This course investigates the theory and practice of evaluation in higher education, including admissions processes, assessment of student learning, student evaluation of teaching, and program and institutional evaluation. By the end of the course, students should be able to explain purposes and principles of evaluation; critique uses of evaluation in higher education; apply evaluation principles in higher education; create and critique logic models, change models, and action models for higher education programs; plan evaluations of higher education programs; and discuss ethical issues in evaluation.

This course is designed for students who are planning, collecting data, analyzing or writing up thesis or other qualitative research. Classes will involve reading about the theoretical paradigms (e.g. interactionish, phenomenological, critical feminist, postcolonial/emancipatory) and research methodologies and types of analysis and interpretations being used by students (e.g. participant observation, thematic analysis, focus groups, individual interviews, ethnography, autoethnography, grounded theory, critical ethnography, participatory action research, life histories/narratives, institutional ethnography, textual analysis, policy or program analysis). Selected ethical issues that are often encountered in the process of doing research will also be covered. Special attention will be paid to analysis and interpretation of the data, with students presenting their changing views of their chosen topic for feedback and referral to relevant literature.

This course examines the logics and strategies of case study research used in the social sciences, as well as their applications to higher education and related fields. The main goal of the course is to help students develop skills for designing, conducting, evaluating, and critiquing case studies. Hand-on activities and intensive reading and discussion are employed towards helping students achieve this goal. This course is designed for graduate students who are interested in conducting case study research as part of their thesis projects and/or future academic and professional work. While the course uses themes related to higher education, this course is appropriate to graduate students from other fields who have had an introduction to qualitative research.

This course will focus on the critical analysis of interdisciplinary research conducted within the higher education context. Participants will begin with an exploration of the fundamental characteristics and underlying theories of quantitative, qualitative and mixed mode research methodologies, and the strengths and limitations of each in relation to issues relevant to higher education. Building on this foundation, the participants will analyze and critique publications and theses reporting higher education research. Recommendations and implications suggested in these documents will be critiqued with respect to their potential impact on decisions made by organizational leaders with respect to equity issues, policies and procedures. Finally, participants will develop a sound research proposal that could conceivably be conducted within the higher education context.

This course will examine the legal framework of higher education, including laws, regulations, and judicial interpretations that impact upon the governance and conduct of higher education. Particular attention will be placed upon the tension between academic autonomy and individual rights as they affect students' rights, faculty status, sanctions against discrimination, and the conditions attached to government funding.

This course will explore the theoretical and conceptual foundations of the student experience in postsecondary education. As well, we will study the nature of work in postsecondary education that supports students' development and learning. Students in this course will review and discuss broad forms of literature/documentation that addresses various components of the student experience. A particular focus of this course will be on exploring the various outcomes of postsecondary education and examining forms of assessing the various student outcomes in and beyond postsecondary education.

The field of Student Affairs strives to understand and support students. While student affairs core courses include content regarding marginalized and BIPOC populations, Indigenous students are distinctive as the institution-student relationship is complicated by Treaty and the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report. The population is also growing which has implications for higher education generally and student services specifically. This course focuses on Indigenous students in higher education to ethically prepare student affairs professionals and scholars. In addition to academic readings, students will contrast and compare Indigenous experiences with other minoritized and racialized groups, including their own. Pidgeon’s (2016) Indigenous Wholistic Framework and the TRC are foundational in this course. Indigenous social media representation of Indigenous student services, academic departments, and scholars will also be explored.

The purpose of this course is to examine the complex phenomenon of internationalization from both conceptual and applied perspectives,. The course explores and develops a conceptual framework for internationalization through a rigorous analysis of different meanings of the concept; shifting rationales, benefits, risks, and outcomes; and the diversity of actors and stakeholders; Students will apply the conceptual framework to a region or group of countries in the world, by analyzing the key priorities, policies and issues. Comparing different approaches among the regions and countries will raise important questions about the different roles and implications of the internationalization process. Emerging trends and issues linked to internationalization including commercialization, brain drain/gain, quality assurance, cultural homogenization, neo-colonization and world rankings will be examined. This course has a definite policy orientation and students with some academic or professional background in higher education will benefit most from it.

