Ed.D. in Education Organizational Leadership (EDDP)

EDDP 700 Transformational Leadership

Formerly EDOL 700. In this foundational course, the relationship between personal transformation and organizational transformation will be explored. Students will analyze their emotional intelligence, personal values, beliefs, inclusive leadership style, and engage in a 360 degree assessment to identify strengths and growth areas, which will be incorporated into a comprehensive Transformational Leadership Portfolio. The latest leadership theories and best practices will be used in developing a personal leadership philosophy and vision statement. Students will explore potential areas of transformational change and what drives them. 3 credits.

EDDP 705 Organizational Communication and Conflict Management

Formerly EDOL 705. This course examines the theories, structure, and processes of communication and conflict management found in effective organizations. Students will reflect on their own communication behaviors and learn strategies for engaging others in crucial conversations and coaching conversations as a means to manage conflict and improve relationships, accountability, performance, and morale. A communication audit of the student’s selected organization will be conducted, and a communication plan related to a current change effort will be developed. 3 credits.

EDDP 706 Team and Group Dynamics

Formerly EDOL706. This course explores the characteristics of effective teams, the stages of group development and team processes such as motivation, group cohesion, role assignment, and norms. The importance of the task and relationship continuum and strategies for addressing dysfunctional behavior will be examined. Students will apply the principles of group development and team building and evaluate team effectiveness. 3 credits.

EDDP 707 Organizational Theory and Development

Formerly EDOL 707. This course examines the body of organizational concepts and theories to build the students’ capacity to discover or invent effective means for creating transformational change. Major Organizational Development (OD) themes such as planned change, consultation, organizational culture, and meaning centered leadership will be explored. During this course, students will engage in an internal environmental process, employ future scanning techniques, and utilize appreciative inquiry methodologies to develop a compact change project within their existing organization. 3 credits.

EDDP 708 Strategic Thinking

Formerly EDOL 708. Each student will work within a selected organization, to develop a strategic plan to address a significant current issue or opportunity. Development of the plan will be based on systematic assessment of external environment, future trends, input from stakeholders throughout the organization, development of goals, and strategies using a collaborative process. Additionally, the course requires the student to examine their strategic thinking skills, to apply strategic leadership principles, and gain insights for improvement. 3 credits.

EDDP 709 Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability

Prerequisite: EDDP 708.

Formerly EDOL 709. Students will examine methods to develop, implement, and support evaluation and assessment efforts to determine the degree to which initiatives, programs, strategies, and interventions are implemented effectively and achieving the outcomes as intended. In addition, factors associated with plan implementation and accountability will be addressed. Students will focus on developing a Program Evaluation Plan based on a current change effort in their selected organization. 3 credits.

EDDP 720 Creativity, Innovation, and Sustainable Change

Formerly EDOL 720. Theories of innovation and creativity will be explored to initiate new forms of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Case studies and other readings offer an examination of how creativity, insight and innovation work together to create and sustain authentic change. Students will learn strategies to harness the power of meaningful innovation through collaboration, divergent and convergent thinking, planning, and action. 3 credits.

EDDP 721 The Ethics and Politics of Decision Making

Formerly EDOL 721. This course explores the role of organizational politics, power, values and ethical standards in decision-making. A significant focus is placed on various contemporary theories and practices for effective decision-making. Various models and frameworks for analyzing political problems are examined in depth. 3 credits.

EDDP 723 Innovation in Resource Management

Formerly EDOL 723. Students will survey innovative strategies in Human Resources (workforce development and training, management, motivation and creativity, assessing performance/compensation, and collective bargaining/labor-management relations) and Financial Resources (budgeting strategies, reallocation of resources to achieve strategic balance, maximizing assets/limiting liabilities). Students will explore, develop, and present an entrepreneurial plan for expanding resources within their organization. 3 credits.

EDDP 724 The Leader as Change Agent

Prerequisite: EDDP 700.

Formerly EDOL 724. In this capstone course, students will use their experience leading transformational change projects as the basis for this seminar on transformational change and the role of the leader as a change agent. Change models and organizational development (OD) intervention strategies will be analyzed in the context of the change experiences to determine best practices. The course will emphasize the importance of individual leadership development and reflection as a tool for continuous improvement. Students will develop findings, conclusions, recommendations for further change efforts related to their organization and share those in a scholarly manner. A final analytical paper, and creation of a Portfolio documenting the student’s leadership growth is required for Advancement to Candidacy. 3 credits.

EDDP 740 Writing for Research and Publication I

This course introduces students to the dissertation process early in their program and prepares them for success in writing assignments they will experience throughout the EDD coursework and dissertation development. It will focus on academic writing, APA guidelines, topic selection strategies, and advanced research skills necessary for designing and crafting a dissertation. Students will engage in library research to identify a researchable problem, develop a purpose statement, and write related research questions. Students will identify foundational theories related to their research topic, understand how to synthesize literature, and demonstrate proper citations of academic resources. 3 credits.

EDDP 741 Writing for Research and Publication II

Building on the material presented in EDDP 740, students will work on developing their academic writing and library research skills, as well as further exploring the literature to confirm researchable topics for their dissertation. Students will examine multiple routes for developing a dissertation focus and strategies for successful completion. Students will also identify a theoretical framework for their research and will create a related literature review outline and synthesis matrix to guide the development of the dissertation. 3 credits.

