An Online Doctorate for Researching Professionals Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

The interest in and demand for online terminal degress across disciplines by professionals wishing to conduct research and fulfill doctoral degree requirements at a distance is only increasing. But what these programs look like, how they are implemented, and how they might be evaluated are the questions that challenge administrators and pedagogues alike. This book presents a model for a doctoral program that bridges theory, research, and practice and is offered completely or largely online. In their described program model, Kumar and Dawson enable researching professionals to build an online communtiy of inquiry, engage in critical discourse within and across disciplines, learn from and with experts and peers, and generate new knowledge.

Their program design is grounded in the theoretical and research foundations of online, adult, and doctoral education, curriculum design and community-building, implementation and evaluation. The authors, who draw on their experience of implementing a similar program at the University of Florida, not only share data collected from students and faculty members but also reflect on lessons learned working on the program in diverse educational contexts. An important guide for program leaders who wish to develop and sustain an online professional doctorate, An Online Doctorate for Researching Professionals will also be a valuable resource for higher education professionals seeking to include e-learning components in existing on-campus doctoral programs.

A scholarly exposition of an innovative doctoral program. This book and the method it describes serves as a fine example of the type of study and reflection that should accompany all new educational innovations.

Terry Anderson, author of Online Distance Education: Towards a Research Agenda

About the Author

Swapna Kumar is clinical associate professor at the School of Teaching and Learning, University of Florida. She directs the online doctorate in educational technology that forms the basis of this book. www.swapnakumar.com

Kara Dawson is professor of educational technology in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida and holds the Irvin and Rose Fien Professorship in the College of Education. She researches how technology can meet the needs of everyone. www.karadawson.com

Reviews

I highly recommend this book to any person or institution considering implementing an online EdD program or an online component in an on-campus EdD program. […] An informative book filled with rich examples directly from the experience of the authors.

Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice

An evidence-based response to an emerging international trend: the growth of new professional doctorates.

Canadian Journal of Higher Education

Table of Contents

1. Preface and Acknowledgements
2. Introduction
3. PART I.  Theoretical Foundations and Design
   1. 1. The Case for an Online Professional Doctorate
   2. 2. Designing the Curriculum
4. PART II.  Implementation
   1. 3. Building an Online Community of Researching Professionals
   2. 4. Fostering Scholarly Thinking Online
   3. 5. Dissertations in the Online Environment
   4. 6. Online Mentoring
5. PART III.  Ensuring and Evaluating Quality
   1. 7. Maintaining the Quality of an Online Professional Doctorate
   2. 8. Identifying Impact
6. Further Considerations
7. References

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.