The EdD at 20: Understanding the Motives for the Change in Curriculum Denise Hawkes Centre for Doctoral Education, UCL Institute of Education

Professional Doctorates in the UK Professional Doctorates have existed within the UK Higher Education for over twenty years The project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) completed by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre with Vitae and the University of Brighton.

Professional Doctorates and the future funding In November 2015, the government’s response to the consultation on postgraduate study loans was produced and clearly signalled that professional doctorates would be included in the £25,000 loan scheme for research degrees (BIS 2015).

Timely to look at curriculum of professional doctorates

Design-Concepts upon which to build EdD programmes (CPED) Scholarly Practitioner Signature Pedagogy Inquiry as Practice Laboratories of Practice Dissertation in Practice Problem of Practice

So what have we learnt? 20 years of our EdD More than 350 Alumni More than 250 current students More than 60 academic staff 28 external examiners 8 programme leaders

Content Analysis This presentation is based on the content analysis of: 19 years of programme handbooks and validation documents Looking for details of the programme structure and the team motivation for this proposed structure

Programme Structure 1996 – 1999 Taught Phrase First Year Taught Phrase Second Year Research Phrase (Third Year onward) Foundations of Professionalism Advanced Research Methods Optional Writing Skills Course Methods of Enquiry 1Specialist Routes (Part 1) Methods of Enquiry 2Specialist Routes (Part 2) IFS workshops introduced in 1999

Andrew Brown Reform Time on programme excessive Overloaded with two years of heavy taught material Need to focus on research skills development

Programme Structure Taught Phrase First Year Taught Phrase /Research Phrase Second Year Research Phrase Third Year onward Foundations of Professionalism Initial Specialist course Methods of Enquiry 1IFS workshops Methods of Enquiry 2Advanced Research Methods Workshop Introduction of formal reviews to thesis, IFS and annual progress reviews in 2001 Thesis Workshops in 2001

International EdD Lanuch Delivery mode of Friday/Saturday not work for international students Week long delivery proposed and new programme launched 2002 International Education option Thesis ideally comparative education Research weeks built in research phrase Dual Award EdD with NIE Singapore later

Exit Awards Formalised around 2006 Two exit awards, PG Dip and MA in Practitioner Research To prevent long upper tail of EdD students

Barbara Coles Reform Aim for a 4 year completion (previously minimum registration 5 years) Specialist courses no longer assessed, replaced formally with the portfolio at the start of year 2 Formalising dates for the IFS proposal and IFS submission

Programme Structure Taught Phrase First Year Taught Phrase /Research Phrase Second Year Research Phrase Third Year onward Foundations of Professionalism Initial Specialist course (not assessed) Thesis workshops Methods of Enquiry 1IFS workshops Methods of Enquiry 2

Latest Reform – Validation 2014 One EdD Programme – merger of EdD (Home) and EdD (International)/Dual –share experience across groups (timetable change) and to enable flexibility across delivery modes (blended delivery and online courses) Dropping specialist courses –Replaced with selection from RTP (PhD student courses) to start process of seeing students as doctoral students (PhD and EdD) Redesign IFS workshops –Research process rather than more methods Formalising interview process and EdD induction

Programme Structure Taught Phrase First Year Taught Phrase /Research Phrase Second Year Research Phrase Third Year onward Foundations of Professionalism IFS workshopsThesis workshops Methods of Enquiry 1RTP CoursesRTP courses Methods of Enquiry 2

Trends over 20 years of the EdD Reducing the taught component –to improve completion times –focus on research methods and process –less education theory Degree name cycle –many degrees and names to consolidation More support in research phrase –more workshops and online resources to support –more monitoring in research phrase, stricter timelines, applications/interviews and exit awards

Link to CPED Design-Concepts Scholarly Practitioner – strong focus Signature Pedagogy – research grounding maintained, erosion overtime of theory Inquiry as Practice - IFS Laboratories of Practice – part time and employed, many employer sponsored Dissertation in Practice - thesis Problem of Practice – focus of research

Celebrating difference to PhD? Source:

Link to HEFCE report findings Careers Research and Advisory Centre with Vitae and the University of Brighton key recommendations: Many programme names – suggestion focus on strong brands like EdD/DBA –as seen in the latest IoE reforms Concerns about the value of Prof Docs –try to address in latest programme reforms

The EdD at 20: Understanding the Motives for the Change in Curriculum Denise Hawkes Centre for Doctoral Education, UCL Institute of Education