This course explores why and how higher education institutions address questions of equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenization (EDII) related to their staff members, administrators, and administrative processes. The course draws from a combination of functional, political, and critical approaches, and gives particular attention to institutions' and administrators' roles, responsibilities, aims, activities, challenges, and results with regard to EDII structures, policies, and processes, representation within its workforce, change management, and conflict resolution.

This course explores how educators in higher education and professional programs approach curriculum development from an innovative perspective. Curriculum theories, philosophic perspectives in the literature, and current realities in the classroom will be explored. Curriculum challenges with respect to access, quality and funding in higher education will be identified and analyzed, and innovative strategies for addressing these challenges will be generated.

Individual Reading and Research courses are taken as specialized study, under the direction of a staff member, focusing on topics of particular interest to the student that are not included in available courses. While credit is not given for a thesis investigation proper, the study may be closely related to a thesis topic.

This course is designed to introduce students to the field of student affairs and services within the context of Canadian postsecondary education institutions. We will use a multidisciplinary approach to examine the historical, philosophical, legal, and cultural foundations of student affairs and services work. From these multiple perspectives, we will discuss the guiding principles from which student affairs and services practitioners educate and deliver services and programs to students.

This course examines the origins, present status, challenges and future directions of student development within the context of higher education in western society. Sessions will review the evidence from research and practice that identify key factors influencing student development in postsecondary education. Discussions will focus on the changing nature of students in higher education, the role of institutional policy, structure and function in facilitating student development and pathways to student success and retention. In addition, the social, psychological and cultural foundations of the student personnel movement as well as the role and functions of student services staff in colleges and universities will be examined.

This course builds upon the knowledge gained in LHA1854, Student Development Theories in Higher Education. The course will more deeply examine psychosocial, cognitive structural, and typological theories. With a focus on intersectionality we will examine how race, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and spirituality can influence development. Students will learn to use theories to improve our work with students. We will not do so without a critical examination of the theories.

The internship is a research informed theory to practice experiential form of instruction designed to provide students with opportunities to perform activities that are regularly performed by practitioners in the area of the internship in student services.

The internship is a research informed theory to practice experiential form of instruction designed to provide students with opportunities to perform activities that are regularly performed by practitioners in the area of the internship in student services.

This course will provide students the opportunity to review, integrate, synthesize, and apply what they have learned through their coursework in a Capstone project. The Capstone project will be a culminating, comprehensive, and scholarly project. It will address one or more complex empirical issue(s) relevant to the leadership challenges in the students' professional work context. The project will ask the students to demonstrate their ability to identify and define the issue/problem, conduct an insightful analysis and critique of the scholarly literature that informs the issue. This includes philosophical foundations, theoretical frameworks, conceptual models, and the research methodologies employed. Students are expected to gather relevant secondary or primary data and propose feasible strategies/approaches to resolve the issue(s). Implications for implementation of the proposed resolution will be clearly identified and supported. Students may opt to participate in the organization and delivery of a Leadership Forum for the dissemination of knowledge gained.

This course is designed to assist doctoral students in the development of effective research proposals. Course readings, assignments, and activities will provide students with a structured approach to problem definition, succinctly reviewing the relevant literature, articulating conceptual frameworks, identifying suitable methodological approaches for the questions to be examined, understanding the purposes of informed consent in research design, and anticipating the timelines associated with data collection, data analysis, and writing up final reports. Students will practice writing both short proposals for graduate research funding as well as longer dissertation proposals.

This course will assist students in learning how to find, understand, share and act on research in their doctoral studies and their professional work. The course will include consideration of the nature of research literacy; the concepts and practices of finding, understanding, sharing and acting on research; developments in education research philosophies, paradigms, stances and methods; strategies for critiquing and citing research; design and use of literature reviews, syntheses and meta-analyses; and communicating and presenting research reviews.

The purpose of this course is to provide students in the Educational Leadership and Policy Program's EdD cohort with exposure to and practice in a range of research design and data collection methods for applied research: educational change case studies and comparative case studies; qualitative, ethnographic tools for educational inquiry; systematic analysis of policy documents; survey research; quantitative analysis of school, system, or other organization administrative data.

This course is one of the core courses in the Educational Leadership and Policy Program EdD program and provides students with the opportunity to learn and practice the data analysis approaches most appropriate for studying problems of practice. In this course students will work on coding and organization of qualitative and case study data and policy documents; presentation of findings from survey research and quantitative examination of administrative data. This course also requires students to examine a wide range of knowledge mobilization strategies and to link those strategies to their projects.

