Leadership, Equity, & Inquiry

LEI-601. Doctoral Seminar 1. 1 Hour.

The Doctoral Seminar engages students throughout their doctoral journey and examines key themes about what it means to be a scholar-practitioner. Students will immerse themselves in the study of urban communities, education, and leadership through selected readings, discussions, and related activities. Further, this course creates a community learning environment and focuses on community, school, and organizational improvement.The first doctoral seminar focuses on an exploration of one’s own professional identity and the social context of one’s practice. Additionally, students will begin to reflect on a key problem of practice, its background, and the implications of its persistence.

LEI-602. Doctoral Seminar 2. 1 Hour.

The Doctoral Seminar engages students throughout their doctoral journey and examines key themes about what it means to be a scholar-practitioner. Students will immerse themselves in the study of urban communities, education, and leadership through selected readings, discussions, and related activities. Further, this course creates a community learning environment and focuses on community, school, and organizational improvement. The second doctoral seminar focuses on students’ continued exploration of their identities as scholar-practitioners and the implications that this poses for their work as a means of explicating the varied dynamics that inform their practice.

LEI-603. Doctoral Seminar 3. 1 Hour.

The Doctoral Seminar engages students throughout their doctoral journey and examines key themes in relation to what it means to be a scholar-practitioner. Students will immerse themselves in the study of urban communities, education, and leadership through selected readings, discussions, and related activities. Further, this course provides students with a community focused on community, school, and organizational improvement. The third doctoral seminar focuses on students’ unfolding understanding of a particular problem of practice, examining the implications of such shifts in thinking in relation to their continued doctoral journey. They also explore the utility of various research methodologies vis-à-vis this issue.

LEI-611. Globalization And Education. 3 Hours.

This course considers key topics in comparative education, exploring the intersection of education and globalization in select regions of the world including: Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, North America, and South America. Particular emphasis is placed on examining the dynamic interplay between politics, economics, and schooling. Furthermore, key consideration will be given to fundamental tensions inherent in the global system, as well as the role of indigenous/local cultures and their knowledges within the dynamic and contested milieu of the global economy.

LEI-612. Issues In Urban Education. 3 Hours.

This course explores various issues pertaining to urban education with a particular emphasis on educational policy, issues of justice, and community empowerment. Topics explored include neo-liberal policies, restorative justice practices, teacher and student wellness, inequality, community advocacy and activism, and so on. This course provides a broad but critical overview of key issues in the urban educational landscape.

LEI-620. Social-Historical Perspectives On Urban Education. 3 Hours.

This course examines the impact of society on schools, with an emphasis on the changing landscape of urban education. Topics considered include globalization, demographic transition, racial/ethnic inequality, the marginalization of linguistic minorities, stratification by social class, and other factors which shape the lived realities of communities in Chicago and other urban centers.

LEI-625. Literacies For The 21st Century. 3 Hours.

This course explores how “literacy” has changed and evolved over the past century, the literacies that are vital to life in the 21st century, and the roles and responsibilities of PK-16 education in teaching those literacies. This course develops an understanding of critical thinking skills; collaboration; problem-solving skills; media, information, and digital literacy; creativity, imagination, and innovative thinking; civic, multicultural, and global literacy; critical literacy; and environmental literacy. The course will introduce 21st century teaching methodologies, including project-based learning. Students will develop their own 21st century literacies.

LEI-631. Economics And Finance In Urban Institutions. 3 Hours.

This course examines the economics of urban institutions, with a special emphasis on the interplay of public and private entities. Topics include funding policy, tax revenue, philanthropy, and corporate-community partnerships. Students will study the implications of finance with regards to inequity, theories and approaches to urban economic development and take their learning into communities to see what education is taking place within traditional schools and alternative and developmental programs. University, community, and corporate workspaces that have bootcamps, incubators, and accelerator programs will be identified and evaluated to help students identify and assess effectiveness of business and educational models.

LEI-632. Policy Analysis, Formation, And Advocacy. 3 Hours.

This course focuses on policy as a key element which informs the operations of schools and other social institutions. Further, it considers the importance of policy as a key lever in organizational, institutional, and communal change. Students will be equipped with the conceptual and methodological tools to assess policy, including its sources and implications. Further, they will gain insight into the policy formation process, including its direct participants, its varied stakeholders, and those who advocate for change in education and beyond.

LEI-640. Urban Ecology And Human Systems. 3 Hours.

This course critically examines the complex and interwoven economic, political, cultural, and social processes of urban regions as they impact and are impacted by the physical environment. Students explore the natural ecologies of metropolitan landscapes and how they respond to the dynamics of habitat restoration, urban agriculture, environmental remediation, climate change, and so on. This course provides a means to examine the impact of ecological change on educational institutions and the communities that they serve. Special consideration will be given to historical and contemporary urban environmental inequalities marked by gender, race, class, ethnicity, and other intersecting axes of social and spatial difference.

LEI-651. Urban Leadership Seminar. 3 Hours.

This course is designed to provide an in-depth exploration of various models of leadership and their implications in urban contexts, including schools and other types of institutions and organizations. Students will critically examine the challenges faced by urban leaders and assess the effectiveness of leadership approaches in specific urban settings. Through a combination of theoretical and Socratic discussions, case studies, and real-world applications, students will develop a deeper understanding of urban leadership, its significance in addressing complex, place-specific challenges, and explore approaches to addressing those challenges.

LEI-652. Organizational Change, Organization Improvement And Change Management. 3 Hours.

This course examines the process of organizational change, and the skills, knowledge, and strategies brought to bear by leaders to effectively implement such changes. In addition, this course examines the relationship between individuals and organizations and how the interactions between them impact one another, in addition to organizational effectiveness and change. Finally, the course requires students to interpret organizations, their effectiveness, and change through an equity and inclusion lens.

LEI-671. Educational Research Design. 3 Hours.

This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the different research methodologies used in the field of education. The course aims to introduce students to the fundamental principles of research design and help them develop an understanding of the role of research in shaping educational practice.

LEI-672. Action Research Methods. 3 Hours.

This course focuses on action research and its utility to address problems in institutional, organizational, and community settings, including Pk-16 education. Students will acquire an understanding of this approach, including teacher action research, participatory action research, community-based action research, youth participatory action research, and critical research rooted in social justice. The course will additionally explore qualitative and ethnographic research. Students will design, execute, and write a research project.

LEI-673. Evaluation Research Methods. 3 Hours.

This course examines evaluation approaches and methods commonly used in education and community-based settings. It explores the roles of evaluators, collaborators, and communities in fostering equitable evaluation practices. Students will plan and design evaluations and be introduced to types of evaluation, logic models, and theory of change.

LEI-690. Dissertation Proposal Seminar. 3 Hours.

The Proposal Seminar supports students in understanding the dissertation process, developing their research project proposals, and considering post-project plans for their research. Students will be immersed in in-class and independent activities with a primary focus on writing, analyzing, and revising the proposal drafts under the guidance of the instructor and dissertation committee chair.

LEI-699. Dissertation. 3 Hours.

This course provides continuous support for students during the dissertation process. Each section of this course will consist of clusters of five to seven students each, who will remain together across three consecutive semesters, accounting for a total of 9 SH. Students are closely engaged with their dissertation chairs and classmates as they navigate IRB, collect data, interact with stakeholders, and work to complete their dissertations.