Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice

Developing Scholar Activists

Valerie Storey — 2023-02-27

A qualitative descriptive approach was followed in the research, starting with a theoretical conceptualization of scholar activism within doctoral education as a basis for further inquiry. Seventeen doctoral candidates described how they conceptualized and applied the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate's (CPED) Framework for the Emerging EdD Activist to their experiences in an online program. Study respondents gave accounts of growing confidence to engage in active, vocal advocacy, which they attributed to their new knowledge and understandings gained through participation in the program. However, for some mid-career students, increased vocal advocacy in the workplace was perceived as endangering career prospects. The data draw attention to the complexity of the professional learning process, calling into question the current input-output model of activism. Further research is necessary to develop a greater understanding of the relationship between a developing scholar-activist and the impact of the EdD and precisely how that can be measured. The findings from this study have implications for program developers and doctoral students wishing to become scholar-activists and agents of change.

Let's Talk

Joy Howard — 2023-02-27

The purpose of this paper is to identify key characteristics and forms that both research approaches use within the applied field of education. In this paper, we ask—how are CPAR and IS-GR similar and different? And, can tools or propositions from each be used in tandem within a research project? We invite readers to consider useful frameworks created to address problems of practice. Drawing strength from our diverse backgrounds (fields of study and professional roles), we aim to identify clear overlaps and divergent perspectives between the two approaches to aid scholarly practitioners in making informed decisions about the research frameworks they choose to take up to address pressing problems of practice in education.

Differentiating the EdD and the PhD in Higher Education

Holly A. Foster — 2023-02-27

Purpose: Higher education, as a field of study, is one of the few programmatic areas that offer two doctoral degrees: The Doctor of Education (EdD) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). In the United States, the two degrees are often conflated. Conversations, to this point, have done more to contribute to the theoretical debate than to operationally distinguish between the two degree paths. Method: The current study analyzed data collected from a review of the 188 doctoral programs at 145 institutions listed with the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Results: Results suggest that while there is a shift toward operational differences between the EdD and the PhD in higher education, the similarities in entrance requirements, formats, and research expectations, to list a few, suggest that the EdD and PhD still require further refinement to reach the theoretical clarity common in many conversations about the education doctorate.

Supporting EdD Scholar-Practitioners through the COVID-19 Pandemic Using an Ethic of Care

Sarah Capello — 2023-02-27

Given the significant challenges PK-12 educational leaders currently face, the purpose of this essay is to orient EdD faculty with Noddings’ (1984/2003) care ethics as a framework for conceptualizing their work and employing care acts to support EdD scholar-practitioners through the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical strategies for this work are suggested. The author argues that Noddings’ (1984/2003) ethic of care provides a timely lens through which EdD faculty’s actions can be guided. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty have become tasked with supporting their students’ socioemotional well-being in addition to their academic progress. EdD faculty must be responsive to these needs if they are to retain students and effectively train scholar-practitioners to identify and address problems of practice. Stemming from this argument, future research could empirically investigate how employing care ethics affects scholar-practitioners’ well-being, program satisfaction, retention, and completion rates.

Examining the Dissertation in Practice Relative to RCR Responsible Conduct of Research

Carla J. Thompson — 2023-02-27

This essay focuses on the components and uses of the Dissertation in Practice (DiP) relative to the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) and the alignment of the DiP description and process to the U. S. Office of Research Integrity Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) conditions and requirements. The essay provides a cursory view of the multiple uses of applied research, a common framing of the DiP, and the essay examines the purpose and components of the DiP relative to the specific RCR criteria and specifications. Information provided explores the alignment of the DiP to RCR through discussions of the commonalities and diverse characteristics of the DiP and RCR to discern if these two important considerations regarding the framing of the Education Doctorate are a mismatch or an alignment. The potential for aligning the DiP with RCR may contribute substantially to propelling the DiP to the highest standard for inclusion within the listing of scholarly research.

Improving Social Belonging to Increase Success in an Online Doctorate Program

Jim Rost — 2023-02-27

Institutions of higher education have long been plagued with difficulty in overcoming the high rates of incompletion of candidates who enroll in doctoral programs. As we continue to move through the post-pandemic era, online course delivery in doctoral programs continues to rise which brings an added layer of difficulty for EdD students to persist beyond their required coursework in the online environment (Rockinson-Szapkiw et al., 2019). As a result, it is incumbent upon online EdD program directors and faculty to not only identify barriers to online doctoral student success, but to also find solutions. In summer of 2020, a regional state university in the southeast accepted its inaugural class of doctoral students into a new higher education concentration of their existing on-ground K-12 EdD program. During the past few years between the program’s original design and inception, faculty have been examining factors related to doctoral student belongingness, from initial coursework through dissertation completion. Moreover, in 2021, the institution was fortunate to be admitted into the Carnegie Program on the Education Doctorate (CPED) consortium and as a result, has worked to adopt the CPED framework for EdD program design and application. It is through this new lens that the faculty at this institution have identified some lessons to share in pursuit of high rates of success while maintaining a demand of excellence in their work. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to use the newly designed Higher Education EdD program as a baseline case study towards improved online program student success.

Consensus Is a Journey

Elizabeth Currin — 2023-02-27

EdD programs affiliated with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate encourage dissertations in practice (DiPs) focused on equity, social justice, and transformative practice. Conversations in our program revealed surface-level or late-stage social justice connections in our students’ DiPs. Therefore, inspired by an existing framework that aimed at empowering EdD-activists, and needing more data from our own program, we formed a committee to design a program-specific EdD-activism framework. Through surveys, structured discussion, and other sources of qualitative data, an EdD-activism definition emerged that informed a program-wide equity statement and catalyzed changes in our practice as educators. This essay presents our process, applications of our work, and our next steps.

Organizational Theory for Equity and Diversity: Leading Integrated, Socially Just Education

Heather Hurst — 2023-02-27

Addressing the Need for an Alternative Education Networking in Rural School Districts

Trina Pettit — 2023-02-27

Recent legislative efforts have been aimed at increasing the accountability of schools to meet the educational needs and improve outcomes for students. States and districts across the nation have responded differently. One emerging pattern has been the rise in alternative schools which address the educational needs of students unsuccessful in traditional school settings. Although alternative schooling is becoming more common, there is minimal guidance to establish programs and train professionals to teach and lead them. This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) examined current alternative programs in a rural region of Nebraska and then designed a collaborative networking system that could promote the growth and development of alternative programs through shared resources and expertise and meaningful inquiry into current practices. While this article is an obvious outcome of this dissertation research, so too is the still-incipient network of alternative educators who assisted with this inquiry.