Online EdD Program: Professional Practice Doctorate

Building community in online EdD programs can be a challenge, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of doing so. In this essay, we will situate community building within the larger Community of Inquiry framework and focus on the element of social presence. By understanding more about the various aspects of social presence, faculty who design and deliver online programs can build stronger learning communities with and for their EdD students. KEYWORDS community, online learning, social presence

Investigating a “problem of practice” is a signature feature of the EdD dissertation. Yet, little is known about how doctoral students derive their problems, the nature of the problems they study, and the impact studying problems of practice has on students’ local contexts. The purpose of this study was to investigate EdD students’ problems of practice through document analysis of 28 dissertations completed in one EdD program at a large, research-intensive university. Findings revealed that problems are derived from doctoral students’ felt difficulties and real-world dilemmas in three main categories: supporting marginalized students, increasing the quality of educator professional development, and supporting novices’ entry into the profession. Furthermore, five generic themes that describe the types of impact dissertation studies had on students’ local contexts are reported. Based on findings, four guidelines to assist EdD students in deriving problems of practice are offered.