ELHE 7701 Introduction to Educational Leadership and Change

Brings a foundational focus to the work of educational administration, centering on the core work of teaching and learning and exploring how that central work is supported by the cultural, technical, political, and ethical systems of the school. That work is deepened as administrators support learning as meaning making, as involving a learning and civil community, and as involving the search for excellence. Students are asked to research the realities at their work sites using the concepts and metaphors developed in the course and, through discussion and the utilization of case studies, to propose improvements to those realities.

Course overview

Department
Educational Leadership and Higher Education
School
Lynch
Credits
3
Level
Graduate
Offered
Every Fall

Catalog details

Prerequisites
E-mail department for permission if course is closed.

Catalog text is imported from the reviewed Boston College course snapshot. Confirm eligibility in EagleApps.

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.62 / 5 · Excellent
242 responses
Instructor rating
4.72 / 5 · Excellent
242 responses
Terms evaluated
13
Most recent: Spring 2026

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Spring 2026Bridget Gough4.84.85.05.04.64.85.04.44–6 hrs/week14 of 17
Fall 2025Bridget Gough4.64.74.74.74.64.84.94.64–6 hrs/week18 of 22
Fall 2025Maryellen Brunelle4.44.94.74.74.64.64.63.87–9 hrs/week10 of 12
Spring 2025Lauri Johnson4.64.64.84.84.84.65.04.44–6 hrs/week5 of 9
Fall 2024Bridget Gough4.64.64.74.74.54.84.84.44–6 hrs/week19 of 20
Fall 2024Lauri Johnson4.84.84.84.74.54.64.84.41–3 hrs/week13 of 20
Summer 2024Bridget Gough4.64.84.94.74.54.74.94.34–6 hrs/week15 of 17
Spring 2024Lauri Johnson4.54.74.74.84.44.64.74.37–9 hrs/week14 of 17
Fall 2023Alexandra Mcneil—————————7 of 7
Fall 2023Bridget Gough—————————12 of 13
Summer 2023Bridget Gough—————————15 of 18
Spring 2023Lauri Johnson4.54.64.74.84.64.74.73.91–3 hrs/week15 of 18
Fall 2022Bridget Gough4.84.84.94.94.64.95.04.57–9 hrs/week8 of 9
Fall 2022Lauri Johnson4.85.04.94.94.74.74.84.54–6 hrs/week11 of 16
Fall 2022Leslie Patterson4.54.84.84.84.64.64.74.21–3 hrs/week12 of 15
Summer 2022Alexandra Mcneil4.64.44.84.94.84.94.94.64–6 hrs/week8 of 15
Summer 2022Maryellen Brunelle5.05.05.05.05.05.05.04.84–6 hrs/week4 of 7
Spring 2022Alexandra Mcneil4.64.54.54.44.54.54.84.34–6 hrs/week12 of 13
Spring 2022Bridget Gough4.74.84.84.84.64.64.84.3—9 of 10
Fall 2021Bridget Gough4.64.95.05.04.64.44.64.34–6 hrs/week12 of 18
Fall 2021Leslie Patterson4.54.84.54.54.04.54.54.34–6 hrs/week4 of 15
Fall 2021Maryellen Brunelle4.65.05.05.04.84.84.84.6—5 of 14

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Alexandra Mcneil
    Fall 2023, Summer 2022, Spring 2022 · Official rating 4.30/5
  • Bridget Gough
    Spring 2027, Fall 2026, Spring 2026, Fall 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 4.77/5
  • Lauri Johnson
    Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 · Official rating 4.74/5
  • Leslie Patterson
    Fall 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 4.75/5
  • Martin Scanlan
    Fall 2026
  • Maryellen Brunelle
    Fall 2025, Summer 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 4.95/5

Sections

  • Section 01
    Spring 2027 · Bridget Gough · M 06:00PM-07:00PM · Offered
  • Section 01
    Fall 2026 · Bridget Gough · M 06:00PM-07:30PM · Offered
  • Section 05
    Fall 2026 · Martin Scanlan · Tu 07:00PM-08:30PM · Offered