Master of Education in School Counseling and Leadership

Counselor Board Certification

Curriculum Outline:
The mission of the Center for Leadership and Learning is to prepare school leadership teams (i.e., administrators, school counselors, and master teachers) with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to work collaboratively to ensure that all students will learn. The integrated design developed by the Center promotes a collaborative model for the training of school team members in the Leadership Core.

The program will allow completion within two years for individuals who possess:

a teaching license
who have worked as a licensed teacher for three academic years.
The Center will offer its courses during weekends, summers, and on selected weekly evenings. The School Counseling and Leadership Curriculum requires 42 semester credit hours.

Level One Coursework-Core Courses (15 hours)
COUN 6003 School Leadership and Organization
COUN 6143 Organizational Change and the Role of School Counseling
COUN 6011 Instructional Leadership
COUN 6152 Professional Portfolio
COUN 6113 Principles of Curriculum Development
COUN 6013 Action Research and Data Analysis for High Performing Schools

Level Two Coursework-School Counseling and Leadership (20 hours)
COUN 6213 Developmental Counseling: Theory and Application
COUN 6233 Organization and Leadership of School Counseling Programs
COUN 6254 Assessment and Career/Academic Advising
COUN 6243 Group Counseling Strategies in the Schools
COUN 6263 Teaming, Collaboration, and Advocacy
COUN 6224 Counseling Skill Development (I); Theory and Application of School Interventions

Level Three Courses-Supervised Field Experiences
COUN 6303 Counseling Skill Development (II)
COUN 6304 Internship

Admission Requirements

1. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Miller's Analogy Test (MAT) must be completed and official scores on file in the Office of Graduate Studies.
2. A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 must be achieved in all graduate work attempted at Arkansas Tech University, with a maximum of 6 hours of "C" grades. A student receiving 6 hours of "C" grades or 3 hours of "F" grades is subject to dismissal from the graduate program. Grades lower than "C" will not be counted toward degree requirements.
3. The master's degree program must be completed within six years from the time of unconditional or conditional admission to the graduate program.
4. A portfolio must be successfully completed and approved by a portfolio review committee.

In addition to the general graduate school requirements for admission, the following requirements must be completed for admission to a program of study for a Master in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership and a Master in Counseling and Leadership:

1. Three years of teaching experience are required.
2. A written assessment followed by an interview for program admissions will be required.
3. Successful completion of a Technology Assessment within the first semester of admission to the program is required. Students will be required to take EDLD 6112: Technology Applications to meet any technology deficiencies identified through the technology assessment.
4. Students will be entered into the program as cohorts.

Course Descriptions
Leadership Common Core Coursework
COUN 6003 School Organization and Leadership. This course will examine how schools are organized and supported from the federal level to the local school. The concepts of leadership and its role at all levels will be a focal part of this study. Students will begin to examine their leadership style and dispositions.

COUN 6013 Action Research and Data Analysis. This course will center on the analysis of data with emphasis on student achievement and whole school accountability. Data-driven decision making will be examined. Students will look at research methodologies with a focus on action research and the role of the leader in facilitating action research in the field.

COUN 6011 Instructional Leadership. This course will focus on the "hard and soft" skills of instructional leadership, counseling and micro-counseling. The teaching and learning process will be the focus of student work. Students will learn how to observe and coach for excellence in teaching and learning. The reflective practice model will serve as a basis for theory and skill development.

COUN 6113 Principles of Curriculum. This course will focus on national, state, and local curriculum standards. Students will gain an understanding of the alignment issues of curriculum, instruction, and assessment as they prepare a curriculum artifact based on the principles of curriculum.

COUN 6143 Organizational Change. This course will examine theories of change looking at research and case studies of first and second order change. Students will gain strategies as leaders of change as schools work to move closer to higher performance. Students will study a current change taking place in a school.

COUN 6152 Professional Portfolio. This course will examine the role of the student portfolio and the teaching portfolio. The main focus will be the professional portfolio for the candidate's completion of their degree program.

School Counseling Specialty Coursework
COUN 6213 Developmental Counseling: Theory and Application. This course provides an overview of the basic tenets of lifespan development and how they relate to school counseling. Developmental Counseling contains a balance of research, theoretical clarity, and practical application as students move through the stages of lifespan development.

COUN 6224 Counseling Skill Development I. Students will examine basic skills and characteristics involved in becoming effective school counselors; will articulate, practice, and demonstrate basic mastery of these skills and characteristics; will develop a systematic approach to the counseling process; and will assess personal strengths and limitations related to becoming professional school counselors.

COUN 6233 Organization and Leadership of School Counseling Programs. This course reviews the basic concepts and principals of elementary, middle, and secondary school counseling. Specific focus will be on program accountability and developing and leading school-based counseling programs.

COUN 6243 Group Counseling Strategies in the Schools. Students will be expected to draw relationships among the concepts and principles of individual, family, and group counseling and apply that knowledge to a school setting.

COUN 6254 Assessment and Career/Academic Advising. This course prepares pre-service counselors to facilitate the public schools role in career development, planning, and decision making within the educational context.

COUN 6263 Teaming, Collaboration, and Advocacy. This course emphasizes the values, knowledge, and skills required for effective advocacy and brokering of services through consultation and collaboration. Use of data to identify needs, remove barriers and mobilize resources from the school and the community in order to increase options for students are primary themes through the course. Special attention is placed on equal access of all students to rigorous educational experiences.

COUN 6303 Counseling Skill Development II. Students will examine intermediate skills and characteristics involved in becoming effective school counselors. Students will articulate, practice, and demonstrate mastery of these skills and characteristics; will develop a systematic approach to the counseling process; and will further assess personal strengths and limitations related to becoming professional school counselors.

COUN 6304 School Counseling Internship. This course provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in supervised, on-the-job experiences in a school setting. The internship includes scheduled on campus group supervision designed to provide guidance, analysis, and evaluation of this capstone field experience.