PreK-12 School & Systems Leadership Track
Lead your school. Lead your district. Lead with a doctorate.
You've built your career leading students, teachers, and schools. Now you're ready for the degree that matches your ambition and expands your influence. Sacred Heart University's Ed.D. in educational leadership with a concentration in PreK-12 school & systems leadership prepares experienced educators to lead complex educational systems with strategic clarity, scholarly rigor, and a deep commitment to equity and improvement.
This fully online doctoral program is designed for educational leaders who want to strengthen their leadership at the building and district level, complete a real-world dissertation in practice, and earn their Ed.D. without stepping away from the work they love.
Is This Track Right for You?
The PreK-12 school & systems leadership track is designed for:
- Educational leaders seeking doctoral-level leadership preparation
- Superintendents and central office leaders ready to advance their careers as scholarly practitioners
- Principals, assistant principals, and others seeking leadership opportunities at the district or systems level and require the doctoral credential to do so
- Teacher leaders seeking to expand their sphere of influence
If you are an educational leader who wants to earn your Ed.D. in a program designed to expand your skills as a change agent, this track was built for you.
What You Will Learn
Through your coursework and dissertation, you will:
- Examine continuous improvement models and apply them to PreK-12 systems
- Develop strategic planning skills to address complex problems of practice at the school and district level
- Expand your skills for leading adult learning in PreK-12 contexts
- Explore strategic resource allocation to advance equity and outcomes at the school and systems level
- Analyze local, state, and federal education policy to become an effective advocate for students and communities
PreK-12 School & Systems Leadership Concentration Coursework
In addition to the shared research core and dissertation seminars, the PreK-12 track includes 15 credits of specialized concentration courses addressing:
- Adult Learning and Leadership Practice in PreK-12 Contexts
- Strategic Planning for Educational Improvement
- Strategic Leadership and Organizational Learning Theory
- Resource Management and Deployment
- Leading and Advocating Through Policy
All students also complete shared foundational and research courses, including quantitative and qualitative research methods, grant writing, mixed methods research, public policy, social justice, and foundational leadership in PreK-20 contexts.
The Dissertation in Practice: Research That Solves Real Problems
Every PreK-12 track student completes a five-chapter Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice (ISDiP). This is applied scholarship grounded in your professional context. It is designed to address a persistent, real-world problem in your school or district and produce findings that advance practice for leaders beyond your own setting.
Through the ISDiP, you will:
- Identify a complex problem of practice embedded in your work as a school leader
- Conduct end-user interviews and environmental scans
- Review relevant literature and professional practice
- Design and implement a change idea grounded in improvement science
- Discuss findings and implications for educational leaders within and beyond your setting
Many school leadership roles now require, or are significantly enhanced by, the doctoral degree. Earning your Ed.D. at Sacred Heart gives you the scholarly foundation and practical expertise to compete and lead at the highest level.
Frequently Asked Questions
This track is designed for educational leaders, including teacher leaders, principals, assistant principals, superintendents, and central office leaders, who want to earn their doctorate and strengthen their capacity to lead at the building and district level.
The program is designed for graduate students who are currently serving in a variety of PreK-12 settings. Successful applicants will have demonstrated successful leadership as teacher leaders, department chairs, assistant principals, principals, directors, and/or district leaders.
Both tracks share a common research core and dissertation seminars. The PreK-12 track includes a 15-credit concentration focused on strategic leadership, organizational learning, resource management, and policy advocacy for school and district leaders. The SEL track focuses on social-emotional and academic learning for educators in teaching and student support roles.