Perspectives on the EdD from academics at English universities

Abstract

This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purpose of consultation. DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY OF THE THESISI hereby declare that this thesis, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education, contains no material previously published or written in any medium by another person, except where appropriate reference has been made. Pitted against each other are "young Kenny Trabner of Australia" (immaculate shorts, crew-cut, "playing the ruthless tennis they play now") and "the Old Fox" (full-length pre-war flannels, bald, "green eye-shade on his forehead above his bifocals"). As one might expect, things do not go well for the Old Fox. Trabner wins the first set 6-0, and the second set by the same margin.All too soon, it is 5-0 in the third set and 40-0 in its sixth game, with Trabner serving. But the Old Fox has one thing going for him: "the crowd is on his side". Hence, when he "pulls out from the pocket of his flannel trousers an ancient matchlock pistol" and shoots Trabner, just as the latter is throwing up the ball to serve for match point, "the crowd is on ten thousand delirious, cheering, swooning, feet." Since Trabner is dead, the umpire awards the match to the Old Fox.The successful completion of a doctorate four-fifths of the way through one's working life (bald, varifocal lenses, no eye shade) does not normally require the discharging of firearms, but it is not easy, and I would like to thank those who supported me even when it felt to me as though I was match point down. Emeritus Professor Jeff Thompson has, from the beginning, been a reassuring, resourceful and cheerful supervisor. Even before Dr Mary Hayden joined Jeff as a cosupervisor she frequently passed to me valuable references or ideas, and since then she has re- ABSTRACTSince first appearing in British universities during the early 1990s, the Doctor of Education (EdD) degree has spread rapidly through the UK higher education sector. However, despite the existence of a single set of Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) descriptors for doctoral level achievement, some in academia have always been willing to describe the EdD, either openly or in private, as inferior to the PhD. This thesis endeavours (through a wide-ranging questionnaire completed anonymously by 27 academics from a total of 16 English universities, and follow-up interviews with seven individuals selected from the original sample) to discover how a sample of those who teach on such programmes (EdD academics) view the EdD, in general terms. For instance, it seeks to ascertain how widespread among EdD academics is the notion that the EdD does not reach the 'gold standard' represented by the PhD in Education.As data collection proceeds from the questionnaire to the interviews, the focus narrows to three key topics: specific characteristics of the EdD as compared with the PhD in Education (in terms, for example, of learning experience, programme aims, and...

Examining the doctoral viva: Perspectives from a sample of UK academics

“…In this paper, the doctoral viva is subjected to scrutiny through analysis and discussion of data collected by Poole (2012), who elicited responses on a range of issues relevant to doctoral education from 27 academics (see Appendix) in education departments at 16 UK universities via questionnaires and semi-structured online interviews. Poole's questionnaires included approximately thirty statements about doctoral education and its assessment to be rated on a five-point Likert scale from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree', but also, at half a dozen points in the questionnaire, prompted respondents to add written comments if they wished to explain or amplify their Likert-scale ratings.…”

“…These 7 were selected because, among the 27, they either made most use of 'strongly agree' (2 respondents); 'strongly disagree' (2 respondents); or 'neither agree nor disagree' (3 respondents) in rating the questionnaire statements. Analysis of the Likert-scale data is provided in Poole (2012). The questionnaire respondents were assigned a number (1-27) reflecting the order in which responses were received.…”

“…This raises the question of the balance between the written thesis and the candidate's viva performance in deciding whether or not a doctorate should be awarded. It also brings to the fore the issue of whether doctorateness (Trafford and Leshem, 2009;Wellington, 2013;Poole, 2015) should be seen primarily as a property of the thesis, the candidate, or both (this is discussed further below).…”

“…This paper on the doctoral viva in British universities is based primarily on a subset of the questionnaire and interview data collected by Poole (2012) from a sample of UK academics with experience of doctoral education as supervisor, examiner, and candidate. UK university publications aimed at actual, or potential, doctoral candidates (such as handbooks for doctoral students) are also briefly discussed, because this material casts light on how the viva is 'packaged' for that readership.…”

Doctorateness and the DBA: what next?

“…Poole (2012) gathered data via questionnaire and online interviews with 27 academics involved in doctoral education at 16 universities in England. Opinions about the standing and value of professional doctorates among the 27 respondents varied.…”