Baylor University School of Education (SOE) is launching a new Doctor of Education (EdD) Degree in K-12 Educational Leadership, expecting to enroll students as early as June of 2015. The program received approval from the Baylor Board of Regents on Feb. 13. (For more program information, visit the SOE Web: EdD in K-12 Educational Leadership.)

“The curriculum in the Baylor program is designed for practitioners wanting to learn skills that will help them address the complex problems of practice in K-12 schools and districts,” said Dr. John E. Wilson, program director and clinical professor in the Department of Educational Administration, which will house the new degree. “Graduates will acquire experience-based, well-grounded preparation to enter executive leadership in K-12 educational systems.”

The new EdD in K-12 Educational Leadership is an innovative doctoral program to prepare highly qualified practitioners to lead and transform pre-collegiate education in public, Christian and private educational systems and related agencies. Specifically, it will focus on incorporating Baylor’s historic Christian commitment as it prepares future educational leaders to frame and address complex problems of practice, such as team-building and management, decision-making, relational and servant leadership, as well as how to approach data analysis, finance, policy analysis, management and legal questions from a Christian perspective.

Few doctoral leadership programs in Texas, or nationally, offer advanced graduate education from a Christian perspective, especially a professional practice doctoral program in educational leadership, said Dr. Jon D. Engelhardt, dean of Baylor’s School of Education.

“Baylor is well positioned to provide preparation for future educational leaders grounded in Christian principles,” Engelhardt said. “The EdD in K-12 Educational Leadership supports [Baylor] Pro Futuris’ tenet of transformational education by preparing future leaders for K-12 education, who will act out of the tenets of their faith and pursue equity and social justice in educational organizations.”

As an institutional member of the Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED), a consortium of 55 major universities, Baylor faculty have been involved in the national dialogue on redesigning the professional practice doctorate in education.

Wilson said, “An important component of the program is a focus on problem solving in complex institutions. This is woven into the program’s coursework, taught by faculty with years of experience in K-12 leadership.”

Wilson said the focus on framing complex problems and creating data-informed options will also permeate the intense clinical experience for each doctoral candidate. “In the clinical experience, the candidates will address real problems under the guidance of experienced, recognized leaders in K-12 education,” he said.