M.A. Organization & Leadership Course Descriptions

O&L 614. Career Choice and Work Adjustment (3 units)
Explorations of theory, research and practice on how individuals make career choices and adjust to work. Focus on the implications of individual development for organizational and counseling practice in a wide range of settings and with diverse populations.

O&L 615. Information Systems in Educational Management (3 units)
Examination of the uses of information in the management of educational institutions and issues administrators face in the management of this information, including collection, storage, and dissemination. Focuses on integration and communications of information for decision-making. Includes an introduction to validity and reliability in tests and measurements; use of specific tools, such as school schedulers and student records; and human, technological, and legal issues in sharing information. Students will work in teams to develop hands-on projects. Any student taking this course must have the ability to use any personal computer for word processing or other tasks.

O&L 617. International Adult Learning: Domestic and Transcultural (3 units)
An examination of various facets of education needed for success in a global economy. An important focus of this course is the ethical considerations and responsibilities that are inherent in the design of adult education programs. The influence of tradition and culture for the adult learner is explored from an interpretive perspective.

O&L 618. Law and Culture (3 units)
This course examines primary legal systems in Eastern and Western settings. Further, the relationships among law, culture and policy formation are investigated.

O&L 619. Participatory Hermeneutic Research (3 units)
This course focuses on the theory and application of field-based research grounded in the critical hermeneutic philosophy of Gadamer, Ricoeur and other researchers that use the written and social text as a basis for data analysis.

O&L 620. Budget and Finance (3 units)
Accounting, budgeting, finance, planning, funding, fund-raising and business management in public and private educational institutions and other non-profit entities. Emphasis on the relationships among the leadership role, the utilization of resources, and the accomplishment of organizational outcomes.

O&L 622. Education Law (3 units)
Survey of federal and state laws and cases that apply to educational institutions. Topics covered may include: a) disability; b) civil rights; c) freedom of speech; church/state issues; d) evaluation and termination; e) the minor student; f) governing authority of state and local bodies; g) enforcement of educational policy; h) civil and tort liability.

O&L 626. Sociocultural Foundations of Organization and Policy (3 units)
Course examines the foundations of social and cultural imperatives that are transforming organizations in the global economy. Further examination of traditions and rationality systems that have informed assumptions about organizations and policy making. Focus on concepts of ethics, language, technology, and hermeneutics in the emerging paradigms of organizational change.

O&L 630. Educational Leadership (3 units)
Current concepts underlying leadership theories and practices as they relate to leadership activities, including development and planning, implementation and evaluation. Changing leadership styles and their relation to women and ethnic minorities in leadership positions.

O&L 632. Educational Management (3 units)
This course provides theoretical and practical discussions of the tasks, responsibilities and applications in educational management.

O&L 635. Anthropology of Education (3 units)
Fundamental principles of anthropology as applied in education, business, and community learning contexts. An overview of the history, tradition, and political ideology of two or more countries, other than the United States, provides a backdrop for the study of culture, technology, and values in an American pedagogical setting.

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O&L 648. Field Experience I (3 units)
Supervised, planned opportunities to relate and apply concepts of the Administrative Credential Services program and its seven conceptual areas - Educational Leadership, Program Improvement, Educational Management, Governance and Community, Educational Finance, Educational Law, and Information Management - to school practice. Plans are developed jointly with a member of the faculty and a field site supervisor. Students maintain reflective portfolios. May be taken concurrently with Field Experience II. Enrollment is limited to students in the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential program.

O&L 649. Field Experience II (3 units)
Continuation and evaluation of Field Experience I. Students must register for both Field Experience I and Field Experience II before the joint evaluation by assigned faculty and field supervisor of their competencies. May be taken concurrently with Field Experience I. Enrollment is limited to students in the Preliminary Administrative Services Credential program.

O&L 652. Educational Program Improvement (3 units)
Improving learner performance through the development and evaluation of educational and training programs based on an understanding of a complex of issues arising from learning theories, socio-cultural factors and organizational structures. Includes applications ranging from development of the institution-wide curriculum to improving delivery by the individual teacher.

O&L 654. School, Community and Society (3 units)
This course examines the relationships among schools, communities, and societies from historical and cultural perspectives. Concepts of authority, power, and influence in a global society provide a basis for learning that cuts across communities and organizations.

O&L 655. Masters Field Project (3 units)
A field-based research project on an approved topic in education which is submitted as a formal report in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master's degree.

O&L 658. Culture and Work (3 units)
Course examines different cultural concepts of work as evidenced in a variety of worksites throughout the world. Particular attention is given to developing and sustaining successful transcultural workforces and globally dispersed teams through the study of culturally specific conceptions of space, time, rationality, promise, and responsibility.

O&L 659. Legitimation of Power in Societies and Organizations (3 units)
Study of rationality, power, and authority in modern societies with special attention to political language, technical imperatives, and symbolic aspects of organizations. Sources and processes of power and control will be examined.

O&L 661. Organization Development and Learning (3 units)
Attention to organizational development in fast paced environments. This course examines how leaders in organizations can mediate high performance and learning through project team development, communication, collaboration, and individual and group conversation-based assessment.

O&L 670. Ethical Organization (3 units)
This course explores classic and contemporary, Eastern and Western approaches to ethics with emphasis on application to practical organizational issues. A focus is on the application of complexity sciences - the sciences of connectivity - to informed ethical decision making. This course is offered in a blend of online and face-to-face formats. Please see course schedule for details.

O&L 671. Complexity & Leadership Realities (3 units)
This course examines the role of leadership through a complexity sciences framework. Particular focus is on leading self-organizing entities through the integration of, for example, learning in organizations, social and intellectual capital, emotional intelligence, and the Jesuit traditions of risk-taking, collabrative work and change.

O&L 672. Complexity & Org. Creativity (3 units)
This course focuses on the underlying dynamics of organizations from the perspective of chaos and complexity. Students examine both the creation of organizations and innovation and creativity within existing organizations with application to their individual experiences. This course is offered in a blend of online and face-to-face formats.

O&L 673. Complexity, Spirituality & Career (3 units)
This course combines ideas from the field of complexity sciences, spirituality and career development, mirroring 21st century trends. Students will explore their own careers, learn how to help others with their career development and understand the organizational processes that promote a healthy work environment. Applications to all settings: education, business, government and more. This course if offered in a blend of online and face-to-face formats.

O&L 697. Directed Study (1-3 units)
Independent, in-depth study of a specific educational topic.

O&L 698. Special Topic (1-3 units)
Special topics in the area of organization and leadership.

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