Ed.D in Organizational Leadership: Special Education (Quantitative Research)

Lead K-12 Special Education Programs

Prepare yourself to be a leader in special education spheres. Grand Canyon University’s quantitative Doctor of Education in Leadership in Special Education will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to invest in special education and education communities and grow them to their full potential.

This quantitative EdD in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Special Education degree program will allow you to formulate and build upon your own personal philosophy of leadership. Equip yourself to make the greatest impact through leadership and education.

Choosing to Specialize in Quantitative EdD in Special Education Organizational Leadership

Through specializing in a quantitative EdD program, you will be able to create change and move special education forward by performing your own research and making your own contributions to the field. Learners will synthesize into scholarly literature to identify problems and problem spaces that emerge to form a researchable topic of study.

Courses in the program allow you to analyze current trends in special education and leadership, using those trends to build out your own skillset and equip you as a leader. In your courses, you will analyze the fiscal and management sides of special education, exploring the development practices and the leadership skills necessary to act as an administrator in your education community.

Explore frameworks for providing appropriate educational opportunities for all students and discover how you can make an impact by offering equitable education options for unique student populations.

Throughout the program, you will gain skills in:

    Student assessment
    
    Internal organizational collaboration
    
    Legal and ethical issues in special education
    
    Best practice in special education administration
    
    Professional development
    
    Historical perspectives of special education
    
    Foundational leadership theories
    
    Change and development in education
    
    Staff management and professional development
    
    Budgeting and finding sources of funding
    
    Critical appraisal of research
    
    Sampling, data collection and data analysis
    
    Apply research principles to design original and independent research

How Long It Takes to Earn a Doctorate (EdD) in Special Education

Learners can complete the program in their own time and on their own schedule, making it accessible for currently working professionals. After completing course requirements, learners complete a research-based dissertation. GCU’s doctoral programs incorporate dissertation preparation from the beginning of the program and includes opportunities for support along the way, including in-person residency requirements. The dissertation will incorporate learners’ independent, quantitative research.

Performing a quantitative research study will allow you to advance the study of leadership within the field of special education through performing and facilitating your own in-depth research-based approach to increase leadership abilities of strategic education professionals. By completing a written dissertation, you will be able to take your findings and contributions and spread them throughout the field for other special education professionals to benefit and learn from.

Job Outlook for Special Education Leaders

Graduates of the quantitative EdD in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis in Special Education degree program may pursue high-level academic positions, including:

    Special education director
    
    School district administrator
    
    Special education consultant
    
    Curriculum developer
    
    School administrator
    
    Lead special education teacher
    
    Learning advocate

Earning a doctoral EdD degree in special education and leadership can help you have a positive impact and reach your personal and professional goals.

If seeking licensure or certification, applicants to the program are responsible for contacting their state department of education for licensure requirements and program approval. In addition, fingerprint/background clearance is required.