This course explores school finance principles and challenges, emphasizing budgeting activities like planning, data collection, development, communication, implementation, and monitoring. Topics include resource allocation, accounting, business management, organizational behavior, and data management. Students apply concepts and engage in discussions.

This course provides a theoretical and applied understanding of the general linear model in the context of continuous outcomes. Focus is on multiple regression with continuous predictors, dichotomous and multi-category predictors (i.e., ANOVA in a regression framework), and models that include combinations of these predictor types. Emphasis will also be placed on moderation and mediation, and model assumptions.

Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Leadership for Equity of Diverse Populations seeks to support special populations in schools. It proposes that effective leadership for all special student populations involves particular knowledge and requires a strong equity orientation.

This course provides a historical overview of major social problems and the social contexts, policies, and programs developed in response. Attention is paid to the experiences of vulnerable groups and processes and contexts that facilitate or constrain social change. Using a historical analysis, students gain an understanding of how policies, institutions, and organizations shape and respond to complex human needs and issues of social justice.

Data skills are essential in a world driven by evidence-based decisions. In this course, we¿ll explore how to transform data into meaningful insights for research and decision-making. Through hands-on practice with R programming, you¿ll develop skills in data wrangling, visualization, and analysis. Together, we¿ll examine how to critically evaluate data products, create compelling visualizations, and use evidence to address real-world challenges.

Independent Study

Directed Research under supervision of faculty member.

This course will examine the foundations of educational policy from critical theoretical perspectives rooted in the social sciences and humanities in a graduate level seminar intended for both disciplinary students and students pursuing specialized work in educational studies. The goal of the course is to examine from a variety of critical perspectives, the core issues that underlie contemporary debates over public and educational policy.

Students analyze the principles of excellent academic writing including research papers, conference proposals, & Capstones focusing on the development of a clear, interesting, & rigorous research paper. Students also receive detailed feedback on their writing. During editing & redrafting activities, attention is given to the structure & logic of the author's argument, the use of details & visuals, the placement of transitions, word choice, & flow.