Alberta Principal Certification
Join us for an online information session on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. (MST, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). The session will run between 30 and 60 minutes.
Alberta Education's Leadership Quality Standard (LQS) is applicable in public, separate, francophone, charter and funded accredited independent school authorities. The LQS governs leadership certification and aims to help individuals entering leadership roles in education to have a common level of preparation.
The LQS includes the following 9 competencies:
- Fostering Effective Relationships
- Modeling Commitment to Professional Learning
- Embodying Visionary Leadership
- Leading a Learning Community
- Supporting the Application of Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Métis and Inuit
- Providing Instructional Leadership
- Developing Leadership Capacity
- Managing School Operations and Resources
- Understanding and Responding to the Larger Societal Context
Any teacher can obtain the leadership certification by completing approved leadership coursework. Teachers may complete the coursework at any time. They must meet all the requirements - including holding an Alberta permanent professional teaching certificate - before being granted a leadership certificate. For more information on principal certification, please review Alberta Education's Professional Practice Standards.
Coursework
The following two courses meet the academic requirements for principal certification. These are graduate-level, credit courses, requiring between five and ten hours of coursework per week in the fall and winter terms (13 weeks). Courses offered in the spring and summer terms are condensed (six and three weeks respectively), so the amount of time spent on coursework is increased. This includes time spent on readings, assignments, presentations (group and individual), and writing papers.
Note: EDU 520 is offered in every term; EDU 521 is offered in all but Summer Term.
EDU 520 Theoretical and Professional Foundations of School Leadership
Explore the foundational dimensions of school leadership including instructional leadership, fostering effective relationships, supporting the application of foundational knowledge about Indigenous Peoples, visionary leadership, leading learning communities, modelling continuous professional learning, developing leadership capacity, understanding the social context influencing schooling, and managing school operations and resources. Note: This course is a partial fulfillment of the academic requirements for school leader certification through Alberta's Leadership Quality Standard.
EDU 521 School Leadership: Theory and Practice
Prerequisite: EDU 520
Hone leadership practices grounded in research to demonstrate mastery of Alberta's Leadership Quality Standard (LQS). Includes a job-embedded learning component in which participants visit, observe, and collaborate with one other school leader or leadership team in a school setting of their choice, in which the Alberta Program of Studies is offered. Successful completion of this course fulfills the academic requirements for school leader certification through Alberta's Leadership Quality Standard. Students will be sent a consent form, to give the Faculty permission to release their academic information to TWINS.
To optimize your learning experience, we recommend that you have a minimum of two years of teaching experience. Please check the Academic Calendar for course schedules or contact our Graduate Administrator for more information.
Admissions
These courses can be taken as an open studies student, as an elective in a graduate program (in consultation with your program advisor), or as required courses in the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership. To optimize your learning experience, we recommend that you have a minimum of two years of teaching experience.
Please note: While aspiring school leaders from other parts of Canada or the world will find value in the courses, the curricular context is Alberta.
Tuition and Fees
The application fee for Open Studies is $75 for returning students; $125 for new applicants. The application fee for the Graduate Certificate in School Leadership is $135.
Domestic tuition for these courses in 2024-25 is $1,498.00 plus non-instructional fees. International tuition is assessed at a higher rate. Contact gcslinfo@ualberta.ca for details.
Note: Tuition for domestic students may be listed at a higher rate. However, to maintain tuition rates across all Professional Learning programs, the Faculty of Education will provide a bursary to keep the amount paid at $1,498.00 per course. If applicable, the bursary will be applied after the add/drop deadline and prior to the fee payment deadline. All tuition fees and bursary amounts are subject to change. Doctoral and international students are not eligible for this bursary.