Implications of the 2011 U.S. Survey of Doctoral Education in Leadership Preparation

Abstract

As the number of U.S. doctoral educational leadership programs and graduates has increased dramatically in recent years, there is not only more attention to the purpose, design, and assessment for degrees but also more criticisms over the lack of differentiation between the PhD and the EdD. A group of scholars analyzed the results of a survey of 103 U.S. institutions to examine current programs, and they found modest differences in preparation for the two types of doctorates but positive influences from current efforts to redesign the EdD for professional practice, particularly for the dissertation. The scholars call for further research on program design, the impetus and challenges of degree change, and attention to related issues of faculty and student diversity and the role of the field. This article summarizes these findings and draws further implications on the need for case studies and models of degree programs that are coherently redesigned around the different purposes of research and advanced practice beyond the dissertation.