This course will provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to synthesize academic literature. In particular, it will provide students with the opportunity to become familiar with the philosophy, assumptions, characteristics and methods of reviewing literature in education and the social sciences. It will expose students to theories about how literature should be reviewed and provide them with the opportunity to develop their own reviewing skills.

This professional seminar course aims to advance the use and application of research, writing, and methodologies for the dissertation in practice while students engage as part of an academic community. The course is intended to support professional interactions and learning among the International Educational Leadership and Policy EdD cohort with the goal of improving and advancing opportunities to discuss aspects of the research process. It includes practical modules in the context of effective leadership and policymaking in international education settings, while also scaffolding stages of thesis development.

The course is open to EdD students in the International ELP cohort.

This seminar fosters a community of practice and cross-cohort mentorship within the EdD program while developing professional and leadership skills. Students will engage in critical discussions on current issues in educational leadership and policy, explore their identity as scholar-practitioners, and develop knowledge mobilization strategies related to their Dissertation in Practice. The course covers topics such as adult learning theory, building a scholar-practitioner identity, understanding the policy landscape in education, ethical leadership and research, leadership for equity and social justice, organizational change and reform, and policy advocacy.

This course is grounded in the notion that school leadership is best understood within the context within which it is practiced. Leadership praxis of school leaders will be explored — challenges and everyday realities they face, and the strategies they employ as they navigate the complexities within which they work. Colonialism has left lasting legacies in spaces and on education.

While there is a substantial body of research in educational leadership, the majority is primarily grounded in Western conceptions of leadership and contexts. Loomba (2015) describes post-colonialism as a body of theory and a field of study that seeks to critically examine the legacy of Western colonialism in non-Western contexts.

In this course, students will examine the work of school leaders primarily in the Global South, the impact of colonization on local educational leadership practices and policies, and wrestle with understandings and tensions of the post-colonial. School leadership connections to curriculum, pedagogy, and student success grounded within local Indigenous contexts will be examined.

This course applies Organizational Studies to education. Organizational Studies is a body of theory and research that uses common concepts and methods to examine all kinds of organizations, ranging from corporations to small businesses to government bureaucracies to militaries to prisons to social movements.

This course presents major theories in contemporary organizational studies and applies them to schools at both K-12 and post secondary tiers. Theories will be organized using Richard Scott's typology of "rational, natural, and open systems." Attention will be given to all three levels of analysis: macro, meso, and micro. A recurring theme will be to assess ways that schools are or are not unique kinds of organizations, or whether their structures and processes are generic or atypical of other kinds of organizations.

Ideas from organizational studies will be used to examine several policy domains in education, including student engagement, safe schools, student achievement, school variety, and school choice. The class will ponder whether certain educational policy issues tend to recur periodically, albeit in different garb; whether or not school reform is cyclical and recurring, whether reforms tend to fix clear problems or are often mostly symbolic in character.

Understanding education law is essential to the effective management and operation of schools. Schools function in a complex legal environment. It is essential for educators to be as current as possible of their legal rights and responsibilities. Focus on current issues, legislative and common law precedents.

This course provides doctoral studies with knowledge of a range of methodological approaches for conducting research on education policy. Using sources from international and domestic contexts, the course reviews primarily qualitative methodologies (such as case study, critical policy analysis, ethnography, among others) weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each for examining various education policy issues. Students will also explore ethical tensions involved in policy research and will have the opportunity to consider different analytical approaches for their thesis projects, including the design of a comprehensive research strategy.

A review of major perspectives on the individual and the organization includes discussion of questions pertaining to the nature of society and the nature of people. Of immediate concern is the manner in which decisions and organizational outcomes are produced, as well as the bearing that these sets of arrangements have upon productivity and the well-being of those whose lives are touched by organized education. Of express concern is the manner in which power is exercised in everyday situations that may involve elected officials, appointed administrators, teachers, students, and the public at large.

This seminar examines significant policy issues in education, both historical and current, both Canadian and international. Emphasis is on acquiring an understanding of the content and significance of the policies, with a secondary interest in policy analysis and development.