Department of Educational Administration, Foundations, and Research

Dr. Albert W. Carter, Interim Chair and Assistant Professor
P. O. Box 17175
Telephone: (601) 979-1140
Fax: (601) 979-3360
E-mail: albert.w.carter@jsums.edu

Faculty

Dr. Albert Carter, Assistant Professor
Dr. Chandar Lewis, Associate Professor
Dr. Jeton McClinton, Professor
Dr. Sidney McLaurin, Associate Professor
Dr. Benjamin Ngwudike, Professor
Dr. Dorris Robinson-Gardner, Professor
Dr. Adrianne Swinney, Assistant Professor 
Dr. Ronald Walker, Associate Professor
Dr. Jennifer Wallace, Associate Professor

Department Objectives

The mission of the Department of Educational Administration, Foundations, and Research is to support, integrate, and implement the mission of the University and the College of Education and Human Development in the pursuit of excellence as responsive educators through teaching, research, service, and all phases of university life. More specifically, the department is responsible for preparing personnel for leadership roles in traditional and non- traditional settings, including the P-16 schools (building level and district central office level). A major emphasis is the preparation of leaders capable of managing and motivating people, conducting research, analyzing data, presenting findings, initiating, organizing, and facilitating action plans and establishing programs and strategies geared toward solving broad-based urban and metropolitan problems. The department is responsible for providing and directing programs in foundations (research, statistics, social, cultural, historical, and philosophical); K-12 certification, in higher education administration, in teaching and learning assistance in various areas of social life. Guided by the motto "Involvement is the Cornerstone of Excellence," the department and its programs exist to prepare professional instructional personnel at levels appropriate to the degrees offered and to meet certification requirements at the AA, AAA, and AAAA levels for the State of Mississippi in the various fields.The department also offers the Ph.D. concentration in Higher Education Administration which prepares faculty and mid/entry level executive personnel for career advancement in institutions of higher education.

The department's objectives are to prepare candidates who can proactively and confidently accomplish the following:

1. Locate, interpret and apply research pertinent to educational problems;
2. Exhibit competency in doing independent original research;
3. Derive the greatest benefits from classroom and online experience as prepared prospective teachers skilled in the techniques of instruction;
4. Develop competencies and professional leadership skills through the advancement of knowledge and research that enables him/her to assume major leadership roles in diverse communities;
5. Develop an understanding of the basic logical processes and resources useful in information retrieval;
6. Pursue advanced study in the Gestalt of education with emphasis in specialty areas, thus increasing skills and competencies to broaden his/her teaching and administrative efficiency;
7. Exhibit techniques and a desire for inquiry;
8. Demonstrate through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary comprehensive examinations knowledge at a level expected of a doctoral candidate of new findings and trends in urban education;
9. Demonstrate knowledge of how to utilize knowledge of the Social Sciences and Social Studies in planning and implementing effective leadership.

Independent Study: Process and Procedures

A student may enroll in independent study for 1-6 semester hours. The study will be supervised by a graduate faculty member with expertise in the student's area of interest. At the beginning of the semester in which a student enrolls for an independent study, he/ she must confer with the instructor of record to develop a study plan. The plan shall include goals and objectives, activities required for achieving the objectives, a timetable for reporting progress and the criteria to be used in evaluating the course. Once the plan is fully developed, it becomes a contract and is signed by the student and the professor. The professor serves as a facilitator of learning, but also as a resource to the student. Please see College of Education and Human Development academic regulations for additional information.

Program in Responsive Education with Clinical

Experiences and Professional Training (PRECEPT) In keeping with the Responsive Educator Model (REM), the Professional Education Program includes a systematic five- stage strategy for the delivery of required, clinical, and field- based experiences. At Jackson State, the PRECEPT Program is sequenced to begin in the first or second semester of freshman studies and extend through doctoral level studies. Initially, at the basic level, campus-based classroom and clinical activities are most dominant, but over time clinical and field-based activities increase with an equivalent reduction in academic, seminar-type activities.

• PRECEPT III Master’s Degree Level
• PRECEPT IV Specialist Degree Level
• PRECEPT V Doctoral Degree Level

The level of difficulty of the sequential experiences moves from the simple to the complex. In essence, PRECEPT stages are both inter and intra dependent while at the same time they are self-contained units of preparation. PRECEPT courses are identified in course syllabi.

Program Objectives

The Ph.D. degree prepares graduates for educational careers both executive and administrative in which they can effectively demonstrate abilities in motivating and leading all stakeholders with unified collaborations and data-driven solutions when faced with broad-based educational challenges, especially those which emerge in response to the dynamic social order of urban communities. The Program consists of three specific concentrations: K-12 administration with an administrative license, K-12 administration without an administrative license and higher education concentration. This goal is supported by the following program objectives:

1. To provide a terminal degree consistent with the highest level of leadership, educational practice, and scholarly research in either K-12 administration or higher education.
2. To provide an increased number of qualified leaders who can provide and demonstrate effective leadership in traditional and nontraditional educational settings.
3. To strengthen the capacity of leaders to conduct educational research and evaluation and to translate findings into creative solutions for urban and rural problems.
4. To promote research and development activities which enhance and expand the body of professional scholarly research in the field of urban education management for the twenty-first century and beyond.
5. To support the educational reform goal of the improved educational administration.

