As a scholar-practitioner, it is your responsibility to apply theoretical knowledge to real-life situations. As an educational leader, you will be asked to do so on a daily basis. Your final project will be based on your ability to identify a theory to address a problem and devise an acceptable action plan. The total assignment should be 3,500-3,850 words.

For your final project, you will develop a case study for an educational organization with whom you are associated or look for the case to be studied using the ProQuest Newsstand. When using ProQuest Newsstand, look for periodicals that reference a current problem in education and cite an institution's response to the problem.

Part I

As part of your case study, you will examine the institutional response to a problem. In your analysis, you will provide:

Introduction: Explain the concept of the scholar-practitioner. Describe how the scholar-practitioner model is important to applying theory to solving problems in educational settings.

The Background of the Organization: The background should include the institution's name and historical summary (unless your study requires the use of proprietary and/or confidential information; in these cases, use of alternate descriptions to protect identity is permissible). The background should also include the population that is served, the number of staff and administrators involved (if available), and any previous institutional problems.

Problem Analysis: State the primary and secondary problems of the selected case. The primary problem will be identified as the main concern to be addressed. In many organizations, though, there remains a ripple effect of change. A change to address one problem may create a series of secondary problems that need to be addressed (e.g., a problem of funding reallocation would draw funds away from other areas). In addressing the main problem, what secondary issues were created? Determine if the institution responded to these secondary problems.

Case Study Review: Outline the institution's and/or organization leader's response to the problem. In your outline (which you can provide in paragraph or bullet form), summarize the key strategies in the leadership's response. Relate any strategies in the leadership response to the theory that you will address in Part II.

Part II

Using your knowledge of education theory, student-development theory, psychology theory, or other appropriate theories, critique the institution's response to the problem. In your critique, be sure to include the following elements:

Summary of Theory: Provide a description of an applicable theory that addresses the situation. The theory does not have to be a direct correlation to the problem (e.g., using a business theory to address a funding issue), but could be related to the operation of educational organizations or theories on working with the population of the organization. Your summary of the theory should address the core components of the theory and how this theory applies to the subject of this paper.

Literature Review: Identify two peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles that discuss in detail the problem demonstrated in other organizations or learning environments. Your literature review should:

1) identify how these articles contribute to your overall understanding of the case study;

2) compare the main points of the articles drawing similarities to the current case study; and

3) examine the strategies used to address the problem.

Action Plan: Using your knowledge of the chosen theory and drawing upon knowledge accrued during your literature review, revise the strategies to address the problem and develop an action plan. The action plan should improve upon the institutional response and correctly address all primary and secondary concerns.

This final paper should be 3,500 to 3,850 words (10 to 11 pages) in length.