PURPOSES OF THE ED.D.
The key proficiencies that we expect students to attain:
 Problem solving
• Framing problems of practice that are concrete, significant, solvable, and tied to
the mission and priorities of the organization
• Determining and verifying underlying causes
 Inquiry
• Understanding and critically evaluating evidence related to a problem of
practice
• Appropriately investigating problems of practice, their causes and possible
solutions
 Developing testable solutions
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
Professional and Content Knowledge:
• the ability to know, understand, and apply key concepts, theories, terms and ideas in urban
school reform and national school reform initiatives; to the problems of practice within the
school system
Research Competence:
• the ability to perform a literature review and synthesis, identify seminal works in the school
reform movement, identify relevant district data that inform the problems of practice, formulate
research questions that lead to potential solutions and conduct pilot studies to test and evaluate
the results
Professional Competence:
• the ability to effectively and efficiently communicate the rationales, methodological decisions,
and analysis of results relevant to students’ own research as well as the research projects of
others, both orally and in writing. It further includes the ability to present students’ research in a
formal public setting.
HOW WILL THE OUTCOMES BE ASSESSED?
Professional and Content Knowledge
Students show competence in this area by demonstrating the ability to:
• Identify important system level problems of practice
• Identify strengths and limitations of current research in the field
• Identify system level data that inform problems of practice within the
district
• Propose studies to identify potential solutions to the problems of practice
within the district.
• Produce the following products:
o Integrative review of literature
o Literature review used for pre-candidacy examination
o Literature review for dissertation-in-practice electronic portfolio
HOW WILL THE OUTCOMES BE ASSESSED?
Research Competence
Students show competence in this area by demonstrating the ability to:
• Identify critical Problems of Practice and a set of inquiry questions to
address the problem based on an understanding of foundational
literature and other pertinent documents
• Develop a design for analyzing the problem of practice
• Select and implement specific research methods to address the
problem of practice
• Identify, collect and analyze information and data which correspond to
the problem
• Develop conclusions and recommendations for solutions to the problem
of practice
• Produce the following:
o “White Paper”
o Successful completion and defense of dissertation in practice
o Formal presentation of findings and recommendations to the local Board of
Education, Superintendent’s Cabinet, or other district level group deemed
appropriate by the Superintendent and the Advisors Group
HOW WILL THE OUTCOMES BE ASSESSED?
Professional Competence
Students show competence in this area by demonstrating the ability to:
• Effectively communicate - in both oral and written language - a clear
understanding of a problem of practice affecting the district
• Present a white paper on the selected problem of practice with viable
recommendations for addressing the problem
OUR PROGRAM GOAL: WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
We aspire to develop Scholarly Practitioners.
• Scholarly Practitioners blend practical wisdom with
professional skills and knowledge to name, frame, and
solve problems of practice. They use practical research and
applied theories as tools for developing solutions to
“wicked problems.”
• Scholarly Practitioners disseminate their work in multiple
ways, and they have an obligation to resolve problems of
practice by collaborating with key stakeholders, including
the university, the educational institution, the community,
and individuals.” (adapted from CPED website)
INQUIRY: THE SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE NEEDED FOR
PROBLEM-SOLVING
Inquiry is the process of posing significant questions that
focus on complex problems of practice. By using research,
theories, and professional knowledge; scholarly
practitioners design innovative solutions to address the
problems of practice.
As such, Inquiry of Practice requires the ability to gather,
organize, judge, aggregate, analyze situations, literature,
and data with a critical lens.
INQUIRY AS COMMON GROUND
It is an oversimplification to say that the Ph.D. is a research
degree and the Ed.D. is a practice degree. Inquiry is
important in both
• Inquiry in the service of generating new generalizable
knowledge and theory development (Ph.D.)
• Inquiry in the service of addressing or solving a
significant problem of practice (Ed.D.)
HOW DO THE ED.D. AND PH.D. DEGREES DIFFER?
Ed.D.
Ph.D.
Goal
Preparation of leaders in practice
Preparation of researchers and
research scientists
Research focus
Application of research to practice,
innovations in educational practice
Discovery of new knowledge
Outcome
Leadership in practice
Careers in academia and other
research-intensive environments
Hallmark of educational
program
Mentorship in leadership to include
understanding and responding to
problems in the practice
Mentorship in research
Final program product
Practice-oriented scholarly project
based on a real problem of practice
Dissertation based on original research
WHAT IS THE DISSERTATION OF PRACTICE?
A Dissertation of Practice is a scholarly product that
demonstrates a student’s mastery of ability to frame and
critically inquire into a significant educational problem of
practice and to develop defensible recommendations to solve
the problem of practice.
NOTE: SOME INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES HAS BEEN ADAPTED
FROM CPED WEBSITE
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN DEGREES
New Knowledge Research (Ph. D. Model)
Problem Solving Research (Ed. D.)
Purpose
Generalizable/Transferable Knowledge
Theory
Origin of a Problem
Researcher’s Role
Practitioner’s Role
Benefit to Participants
Methodology
Level
Client
Perspective
Research Sample
Collaboration
Generalizability
Standard for Judging
Explanatory or Interpretive
Scientific Literature
Expert
Consumer of Research
Minimal to moderate
Qualitative or Quantitative
Individual(s) or Organization (s)
Scholars in Like Disciplines
Outsider
Random or Purposeful
None or a Few Other Experts
Defining Characteristic
Intellectual Rigor
Goal
Publishable Article
Dissemination
Need IRB Approval?
Refereed Paper or Article
Yes
Improvement of Practice; Identify promising
practice
Theory of Action
Published Literature; Practice
Expert observer
Producer of Research
Yes
Mixed
Organizational
Scholars, Leaders, Practitioners, Community
Insider or Participant
Purposeful
Few to Many Collaborators
Transferable to similar settings
Credibility and actionable outcomes in a
Local Setting
Documents, processes, products that lead
to improvement at organizational level
Oral or Written Report (s)
Yes
PH.D. - SINGLE CHAIR, INDIVIDUAL STUDY
Single Chair
Individual Study
THEMATIC GROUP – SINGLE CHAIR,
COMMON THEME, DIFFERENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Single Chair
Common Theme
Individual research
question 1
Individual research
question 2
Individual research
question 5
Individual research
question 3
Individual research
question 4
Product = single author dissertation
SINGLE CHAIR, SINGLE TOPIC, COMMON QUESTIONS
& METHODOLOGY, INDIVIDUAL STUDIES
Single Chair
Single Topic
Common Questions &
Methodology
Individual study 5
Individual study 1
Individual study 2
Individual study 3
Individual study 4
Product = single author dissertation
NON-NEGOTIABLE ELEMENTS FOR
DISSERTATION OF PRACTICE
 The dissertation of practice includes a problem statement and framing
of the approach, which establishes the rationale and significance of the
problem and proposed inquiry
 The literature is used as a foundation for the inquiry at key points:
framing the problem, synthesizing what is known about the problem,
investigating the problem and informing the solutions and implications
of the dissertation of practice
 The dissertation work contributes to educational practice
NON-NEGOTIABLE ELEMENTS FOR
DISSERTATION OF PRACTICE CONTINUED
 The dissertation is rigorous and demonstrates an individual’s ability
to apply theory and research to solving or informing an educational
problem
 The dissertation demonstrates an individual’s ability to present
ideas, arguments and evidence in a logical, systematic, and
coherent fashion in both written and oral formats