Educational Leadership & Policy Studies

  • SED AP 500: Directed Study
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Open to undergraduate students only. approval of advisor, the facultymember who is to supervise the study, and department chairman.
    Prereq: Approval of advisor. Signed plan of study must be submitted in advance of registration on a Directed study form obtained from the SED Office of Records. Var cr.
  • SED AP 520: Communications in Education and Human Services Organizations
    Prepares education, human service and government agency managers to plan and execute communications and community relations programs within their organization. Explores how to operate professionally and ethically as a communicator on behalf of an organization. 4cr, Summer Term.
  • SED AP 524: Citizen Participation
    Recommended to be taken in conjunction with SED AP 525. Focus on both practical and theoretical perspectives about the relationships between educational institutions and those they are established to serve. Topics include: diverse ways for consumers/clients to influence educational institutions (choice, voice, loyalty, and coproduction); family and student participation in governance; decentralization and community control; planning and managing participatory approaches.
  • SED AP 526: Family & Community Engagement
    Examines the role of schools, families and community agencies and the critical partnerships that must be forged between them to support student learning and well- being.? The primary goal of this seminar is to deepen understanding of the systemic obstacles -- and possibilities - - to improve our school systems and narrow achievement gaps. 2 cr.
  • SED AP 555: The History of Boston University
    How did Boston University evolve from a rural seminary to an elite research university? What implications could the study of BU history have on the practice of professional education? This course explores the intellectual and institutional changes that occasioned "the spectacular development" of BU and then uses this history as a reflexive tool. Students access archival materials, tour historic sites, and construct historical narratives. Students also reflect on both their experiences and the work of education to enhance future practice. Effective Summer 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • The Individual in Community
    • Creativity/Innovation
  • SED AP 599: Addressing the Achievement Gap: Leading and Learning with New Technologies
    This course examines policies and principles to offer innovative leadership solutions to better serving students considered ?at risk for failure?. It presents comprehensive educational reform models for diverse populations in educational settings focusing on better assessment and instruction for immigrant and minority populations in the US and internationally. Emphasis is placed on leading and learning using new technologies as a tool to offer multiple entry points to access the general curriculum K-12. 4cr, either sem.
  • SED AP 600: Diversity and Justice in Education
    How schools, colleges, and other education settings are affected by the growing pluralism of our society; the tension between respect for diversity and the maintenance of common purpose. Strategies of integration and separate development and of remediation and enrichment. 4 cr.
  • SED AP 601: History and Foundations of Higher Education
    Provides a foundational understanding of the history of U.S. higher education, while fostering substantive dialogue and analysis of significant perspectives, events, and trends relevant to higher education today. Focuses on the interplay between the goals of the university and the demands placed on higher education by society. 4 cr.
  • SED AP 609: Analyzing the Role of Education Policy in Social Inequality
  • SED AP 612: Governance and Decision-Making in Higher Education
    Colleges and universities are large, complex, and oftentimes perplexing organizations. Through this course, students will examine the roles and responsibilities of trustees, presidents, administrators, faculty, and students in governance and decision-making; explore how decisions are made in a variety of functional areas (how they work): and, appreciate how institutional culture, organizational structures, and external factors influence decision-making 4cr.
  • SED AP 615: Theories of Student Learning & Development in Higher Education
    Examines theories of students' personal and social development in college as well as emerging research on student learning in college. Students will employ a theory-to- practice approach that uses campus environment theories to cultivate safe, inclusive, and engaging communities of learning. 4 cr.
  • SED AP 619: Leadership, Values & Ethics in Higher Education
    This course enhances understanding of the theory and practice of higher education leadership, grounded in personal, organizational, and professional values and challenged by ethical dilemmas. It explores multiple leadership theories, methods of values discernment, and tactics of addressing ethical dilemmas in higher education.
  • SED AP 620: History of Education
    Topics in the history of education. Students prepare a paper on a topic selected in consultation with the instructor. 4 cr.
  • SED AP 622: Student Affairs in Higher Education
    Focuses on university divisions intentionally structured to shape students' character, to foster students' development, to provide services, and to educate students via various co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences. Is designed to develop a deep understanding of the history, philosophy, and mission of Student Affairs within the context of higher education. 4 cr.
  • SED AP 625: Global Higher Education
    This course explores the dynamic global landscape of higher education, compares and contrasts differing national models, and delves into how US institutions internationalize their efforts and create professional roles on campuses, both here and abroad, that support global programs and students from other countries.
  • SED AP 630: Education and Religion
    The relationship of government with schools and colleges based on religious convictions and the efforts of educators to shape and maintain a distinctive character in such institutions. Issues of educational freedom and the rights of parents from historical and comparative international perspectives. Students prepare a paper on a topic selected in consultation with the instructor. (Also offered as STH TE 845) 4 cr.
  • SED AP 631: Child Policy
    The purpose of this course is to examine the public policies that address all children's wellbeing in the context of health, education, and social forces. We will take an inter-disciplinary approach (developmental psychology, economics, sociology, and public health) to focus particularly on the needs and vulnerabilities of economically disadvantaged and/or racially or ethnically marginalized children. We will discuss the arguments for policy intervention (both domestic and global) during childhood (ages 0- 12), and we will focus on 4-5 specific policy topics in depth.
  • SED AP 632: Child & Youth Advocacy
    The purpose of this course is to provide hands-on experience with policymaking through networking with community stakeholders, non-profits, and policymakers about child and youth policy issues. The course takes an inter-disciplinary approach (developmental psychology, education, economics, sociology, and public health) to focus on the needs and vulnerabilities of children and youth in society, particularly those who are economically disadvantaged or racially minoritized. The course will examine policies affecting children and youth in the realm of early childhood education, K-12, health, juvenile justice, and special education through readings, interviews with key stakeholders, field outings, and class discussion.
  • SED AP 635: Public Policy for Researchers
    The purpose of this course is to expose students to the basics of the public policy field in order to be able to conduct research, advocate for issues, and develop careers in policy-related fields.
  • SED AP 640: Educational Freedom: U.S. and International Issues
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Intended for graduate students; open to seniors by permission of the advisor and the instructor.
    Guarantees and limitations of educational freedom in selected countries, focusing upon (1) establishment and management of independent institutions in relation to government supervision; (2) choice of schools by parents and of colleges by students; and (3) academic freedom of teachers and students. (Intended for graduate students; open to seniors by permission of the advisor and the instructor.)