Master of Educational Leadership and Administration:

Degree Plan (Full Time & Part Time)

The department offers a range of courses. Below is a description of each course:

Contemporary Educational Thought: EDUC6005

This course aims to introduce students to the philosophical frameworks and foundations of education and its analytical reflections, function, concepts, theories, programs, curricula and their applications on all types’ educational practices and the learner as well. The course will help students understanding the professional ethics and its intellectual implications of value of justice, transparency, accountability and governance, which helping in creating an attractive school environment toward support community partnership and educational pedagogy. Furthermore, this course aims to provide students with practical educational skills through field practices related to the teaching profession and directed towards students with diverse cultures, disability, special needs and their rights, and ways of developing the qualities of a good citizenship in accordance with ethical charters and the nature of the culture in Omani society.

Educational Administration: EDUC6006

This course aims to familiarize students with the concepts and theories of contemporary educational administration, and the basic processes in administration such as planning, organizing, decision-making, supervision and evaluation. As well as discussing contemporary trends and issues in educational administration, such as: electronic management, empowerment, school improvement and school capacity building, total quality management, building professional learning societies, operations management (projects), and organizational justice. The course also includes an analysis of the roles and practices of the school principal and staff and challenges facing educational administration in Oman. In addition, there is a field work through which students apply knowledge and administrative theories, use electronic applications and draw administrative scenarios in order to improve their administrative skills and develop the reality of educational administration practices.

Economics of Education: EDUC6008

This course aims to develop student’s awareness of the interrelationships between economics and education, and study the foundations and principles of economics of education. It also includes the importance and role of education in economic development, investment in education, models for measuring the cost and return of education, and educational efficiency and effectiveness. It also deals with brain drain: its causes and how to deal with it. The course discusses sources of funding for education, budgeting at the school and district level, educational spending in Oman, methods and models for measuring the cost of and economic return from education, and use of technology in the economics of education. The course also includes students practical activities related to the course topics.

Instructional Leadership: EDUC6121

This course aims to introduce students to the basic concepts and theories of educational leadership, with a focus on its relationship to improving student-learning outcomes.The course deals with the foundations of educational leadership, its basic dimensions, models and functions in leading educational programs and curricula, educational supervision and evaluation, improving the learning climate, enhancing the professional development of teachers, and evaluating the teaching process.The course also discusses leadership in the blended learning environment and its role in shaping an environment supportive of integrating people with special needs and improving the learning of all students. The course analyses the types of leadership such as participatory, servant, and ethical leadership, among others. This are also field visits to some schools that apply blended education system, where students can observe and analyze educational leadership practices and their relationship to student learning improvement.

Human Resources Management in Education: EDUC6122

This course aims to provide students with competencies related to human resource management in the educational sector, and the course includes the basic processes of human resource planning, job analysis, design and evaluation, employee recruitment, selection, appointment and promotion, in addition to the system of wages, salaries, incentives and benefits, human resource maintenance and care systems, and systems termination of employee services and retirement, and the system of supervision and evaluation of job performance. The course also deals with the professional development of teachers and other educational professionals by identifying the professional needs of school personnel, planning, implementing and evaluating professional development programs and their role in developing leadership skills. The course also includes students' field visits and applications.

Educational Policies and Legislation: EDUC6123

This course aims to familiarize students with the theoretical foundations of the concept of educational policy that originates from the state’s public policy. The course also discusses local, regional and international factors that affect educational policy planning, providing students with knowledge of the role played by governments in directing educational policies. Moreover, the students are introduced to the legislative and executive bodies, responsible individuals (official and non-governmental) to educational policy-making architecture in the country. The course also focuses on educational policy-making processes (policy-making, implementation and evaluation) and their adoption. Furthermore, the course train students on methods of analyzing educational policies and providing students with skills in analysis and policy evaluation. The course ends with teaching students to analyze issues and priorities of educational policy in the Sultanate of Oman and the future directions of these policies.

Partnership and Social Responsibility: EDUC6225

This course aims at partnership, social responsibility and its relationship with educational work and the role it can play in improving and developing this work in order to achieve educational goals. Hence, the course aims to introduce students to the concept of partnership between school, families, civil society institutions and the labor market, and the importance of this partnership in supporting educational institutions and improving students' learning inside and outside the school, and the course discusses ways and strategies through which to encourage the involvement of members of the local community and families in the educational process, and activate their participation in decision-making related to the education of their children, and it also highlights the efforts made by community institutions to support schools in the Sultanate. In addition, the course deals with presentation and analysis of communication skills and their importance in attracting families and community institutions for schools' support, and the role of technology in activating this communication, and the practical aspect of the course also includes providing students with some skills related to using different communication processes to communicate with families and community organizations to involve them in the educational process. In addition to needs setting, skills for the school and educational district, as well as how to obtain the necessary resources to support the school and enhance student learning.

Research Methods in Educational Administration and Leadership and its Application: EDUC6230

This course aims to enable students to apply scientific research procedures in the fields of educational administration and leadership. The course includes research approaches and techniques used in educational administration and leadership such as the systems analysis method, case study approach, comparative research methods in educational management and leadership, the Delphi method, and the SWOT method, and qualitative research and its methods used in educational administration and leadership. The course also requires students to train in this type of studies, analyze published research and studies that employ these approaches and research methods, as well as present an integrated research plan in the field of specialization that reflects their mastery of scientific research skills and its ethics.

Research project in educational administration and leadership: EDUC6300

Master Thesis in Educational Administration and Leadership: EDUC7010

Completion of the master’s thesis is a prerequisite for completing the graduation requirements and obtaining a master’s degree in educational administration and leadership. The student must prepare the thesis according to the specifications and conditions stated in the academic system for postgraduate studies at the university, and that the topic of the thesis is related to the field of educational administration and leadership.