California State University, San Bernardino

College of Education

 

Course Syllabus

 

 

Course Title:                Research Methods in Educational Administration

 

Number:                      EADM 602    

                       

Instructor:                 Stanley L. Swartz, Ph.D.

 

Office:                         Faculty Office Building 109

 

Office Hours:              Arranged by email for this course

                                    and conducted at http://www.stanswartz.com/chatnew.html
                                    and by appointment at Cal State

 

Office Telephone:        (909) 537-5601; fax (909) 862-4045

 

Email:                            sswartz@csusb.edu

 

Web page:                   www.stanswartz.com

                                    for this course

                                    http://66.146.117.207/default602.htm

 

 

Note about the Course
This course in educational administration is designed to use technology to support distance learning. Students work independently and receive online support from other students and the instructor.

COE Statement

The College of Education of California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is dedicated to the development and support of wise, reflective professional educators who will work toward a just and diverse society that embraces democratic principles. The wise teacher:

o         Possesses rich subject matter knowledge.

o         Uses sound pedagogical judgment.

o         Has practical knowledge of context and culture.

o         Acknowledges the relativism associated with variations in the values and priorities of both their peers and their students.

o         Is comfortable with the uncertainty of the outcomes of instructional decisions.

            (College of Education Conceptual Framework, 2000)

 

Commitment to Diversity

In our commitment to the furthering of knowledge and fulfilling our educational mission, California State University, San Bernardino seeks a campus climate that welcomes, celebrates, and promotes respect for the entire variety of human experience.  In our commitment to diversity, we welcome people from all backgrounds and we seek to include knowledge and values from many cultures in the curriculum and extracurricular life of the campus community.  Dimensions of diversity shall include, but are not limited to, the following: race, ethnicity, religious belief, sexual orientation, sex/gender, disability, socioeconomic status, cultural orientation, national origin, and age. (from the CSU San Bernardino University Diversity Committee Statement of Commitment to Diversity, 1995)

 

In keeping with the universityÕs Commitment to Diversity, the faculty of the College of Education fully support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Faculty will provide reasonable accommodation to any student with a disability who is registered with the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities and who needs and requests accommodation.

 

Catalog Description

Introduction to the vocabulary, design, and sources of research in the field of educational leadership including qualitative and quantitative research methods, the utilization of technology in research, and the reading and conduct of research and evaluation studies.

 

Course Overview and/or Rationale

The emphasis in the course is on giving students a basic introduction to the fundamentals of educational research - what it involves, what types exist, and how to design and conduct such research for school administrators.

 

Course Goals/Objectives

Students will be able to:

1.         Understand and be able to explain briefly the fundamental concepts of educational research.
2.         To understand and be able to explain the specific procedures involved in the conduct of educational research.

3.         To formulate a research problem, state a research hypothesis, and identify the variables of the hypothesis.

4.         Conduct a review of the research literature on a given topic.

5.         Locate or develop an instrument to test a hypothesis.

6.         Identify and seek to control threats to the internal and external validity of a research investigation.

7.         Collect, summarize and analyze research data using the appropriate instruments and tests.

8.         Prepare an action research report.

 

 

Required Textbook

Fraenkel, J., & Wallen, N.  (2006). How to design and evaluate research in education, 6th ed.  New York: McGraw-Hill.  It can be ordered from the Coyote Bookstore or from Amazon.com



Research Support Groups

Students will be assigned to a research support group based on research interests.  The purpose of these groups is to provide collaborative review of research design, research procedures, and the Action Research Report.  The groups will meet four times during the term using the course Discussion Forum, http://www.stanswartz.com/chatnew.html.  A summary of these meetings and questions for the instructor will be prepared and submitted for each Research Support Group meeting.

 

Schedule of Meetings, Activities and Assignments

 

Week 1
Orientation meeting, date to be announced

Review of syllabus and course requirements

Student profiles due

Development of research support groups, either by topic or geography

 

Week 2

Meeting of research support groups #1 - Discussion should focus on the identification of your research question

http://www.stanswartz.com/chatnew.html

 

Week 3

Summary of Research Support Group meeting due

Reading, Chapter 1, The Nature of Education Research

Activities for the reading due

Review of Scientifically Based Research Criteria

Review of research report due using this criteria

Week 4

Meeting of research support groups #2 - Discussion should focus on research design
http://www.stanswartz.com/chatnew.html

 

Week 5

Summary of Research Support Group meeting due

Reading, Chapter 23, Action Research

Activities for this reading due

Identification of Research Problem

Reading, Chapter 2, pages 27-30.

Audio lecture

Evaluating Research Questions form due

The Research Question form due


Week 6

Meeting of research support groups #3 - Discussion should focus on how you will analyze your data
http://www.stanswartz.com/chatnew.html

 

Week 7

Summary of Research Support Group meeting due

Review of literature related to the research problem due

using the various search engines and databases from Research Tools,

http://www.stanswartz.com/researchtools.html

Week 8

Meeting of research support groups #4 - Discussion should focus on the interpretation of your results
http://www.stanswartz.com/chatnew.html

 

Week 9

Summary of Research Support Group meeting due

 

Week 10

Written Action Research Report due

 

Grading

Online participation                             25%

Written assignments                            25%

Final report                                         50%    




Notice:
This course uses technology designed by the instructor. The
instructor maintains the server for this course and acts as the
webmaster.