Scholar to Practitioner

Abstract

Traditionally, the role of the research supervisor/dissertation chair has been to support the doctoral student with the goal of making the student a scholar through the research conducted for the dissertation. In the traditional research institution environment this research was designed to build theory. Today, while this research tradition still exists and the doctor of philosophy degree continues to be awarded, a shift has occurred in the higher education landscape such that a practice-oriented type of research is being produced in practitioner doctorate programs. Dissertations in the practitioner doctorate should be focused on research that has as its objective solving real world problems. As such, this may be a difficult change for individuals who have been mentoring doctoral students for years with the goal of building or testing theory over application of theory. Seasoned research supervisors/dissertation chairs educated in a research doctorate environment may resist this change, even as they supervise doctoral students studying in a practitioner doctorate environment.