Our mission is to encourage the development of leaders who assume responsibility for sharing education to make students’ lives more meaningful. Educational leadership is an intellectual, moral, and craft practice. Transformational leadership entails a commitment to equity and social justice, critical thinking, and the forging of collaborative links between educational institutions and communities.
The Department of Educational Leadership (EDL) is a diverse and unique community at Miami. We offer Master's degrees in School Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, and Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE). We offer Ph.D. degrees in Educational Leadership and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership as well. We offer licensure programs in the school principalship and superintendency. We collaborate with school districts and Educational Service Centers to provide graduate programs for educators that are based on problems of practice and/or regional goals.
EDL offers an array of undergraduate courses including a certificate in Outdoor Leadership and a minor in Community-Based Leadership. EDL offers courses in the Teacher Licensure core curricula, such as EDL 204: Socio-cultural Studies in Education, and EDL 318: Teacher Leadership & School Organization. We partner with an array of campus offices and programs to offer co-curricular courses designed to maximize the potential for student co-curricular learning: courses like EDL 100: Career Development and the College Student, EDL110: The University and the Student, and EDL 290: The Nature of Group Leadership which help students of any major develop knowledge and experience in particular areas.
Our purpose is to advance a socially just society through our educational and leadership work.
We aspire for a more democratic, socially just world through intentional conversations, curriculum, and activism that reflects an attention to diversity, a focus on social identities, equitable practices, and how power, oppression, and privilege impact education.
Our academic department is rooted in these core values that inform our principles. These principles allow for multiple interpretations and multiple voices and yet communicate our belief in advancing the causes of democracy and social justice.
The Department of Educational Leadership’s programs for principal and superintendent preparation are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
CAEP recognition provides added assurance to students and prospective employers that Miami’s programs meet the highest professional standards.
The accreditation process typically involves an extensive self-study, followed by an on-site visit by nationally known professionals, and then a decision by the accrediting body as to whether accreditation should be granted.
