Schools now face a sea of "evidence"--supposedly validated products, research findings, and test, demographic, and teacher-generated data--that leaders must use. How have recent reforms to educational doctorate (EdD) programs addressed these demands? Case studies of four exemplary EdD programs illustrate how the better ones help…

There has been a significant change in the cultural zeitgeist as of late. It has been especially noticeable in the academy over the past several years with the discipline of social work being no exception. In this essay, I will situate myself in a vulnerable position and will write about my disillusionment in the discipline I was proud to join a…

This article explores how a Midwestern Christian university's doctoral program aligns an authentic assessment process of evaluation, in lieu of comprehensive exams, with the university's tag line to "Shape Lives that Shape the World." The process of assessing "authentically" comes from the belief that evaluating students on…

This research pioneered the investigation of the role of doctoral students' thinking styles in their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. Participants were 285 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) students in Hong Kong. Results showed that students' thinking styles as measured by the Thinking Styles…

Current and former students of two professors in a southern research university and a community educator, all participants in an African-centered research collaborative/apprenticeship, describe what and how we study together and our struggle to use our knowledge and research in service to our community. We uplift the works of key…

This article utilizes the qualitative methodology of autoethnography for examining how doctoral programs create intellectual war zones for African American students through oppressive institutional socialization. Theoretically grounded in critical race theory, I utilize my counternarrative as an African American graduate student to describe the…