Mission & Core Beliefs

 

Educational Administration and Leadership Mission

The mission of the Educational Administration and Leadership program is to prepare individuals who are committed to the reform and continuous improvement of Pre K-12 education. In fulfilling this mission, the program supports and advances education by:

• Preparing outstanding school leaders who create organizational conditions ensuring that every child experiences high levels of academic performance, and ensure equitable and collaborative participation by all relevant stakeholders in school governance.

• Preparing policy analysts and policymakers who recognize and emphasize the essential role of effective leadership in school reform initiatives, and who ensure that policies facilitate the improved achievement of every student.

Preparing scholars who are dedicated to the creation and dissemination of knowledge for leadership development, education policy, and school improvement.

---

Educational Administration and Leadership Core Beliefs

The members of the Educational Administration and Leadership faculty believe:

• Public education is the foundation of our democracy, representing our nation’s commitment to ensuring that each child has an equal opportunity to attain academic success and to become responsible, contributing citizens to our society.

• To fulfill our nation’s commitment to our children’s future, the central focus of educational leadership is to successfully transform schools and school systems into high quality organizations that are committed to high performance for all children. Implicit within this focus is the leader’s responsibility to create a safe, equitable, and just environment that maintains a consistent emphasis on continuous improvement.

• Leadership preparation programs are central to realizing high performing schools, by preparing aspiring leaders to be innovative change agents, leaders of learning, and reflective practitioners. Effective leaders must be competent to:

• Lead high-performing, student-centered schools and districts, through the use of data and technologies to inform instructional decision-making;

• Reculture schools to become inclusive learning communities that expect high levels of performance for each child;

• Empower all constituents in a democratic learning community; and

• Build organizational capacity to support continuous school/district improvement processes, through developing and distributing leadership capacity throughout the organization.

• Consistent with the UIUC land-grant ideal of serving the public, the educational administration program will provide a level of excellence in education and research, as we serve our citizenry throughout the state of Illinois and the nation. In addition to developing effective educational leaders, our program also will prepare individuals to assume positions as scholars and policy analysts.

Our educational administration program is grounded in theory, while providing ample and sufficient applications to practice. In addition, the program promotes the creation and dissemination of knowledge, both through faculty and student research.