Educational Psychology is the application of the discipline of psychology to education, encompassing the scientific study of human learning and learning processes. Study of the learner, learning and teaching from cognitive, behavioral and social perspectives substantially informs educational practice, necessitating its inclusion as an essential component within education training. In this course, students study major psychological theories, developmental frameworks and motivational principles as they relate to learning, discerning the corresponding implications for effective learning environments and classroom practice in order to promote the success of all learners in the 21st century learning environments.

This course introduces learners to the epistemological foundations of educational research and the major paradigms while highlighting the importance of ethical considerations. The course provides the learners with the skills to become critical consumers of research and addresses the basic ethical and planning requirements for conducting educational research. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method designs will be presented and discussed while providing opportunities to critically reflect on the adequacy of each approach to answer particular research questions. Action research will be covered, especially in relation to it relevance to school contexts and ability to enable leaders to make informed decisions. The overall research process will be addressed and learners will apply the principles covered through reviewing and critiquing research articles and preparing a small-scale literature review and specifying the corresponding research question.

This foundational course provides an introduction and critical analysis of a range of leadership theories and practices in the development of 21st century learning environments. It includes a critical examination of how different perspectives on leadership can inform practice for educational leaders, managers, and administrators and how such practice aligns with and promotes UAE’s cultural values. Furthermore, it offers an analysis of national and international standards for educational leaders and opportunities to identify strategic practices for success in a globally connected world. By the end of the course, participants critically reflect on their leadership beliefs and practices and support the development of a personal model.

This course presents an overview of general approaches to qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Students are introduced to descriptive and basic inferential statistics with the aim of allowing them to conduct appropriate analyses in their future practitioner research projects and interpret findings meaningfully. Students work with qualitative data analysis to identify common themes and patterns to inform their work as leaders in the field. Furthermore, the course provides students with the necessary skills and competencies to critically evaluate educational research findings and their implications to practice.

This course is designed to provide an understanding of national and international educational systems that are engaged in the global education reform movement. Candidates critically analyze the development of curricula over time and the purposes behind the emergence of curriculum standards in contemporary times. The future prospects for individualized and informal learning in education will be considered in the context of the region to plan for a movement from the curriculum of the past to 21st century expectations in a dynamic developing environment. By evaluating, comparing, contrasting and analyzing a range of curricula, candidates critically analyze the expected outcomes of students in different contexts.

Within a framework of international educational issues this course considers the effects of change on education, teachers and professional staff, and educational leaders in the U.A.E. The course builds on leadership theory and current best leadership practice (including team-based approaches) to address the primary responsibilities of school leaders as change agents within their organizations. Strategies for planning, implementing and managing effective change are examined together with skills for organizational diagnosis, assessment practices, use of data and goal setting for organizational improvement and to support successful learning.

In this course, candidates will examine the multiple purposes of assessment within national and international educational contexts, and will analyze how they impact student learning. Principles of assessment will be critically analyzed and theoretical perspectives that support various assessment approaches will be explored. Candidates will explore a range of evidence-based assessment methods and will develop and implement their own classroom assessments. Further, the use of technology in the assessment and evaluation process will be critiqued.

This course will focus on the principal as the leader of learning and serving as an educational change agent within the school. Attention will be given to developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed for successful leadership. The focus will be on local challenges in educational leadership and strategies to support change.

This course examines models of organizational culture and organizational learning and also addresses implications for successful school leadership and continuous organizational improvement. It critically assesses the relationship between learning organization and individual and collective learning of members of the organization. The leader’s role in the development of organizational culture, including communication and conflict resolution is examined and course members complete a critical analysis of their own organization in relation to theoretical models and perspectives.

Using an ecological model, this course focuses on identifying benefits and challenges of fostering partnership arrangements towards improving student learning. Current issues in school-community relationships are discussed and research on school-community partnerships is surveyed. Several school partnership models are explored and critiqued. Based on good practice and informed by social contexts, opportunities are provided for students to identify and recommend strategies toward supporting successful collaboration between schools and community entities. By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze, design and implement educational partnership initiatives in government or private schools in the UAE.

The course prepares candidates to create, lead and support innovative educational entrepreneurship and philanthropic initiatives with the purpose of driving higher levels of academic achievement for all primary and secondary students in the United Arab Emirates. The course aims to inspire students with an entrepreneurial spirit to respond to the challenges of the starting-up process, and to develop their own venture plan; and reflect on what it takes to create, grow, sustain and support the innovation and transition toward institutionalization and long-term sustainability, while taking 21st century multicultural societies into consideration.

This three-semester 275-hour internship is designed to prompt graduate candidates to engage in increasing responsibility for leading, facilitating, and making decisions typical of those made by school leaders and administrators. The internship will be designed in collaboration between the mentor, faculty supervisor, and graduate student to assure experiences with the elements of the leadership or administrative services position. It is designed to provide the intern with practical leadership experience in an actual educational setting. The intern will have the opportunity to synthesize prior coursework and incorporate content into an operational framework for school development and improvement. Upon completion, students will earn and be assigned a grade of either Pass or Fail.