Leadership in the 21st Century must develop a variety of skills and an ability to contribute to the educational knowledge base. Education faces increasing pressure to change in order to meet the multiple and varied needs of students. Leadership in communication, collaboration, supervision, curriculum, technology, research and assessment will be required of all leaders including principals and teachers alike.
The Department of Educational Leadership is proud of its nationally and internationally recognized programs, which prepare educational leaders for the schools and students of the future. Faculties are deeply committed to providing skillful and knowledgeable leaders capable of responding to the challenges that lie ahead.
The Department of Educational Leadership established the M.Ed. in Educational Leadership to provide all educators with the background to meet the leadership demands of the 21st Century. Graduate coursework in communication, law, curriculum, research supervision, personnel, technology, site-based management, finance, higher education, and futures will help educators select the appropriate tools for specific jobs and successfully complete them. Studies in the foundations of curriculum and leadership will provide each educator with a solid knowledge base from which clear directions are taken and confident decisions are made.
Graduate Students in Educational Leadership may participate in a certification program, which leads to an endorsement in one of four administrative or supervisory areas.
Certification programs include:
Framework for Student Learning
At the master's degree level, the Educational Leadership Program at The University of Montana benchmarks its learner outcomes in the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards for School Leaders. The ISLLC Standards were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and member states in 1996, these standards serve as program benchmarks and are adopted at the best universities in the United States. Each course syllabus links learner outcomes to the standards, and they are assessed via a wide array of individual assignments including research and position papers, literatures syntheses and critiques, examinations, fieldwork projects, and professional presentations. As a culminating assessment of the degree, students engage in a portfolio development and presentation through which the assessment of these outcomes is measured in a synthesized manner, as described on the M.Ed. Culminating Portfolio Presentation rubric.
