|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
   |
|
|
|
Masters of Science in Transformative Leadership
The Master of Science degree program in Transformative Leadership is an applied interdisciplinary study of leadership theories and practices within a value driven curriculum where the values and actions of leaders are critically examined in the light of leadership theory to produce more effective individual and collective decision-making. The study of transformative leadership will equip leaders and their organizations to explore values of diversity, community engagement, and ethics for organizational and individual change in response to radical shifts occurring within our global and technological society.
The program is designed for working adults to complete the 36 semester hour requirement within three semesters (12 calendar months) by taking three four-hour courses online each semester. Students will enter and progress through the program as a cohort. Cohort size will be limited to 25 students. All courses will be offered online using WebCt courseware. A residency requirement at the beginning of each semester, either on campus or at another designated site, will provide orientation to new processes and technology, integration and synthesis of course offerings, connection with faculty and fellow students, and assessment and feedback for the program. The initial residency requirement will be for five days (Wednesday-Sunday), the later residency requirements will be for three-days (Friday-Sunday).
Course content is based established leadership theories and includes the innovative themes of transformative leadership, civic engagement, ethics, and action research. Each course reflects the depth of content, student-faculty interaction, assignment expectations, and independent inquiry. The courses provide coherence and continuity throughout the program by reinforcing these themes each semester while building from self-discovery to organizational leadership to transformation. Students will use the content of their courses to develop “action research” theses based on an adaptive leadership challenge at their worksite. Students who are not employed will be required to obtain an extended internship with an organization that will agree to allow them to use the workplace as a site for the action research. Action research is a methodology which has the goal of bringing about change in the community or organization through research, the process of scientifically analyzing by either a qualitative or a quantitative approach some problem in the organization.
The Master’s in Transformative Leadership is a program which is designed to be an integrated whole. The courses build on each other and support each other to enhance student learning. Below is a brief description of the course curriculum.
|
|
Course Curriculum
The curriculum of the Master of Science in Transformative Leadership is planned around three themes and three levels. The three themes are: Leadership, Ethics, and Action Research.
The Leadership theme emphasizes the organizational and community aspects of leadership. Within this section, curricular emphasis is on educational, business, and political leadership theory. The post-industrial society’s organizations are constantly exploring new and more effective ways of leading that respond to a new global ethic. Courses in transformative leadership and civic engagement will examine theories of leadership with respect to changes in society, such as, globalization, technology, diversity, and collective behaviors.
The Ethics theme emphasizes a continuous process of critical reflection that involves identifying, abstracting, and synthesizing leadership assumptions, customs and values through a critical pedagogical process which concentrates heavily on ethical aspects of decision-making and action. This theme begins in the course in Lead 605: Critical Reflection and Transformative Leadership. This course introduces the student to a pedagogy that emphasizes critical thinking and emancipatory learning. Through a focused, academic inquiry into the traditional approaches to leadership, including the study of their own leadership styles, learners explore innovative and visionary leadership directions. Consistent with the emphasis on critical thinking, the course in ethical decision-making will use a case-study approach to consider ethical codes of conduct in the various professional fields analyzed in the other content courses, e.g. business, politics and the nonprofit sector. Finally, the course in Multicultural Global Leadership will consider issues of ethical leadership across cultural and historical backdrops.
The final theme is Action Research. Students will learn to lead change through data-based decision making. Students will select their action research topic based on research done in their work places. Action research is defined as a methodology which has the dual aims of action, i.e., bringing about change in the community or organization, and research, i.e., the process of scientifically analyzing by either a qualitative or a quantitative approach some problem in the organization. Action research optimally will begin a continuous process of re-evaluation of the problem or issue through planning, action, critique and feedback. The student will be led through his/her thesis by steps corresponding to semesters. The first step entails classes on statistics and research methodology. The second step involves doing the action research at the workplace through data gathering and application. The third step consists of analyzing the data and writing the thesis. Throughout the process, the student will have structured help from a faculty advisor.
|
|
Residency I: Residency I: The initial Residency requirement will be held for five days prior to the beginning of the semester (Wednesday through Sunday). The residency will be held either on the Bethune-Cookman campus or at a corporate site. During this residency period, the student will take a number of personality and leadership inventories, will attend several seminars and presentations by faculty members and invited speakers, and will begin work on the research/technology section. The research-technology section will be comprised of an orientation to WebCT, a basic statistics introduction, and an overview of the research process, including initial development of the thesis statement. At the end of this intense residency, the student will have created a bond with faculty members and fellow students in his/her cohort and will be equipped with the technological skills to be efficient and effective in the online course work.
Semester I: Theoretical foundations and Self-Discovery. The first semester emphasizes a foundation in the literature of leadership theory and critical thinking. The course content and the program pedagogy work together to prepare students to identify, analyze, and evaluate issues and problems of leadership within organizations. Within this first semester, an emphasis will be placed on the exploration by the student of his/her leadership competencies. This is also the semester where the students will learn skills and methodologies needed to complete his/her action thesis.
Residency II:
Residency II: The second residency will be scheduled for three (3) days, Friday through Sunday. During this residency, students will meet with professors for interdisciplinary seminars where concepts and theories introduced in the first semester will be integrated with the ideas to be introduced in the second semester. Students will also meet with students beginning their initial residency to listen to invited speakers (often associated with the corporation hosting the residency). Finally, students will meet with their thesis advisors for instruction and approval of research design.
Semester II: Organizational Change: The second semester will move the student from the personal level to the organizational/institutional level. In these courses, focus will be placed on leadership within organizations and understanding the interpersonal relationships that foster leadership development and transformation. The student will also begin to integrate his/her coursework in leadership into the organizational workplace through his/her research design and implementation.
Residency III:
Residency III: The third residency will be scheduled for three (3) days, Friday through Sunday. During this residency, students will meet with professors for interdisciplinary seminars where concepts and theories introduced in the earlier semesters will be integrated with the ideas to be introduced in the final semester. Students will also meet with students in other cohorts to listen to invited speakers (often associated with the corporation hosting the residency). Students will meet with their advisors for consultation on the thesis.
Semester III: Societal Transformation: It is in the third semester that leadership transformation and its impact on society is fully developed. The transformative leader is one who is able to use his/her abilities as a change agent for the good of society; therefore, the course content is oriented toward civic engagement at the local, national, and global level. The ability of the leader to see beyond traditional boundaries and barriers to the changing world where all peoples and economies are intricately bound together in a virtual universe will be the goal of this semester. It will also be the semester that the student is personally transformed through the completion of the thesis.
|
|
|
Schedule
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
