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Professional Development
In accordance with Harvard University policy, Professional Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education affirms the right of all individuals to equal treatment in education without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Change is a complex process that presents us with both obstacles and opportunities. In Driving Change, you’ll examine what is known about the change process in school organizations. You’ll explore how people experience disruption and change. And you’ll learn how to manage constraints and exploit opportunities in order to implement change with intention and success.
Together with motivated peers, you’ll take a close look at the principles of change development. You’ll develop an understanding of how you think about the problem you want to solve. You’ll consider how you might work with others to develop a theory of action. And finally, you’ll create a strategy for change.
This program will teach you how to analyze components such as culture, structure, systems, and stakeholders as you consider your goals and how you might achieve them. You’ll learn how to address the various constituencies affected by the proposed change, including leaders inside and outside the organization. And you’ll practice concrete strategies to build awareness of the need for change, cultivate a sense of shared mission, and develop a common agenda. The program welcomes interest and registrations from all practitioners in the field.
Driving Change takes place over 12 weeks. It moves through a cycle of learning, application, performance, and demonstration. You’ll engage in a range of activities and activities both online and in your personal and professional contexts.
The experience is designed to be both rigorous and flexible. The activities are asynchronous, meaning you can choose when within a given week, you do them. Each week will require five to seven hours of work, with more guided, paced work during the “learning” weeks (weeks 2, 3, 4, and 8) and more job-associated practice and application during weeks 5–7 and 9–12.
Driving Change is one of five online modules of the Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership (CAEL) program. Designed for current and aspiring school system leaders, CAEL is based on the Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. If you’re interested in pursuing the full certificate, please visit the CAEL program page.
CAEL Modules
Current and aspiring leaders in preK-12 school systems, including:
Taking Driving Change as a Team
Taking this course as a school, district, or organization-level team is a powerful way to enact a collective impact on learning in your system. You can tackle a more significant problem of practice, identify unified goals and objectives together, and collectively apply what you learn as you learn, all while building skills you can apply to future problems.
Your team will work on a single, shared problem of practice across the 12 weeks, submitting a single midterm and final project that represents your collective effort. Along the way, you’ll also submit individual assignments focused on more personal learning.
This program welcomes applications from both individuals and teams. First-time applicants need to create a Professional Education account to apply.
Individuals: Click the "Apply" button at the top of this page to log into your Professional Education account and access the application page. Proceed with the individual form until submission.
Teams:
Step 1: Designate one participant or an administrative staff member as the Coordinator.
Step 2: Upon the submission of the team application, all team members will receive an email notification with a link to their personal application form. Team members should complete their forms promptly. Once all team members submit their forms, the application is considered complete and ready for review by the Admissions Committee.
Invoices: Invoices will only be available upon your acceptance.
Tuition assistance is available for this program on a need and application basis. Tuition assistance is granted based on participant and institutional needs. Requests for tuition assistance do not affect an applicant's prospects for admission. You may access the tuition assistance application after you have submitted your program application. Tuition assistance applications should be submitted at least one month prior to the final application deadline.
Professional education alumnus pushes the boundaries of Italian academia