Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction

Become an instructional leader who will create and strategically manage processes related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Students will deepen their knowledge and understanding of educational practices and acquire tools needed to provide professional leadership in curriculum, teacher education, and professional development in the schools.

The purpose of the Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction is to develop curriculum leaders through courses, research, and seminars conducted in an environment based on Christian principles and values. The program is designed to offer the depth of a concentration and the breadth of a cross-disciplinary perspective to develop curricular leaders who can shape educational practices at all levels.

Curriculum

What You’ll Learn

Schools and organizations are dynamic institutions whose practice is shaped by powerful and influential interests. As a result, the economic, political, social, and technological environments of organizations deal with constant change.

The Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction program goals are:

1. To foster a collaborative culture to support educator development and student learning;
2. To access and use research to improve practice and student learning;
3. To promote professional learning for continuous learning;
4. To facilitate improvements in instruction and student learning;
5. To promote the use of assessments and data for school and district improvement;
6. To improve outreach and collaboration with families and community;
7. To advocate for student learning and the profession.

Gardner-Webb University’s College of Education offers a learning environment that supports Christian values in the classroom. You will gain valuable professional preparation to succeed in your career and help your future students succeed in school. You will also benefit from spiritual support that prepares you for ethical, inspired leadership.

Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction students develop professional learning modules based on needs identified through assessments of their own schools and school districts. Modules are developed in accordance with a comprehensive rubric, assessed by cross-cohort peers, and evaluated by faculty. Certain modules are identified to be published in Digital Commons, an institutional repository maintained by Gardner-Webb University’s Dover Library, for use by other educators. This collection of professional learning modules is titled IMPROVE (Instructional modules for professional learning: Responding to opportunities and valuing educators).

Available Programs

Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction

Students in the Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction program must hold at least a Master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum 3.0 grade point average on all graduate-level work. A minimum of three years of experience is preferred and a teacher’s license is required. Applicants without a teaching license must provide a letter stating their teaching experience. Each semester students will take one course (6 or 12 credit hours) along with a one credit hour dissertation seminar.

The 63-credit hour program is offered in a hybrid format with participants required to attend class three weekends each fall and spring semesters. Each weekend consists of Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the summer months, candidates will attend seven face-to-face sessions, two of which will be as part of the College of Education’s Graduate Summit . This process continues for two years until classroom studies are completed. After this, your next two semesters will be six-hour and three-hour dissertation semesters respectively, thus concluding your program. The electronic portfolio, a requirement for your degree, will be created and stored online in a product called TaskStream.

Additional information, including descriptions of specific concentrations and their corresponding credit hours, is available in the Academic Catalog.

Outcomes

What You’ll Do

Upon completion of this program, students will have earned a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and will be eligible to take the Praxis in order to be licensed as a Curriculum and Instructional Specialist. Candidates will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and beliefs that will enable you to function effectively in curriculum roles.