EDDP 742 Quantitative Research Methods

This course will enable students to become informed users and consumers of scholarly quantitative research and statistics. The focus of this course is upon the development of an understanding of the elements and structure of quantitative research, the statistical methods and processes that support it, and the development of skills necessary to analyze, develop, and complete quantitative research projects. Students will learn various types of quantitative methodologies, non-experimental research design, scales of measurement, quantitative purpose statement and research question development, population and sample, and statistical tools to analyze quantitative data. In addition, students will learn about reliability and validity measurements, data collection methods including survey development, and the application of ethical and legal standards to the quantitative research process. 3 credits.

EDDP 743 Qualitative Research Methods

This course will enable students to become informed users and consumers of scholarly qualitative research. The focus of this course is to develop an understanding of the elements and structure of qualitative research, methods and processes that support it, and the development of the skills necessary to analyze, develop, and complete a qualitative dissertation. Students will learn various types of qualitative methodologies, research design such as case study, grounded theory, phenomenology, and ethnography. Students will develop a qualitative purpose statement and research question(s), identify the population and sample, and use tools to analyze qualitative data. In addition, students will learn approaches for establishing reliability and validity, data collection methods including interview protocol development, and the application of ethical and legal standards to the qualitative research process. 3 credits.

EDDP 781 Developing the Dissertation, Chapter I

Formerly EDOL790. This course will guide students in choosing a research topic and beginning the process of writing their dissertations. Based on a review of literature, students will develop a proposed Chapter I of the dissertation. Students will write sections of Chapter 1, including the Introduction, Background, Research Problem Statement, Significance of the Study, Definitions, and delimitations tied to a Purpose Statement and Research Questions. This course is a prerequisite for Advancement to Candidacy. Graded on a Pass/No Pass basis. 3 credits.

EDDP 782 Developing the Dissertation Chapter II, Review of the Literature

Prerequisite: EDDP 781.

Upon fulfilling prerequisites for EDDP 781, students will collaborate with their Dissertation Chair to advance their research project. In EDDP 782, students will commence synthesizing a literature review for Chapter II. This entails crafting a concise and professional introduction to the topic, establishing a robust foundation for key variables, developing a conceptual/theoretical framework, conducting a meticulous literature review inclusive of seminal and contemporary works, and synthesizing the literature with support from a synthesis matrix. Upon completing this course, students will have produced a finalized Chapter II for their dissertation. Grading for this course will be Pass/No Pass. 3 credits.

EDDP 783 Developing the Dissertation Chapter III, Methodology

Prerequisite: EDDP 781.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of the essential components and principles underlying the methodology section of a dissertation. Through a comprehensive examination of research design, population and sample selection, data collection methods, and analysis procedures, students will develop the skills necessary to effectively outline and justify their chosen methodology. Emphasis will be placed on aligning the research questions, purpose, and hypotheses with appropriate research methods, as well as addressing ethical considerations and potential limitations. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to write a completed Chapter III. The course will be graded Pass/No Pass. 3 credits.

EDDP 791 Dissertation I

Formerly EDOL 791. After successfully completing the requirements for Advancement to Candidacy, students are eligible to secure a Dissertation Chair to guide their progress in developing an original research project. Students are required to complete an education and training program to receive a CITI or HIH Certificate to ensure that all research conducted exemplifies and promotes the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, social responsibility in the conduct of research. Building on Chapters I-III that they produced in previous courses (EDDP 781, 782 & 783), students will work with their chair and committee members to refine and update dissertation Chapters 1-3. In addition, students will develop all related data collection instruments, and prepare for appropriate field testing and coding for validity and reliability. Students will also prepare for the proposal defense by developing a presentation and an abbreviated abstract of their research. After successfully defending the dissertation proposal, the student will complete and submit an IRB application and prepare to conduct their dissertation research. This course is graded with an SP grading option until successful completion of the proposal defense. Upon successful completion of the proposal defense, grading is on a Pass/No Pass basis. 3 credits.

EDDP 792 Dissertation II

Formerly EDOL 792. In this course, students will implement the dissertation research methodology they developed after receiving IRB approval. Students will collect, analyze and interpret data, write up their findings, develop conclusions, recommendations for further research and implications for practice based on results of the study. Students will complete Chapters IV and V of the dissertation. They will defend their dissertation in an online oral defense and make all revisions required by their Dissertation Chair in consultation with their committee. Following the oral defense, students will send the dissertation to the University of Massachusetts Global Library for publication. This course is graded with an SP grading option until successful completion of the final dissertation defense. Upon successful completion, grading is on a Pass/No Pass basis. 3 credits.

EDDP 799 Dissertation Extension

Formerly EDOL 799. This course allows students additional time to complete the dissertation elements beyond EDDP 792. Students will continue to be enrolled in this course each session until successful completion of EDDP 792. Please see Tuition and Fees section of the catalog for the corresponding Ed.D. Continuing Candidacy fee. Graded on a Pass/No Pass Basis. 0 credits.