This advanced program of scholarly study and training experiences prepare graduates to assume leadership responsibilities in the areas of school and general management and administration, curriculum and instructional development, research and evaluation, staff development and training, student affairs, educational media and technology or a combination thereof.

Program Admission

Students applying for admission to the Ph.D. program must first obtain general admission through the Division of Graduate Studies; however, this admission does not mean automatic admission to the Ph.D. Program. Applications are accepted year round for admission each fall. Applications must be submitted prior to March 1. All students seeking admission to the Ph.D. Program must meet the following criteria:

1. A Master's degree from an accredited university.
2. A completed Ph.D. program application.
3. An overall GPA of 3.5 or above (on a 4.0 scale) on the highest earned degree.
4. Transcripts for all post-secondary, graduate work attempted prior to submitting a program application.
5. A satisfactory score on the GRE or on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) taken in the past 5 years.
6. Recommendations from three (3) persons knowledgeable of the applicant's professional academic ability, job experiences, and leadership potential.
7. Acceptable evidence of a student's writing ability as determined by a writing assessment completed under the supervision of the department admissions committee.
8. A successful interview with the program committee.
9. Recommendation for admission by the admissions committee.
10. Concentration in K-12 administration requires evidence of the past three years of successful classroom teaching documentation.
11. At least three years of full-time teaching experience.
12. A minimum of 5 years of successful employment in a public, private, or proprietary community college, college, or university, municipal, state or federal government agency.

Conditional Program Admission

Conditional admission may be granted to individuals who have obtained general admission to the Division of Graduate Studies but who do not meet regular program admission requirements. All students admitted via the conditional program admission will be required to take a common core of nine (9) semester hours of regular graduate courses during their first semester of enrollment. During this specified period, conditional students must earn a minimum 3.0 GPA in the program of study taken at Jackson State University (transfer hours will not apply) in order to achieve regular status. Once the nine hours are completed, conditionally admitted students will be interviewed a second time by the program screening committee before they are allowed to continue to matriculate in the Ph.D. program. The department screening committee will notify the chair of the department of the results of the second interview. The chair of the department will notify the student by certified mail or university email and a conference with the student will occur before further enrollment. All conditionally admitted students will follow the "Time Limits" policy as stated in this Catalog. If a 3.0 GPA is not attained in the first nine (9) hours attempted, the student will be discontinued from the program. Conditional route admission is based on the following criteria:

1. A Master’s degree from an accredited university.
2. A completed program application
3. Results of the GRE or MAT examination taken within the last five years.
4. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above on all graduate work (4.0 scale)
5. Outstanding compensating strengths measured by the following criteria:
   1. Earned Master's degree from an accredited institution.
   2. Earned GPA on all graduate courses completed.
   3. Writing ability
   4. Success in current employment
   5. Administrative experience and/or potential for administrative experience.
   6. Teaching/work experience
   7. Communication skills.
6. Transcripts of all post-secondary graduate work attempted prior to program application
7. Recommendations from three (3) persons knowledgeable of applicant's professional academic ability, job experiences and leadership potential such as previous college professors and supervisors
8. Acceptable evidence of student's writing ability as determined by writing a sample under the supervision of the screening committee member.
9. A successful interview with the program screening committee.
10. Concentration in K-12 administration requires evidence of the past three years of successful classroom teaching documentation.
11. Higher Education Concentration requires a minimum of (5) years of successful employment in a community college, education institution or with a state and federal government program.

Program of Study

The initiative in planning the program of study must be assumed by the student. After notification of acceptance, the student should prepare a definition of his or her professional goals and the rationale for desiring the doctoral degree. The statement will be used by the doctoral committee in assisting with the planning of the student's program of study.

The student and major professor, using the statement of professional goals, transcripts of previous graduate work, results of the preliminary exam (if taken), and minimum course requirements, will prepare a tentative program of study which sets forth proposed coursework, independent studies, practicum, and other experiences deemed important. The student’s proposed program of study should then be presented to the full committee for review and approval or revision, if necessary.

Since a program of study is individualized based upon a student's need, career goals, academic background, and present level of competence, the planned program of study is always subject to future additions, deletions and substitutions depending upon the needs of the student. These changes may be prescribed throughout the student's program of study by the student's doctoral committee. Proposed changes must be agreed upon the doctoral committee and approved by the Department Chair, and the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

Degree Requirements

All programs of study must include a minimum of 60 semester hours of coursework beyond the master's degree, excluding the dissertation. At least one-half of this coursework must be at the 600 and 700 levels of study. At least 45 semester hours of coursework and the dissertation must be completed at Jackson State. Subjects covered comprehensively in the student's previous education and in which the student maintains an acceptable level of competence need not be repeated. The typical student may expect to devote three years of full-time graduate study to earning the Ph.D. degree. All students accepted into the program will be required to pass the Graduate Area Comprehensive Examination following the successful completion of at least 80% of coursework.

The doctoral program consists of five areas of study. These areas and the minimum semester hours required are as follows:

Students with a master's or specialist degree in educational administration or leadership, who have been admitted to the Ph.D. program; and, who have completed the prerequisite requirements are expected to complete, at a minimum, the program specified below, as well as other courses the doctoral committee may prescribe.