This session presents online graduate program structures that support, engage, and retain students through dissertation completion. Based on Carnegie Principles (CPED), the program emphasizes transformative leadership and problem-posing within communities of practice. Strategies include: systematic topic development, research skill development, multiple forms of student accountability, and transparent, systematic communication.
Purpose of the session
The presenters review program design strategies that strengthen practitioner-research skill development and support successful program completion. Program characteristics reflect contemporary research about adult development, systematic, site-based inquiry, and transformative leadership. Opportunities and challenges for development of communities of practice in the online environment are a focus of the presentation.
Setting
The Education Doctorate program in Educational Leadership enrolls mid-career professionals in fields of higher education, PK-12 education, social services, military and non-profit agencies. The curriculum emphasizes transformative leadership and organizational change. The curriculum integrates three strands of self-study, site-study, and topic research as approaches to professional and scholar-practitioner development.
Theoretical framework
Carnegie Principles as a foundation (see Appendix: Carnegie CPED)
The Carnegie Principles articulate essential concepts that guide applied research by practitioners. In response to criticism of the degree itself, the Foundation developed a set of principles to ground curriculum and provide standards for an applied graduate program.
Problem-posing within a community of practice (Couglin & Brannick, 2010; Savery & Duffy, 2001; Stegeager, 2013; Wenger, 1998)
Professionals frame and address problems of practice in their work environment every day. The notion of “problem-posing” reframes assumptions often embedded in conventional graduate education, that is, scholars of leadership and organizational change teaching students about existing research. Rather, program leaders assume that graduate students are professionals who will be provided guidance and consultation about different ways to frame their work- and community-based challenges by transforming themselves, their sites, and the greater community.
Transformative Leadership as a guiding philosophy (Brown, 2004; Cranton, 2002; Mezirow, 2006; Shields, 2011)
Theories about leadership development continue to evolve, growing more divergent and generative as the research base broadens to include women, leaders of color, and non-positional leaders. Organizational change is led by individuals and teams with a vision of the work who collaborate to construct or re-construct perceptions about who their stakeholders are, how they might be more adequately served, and the kinds of philosophical and structural supports necessary for that work.
Curriculum
The sample materials presented are part of a larger program evaluation, with a specific focus on the dissertation completion curriculum in a fully online education doctorate.
The research sequence begins with a prompt in the admissions essay about students’ potential research topic, and topic exploration is threaded throughout the first two years of coursework. The curriculum engages students in identifying their research focus early, exploring that topic within several courses, conducting a pilot site study through year two, and completing a draft proposal by the beginning of their third year of the program.
The inquiry strand
- Relevance: professionals align research goals and interests of mid-career professionals through coursework, resources, study teams configurations, and exposure to professional networks.
- Problem-posing: scholar-practitioners design a study that addresses a problem of practice and leads to change within one’s organization or community of practice.
- Transformative leadership: leaders use action research or other collaborative research approaches, students engage colleagues at their workplace to identify a problem relevant to stakeholders.
Resources offered to session participants
Description of program products or deliverables, accountability structures, and assessments
Characteristics of inquiry strand: Event, Product, Accountability, Assessment
- Admissions essay
- Topic exploration
- Structured reflection on the viability of conducting a study in one’s organization
- Course assignments
- Feedback in courses
- Shops around to workplace-based colleagues for input, determine political viability
- Early review of the IRB process to identify red-flags, garner support and permissions from the home institution
- IRB application form – summary requirements
- Required for all students before proceeding with data collection
- Documentation for use garnering site-based permission
- Formative: Research coordinator reviews
- Summative: IRB approves
Description of dissertation products or deliverables, accountability structures, and assessment
Product, Accountability Structures, Assessment
Required 3 part proposal
- Instructor evaluation
- Peer review
- Site-based feedback
- Dissertation progress reports
- Plan meets criteria drawn from org change principles
- Literature review
- Does one and submits
- Rubric reflects social science literature review approaches
Sample graphic here
Lead Instructor, Secondary instructor, sections, team configuration
Cohort-wide activities (wiki, blog, other fora with short postings, such as references)
Other graphics will be provided to describe:
Proposal presentation through Dissertation presentation framework
- Phase I: Proposal presentation and approval
- Phase 2: Data collection
- Phase 3: Data analysis
- Phase 4: Presentation of dissertation (successful defense)
Influences on retention in the third year or dissertation writing period
- Draft proposal as focus
- Workflow guidance
- Four 8 week-long dissertation courses (32 weeks, 12 credits)
- Monthly progress reports
- Monthly study team sessions
- Product posting and review
- Online course/program resources
- IRB review protocol
Sample graphic here
Keys to success
TOPIC RELEVANCY
- Problem-based learning
- Site-based studies
RESEARCH SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- Proposal development over the life of the program (topic explored early and often)
- Site-based research skill development
- Assembling the proposal through coursework (narrowing the research topic)
ADVISING
- Research team configuration and monitoring
- One to one advising
- Role of affiliate committee member
- Advisor support
Resources
Brown, K. (2004). Leadership for social justice and equity: Weaving a transformative framework and pedagogy. Educational Administration Quarterly. 40(1), 79-110.
Coughlin, D. & Brannick, T. (2010). Doing research in your own organization. 3rd ed. London: SAGE
Cranton, P. (2002). Teaching for transformation. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, Spring. Education, 93
Mezirow, J. (2006). An overview of transformative learning. In P. Sutherland & J. Crowther (Eds), Lifelong learning: Concepts and contexts, (pp. 24-38). New York: Routledge.
Savery, J. & Duffy, T. (2001). Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. CRLT Technical Report 16-01, Center for Research on Learning & Technology, Indiana University. Retrieved on May 7, 2011 from: http://:www.dirkdavis.net/cbu/edu524/resources/problem based learning An instructional model and its constructivist framework
Shields, C. (2013). Transformative leadership: Working for equity in diverse contexts Educational Administration Quarterly, 46, 558-589.
Stegeager, N. (2011). Problem-based learning in continuing education—challenges and opportunities. Problem Based Learning in Higher Education, 1(1), 151-173.
Stevens-Long, J., Schapiro, S., & McClintock, C. (2012). Passionate scholars: Transformative learning in doctoral education. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(2), 180-198.
Vella, J. (2000). Taking learning to task. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press.
APPENDIX
Carnegie Principles for Education Doctorate
The Professional doctorate in education:
- Is framed around questions of equity, ethics, and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice.
- Prepares leaders who can construct and apply knowledge to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, organizations, and communities.
- Provides opportunities for candidates to develop and demonstrate collaboration and communication skills to work with diverse communities and to build partnerships.
- Provides field-based opportunities to analyze problems of practice and use multiple frames to develop meaningful solutions.
- Is grounded in and develops a professional knowledge base that integrates both practical and research knowledge, that links theory with systemic and systematic inquiry.
- Emphasizes the generation, transformation, and use of professional knowledge and practice.