necessary authorization is the responsibility of the student. All admitted students must be eligible to work within and agree to complete all requirements in the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Clinical Experience Exception Approval Process

Clinical experience is defined as any required experience in a school setting including field experiences, internships, and/or student teaching. Students in special circumstances may seek approval to complete their internship, student teaching and/or field experiences outside of the jurisdictions listed above. Special circumstances include, but are not limited to, Department of Defense schools or American-based international schools. Students may not enroll in a course with an internship, student teaching, and/or other field experience component without being granted prior approval for the field experience location by the appropriate department through the process outlined in the applicable handbook.

Students are required to inform the College should their clinical experience location change at any point during the academic program.

Professional Licensure, Certification, or Endorsement

This program is designed to prepare students for eligibility for principal/building administrator licensure or endorsement.
This program has been approved and meets the principal/building administrator licensure requirements in the states of Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas.
This program does not prepare residents of Georgia for principal/building-level administrator licensure. Residents of this state will be required to sign an acknowledgment form to that effect upon application to the program.
Prospective students are strongly advised to verify the benefit(s) for which they may be eligible upon completion with their state’s licensure agency prior to enrolling in an American College of Education degree or certificate program.