Practitioner Inquiry in Doctoral Dissertations: Going Local and Making

a Sustainable Impact

Bryan Maughan, University of Idaho;

Suzanne Painter and Christopher M. Clark, Arizona State University;  Debby Zambo, Carnegie Project on the

Education Doctorate

 

CPED bedrock

To become more effective, thoughtful and reflective practitioners . . . .

Through a rigorous and relevant practitioner degree

CPED Working Principles

The Professional doctorate in education:

1. Is framed around questions of equity, ethics, and social justice to bring about solutions to complex problems of practice.2. Prepares leaders who can construct and apply knowledge to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, organizations, and communities.3. Provides opportunities for candidates to develop and demonstrate collaboration and communication skills to work with diverse communities and to build partnerships.4. Provides field-based opportunities to analyze problems of practice and use multiple frames to develop meaningful solutions.5. Is grounded in and develops a professional knowledge base that integrates both practical and research knowledge, that links theory with systemic and systematic inquiry.6. Emphasizes the generation, transformation, and use of professional knowledge and practice.

Dissertation in Practice

• The culminating experience • Addresses a problem of practice, or ability “to

think, to perform, and to act with integrity” (Shulman, 2005).

• Diversity in form expected (video, 3-article, multi-media)

• DIP award criteria (handout)

A Continuing Conversation

Our Hypothesis

Dissertations in Practice with Action Research =

CPED Principles in Action

In this session

We tell our stories;

You continue to create your story

Maria’s story:Parents as Academic Partners

Paredes, M.C. (2011). Parent Involvement as an Instructional Strategy: Academic Parent-Teacher Teams, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Arizona State University

The Conversation

In what ways does her story embody (or not) • CPED Principles and DIP award criteria? or• Tell a student story of your own about AR and

the principles and criteria

RECORD 1. One thing you are pretty sure of2. One question/concern you have

Lee’s story: Agency, Risk Taking and Complexity in a computer technology class

Barney L. (2014). Agency, community, learning risks, and adult learners. (unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

The Conversation

How does a faculty member need to change when working with practitioners on action research?

Gonzalez, A. (2013). Using Funds of Knowledge to Build Trust Between a Teacher and Parents of Language-Delayed Preschoolers, Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Arizona State University.

Alissa’s storyUsing parents’ strengths

The Conversation

In what ways was action research a good fit for this practitioner’s DiP?

In what ways has this practitioner’s action research mindset become sustainable?

RECORD 1. One thing you are pretty sure of2. One question/concern you have

Panel Discussion

Bryan MaughanChris Clark

Debbie Zambo

An Action Research Dissertation Fits Students who

• have a somewhat complex problem of practice;• have a sphere of influence; • want to implement change;• will work as a participant observer; • are committed to change in a local context (not national influence); • will share their findings with varied and multiple stakeholders;

Photo Credits

• Rocks: By Brocken Inaglory (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons