Joint dissertations are a deliberate approach to antiracist systems change: simultaneously morphing the process of doctoral completion and supporting scholar practitioners to shift systems through their actions. At the School of Education at American University, scholar practitioners and chairs are learning together how the joint dissertation of…

This paper addresses the current debates, anxieties, and perceptions around the idea of scholarly artistic research within doctoral studies, internationally and in South Africa. A common point of contention, both in South Africa and in the international arena, is the reluctance within institutional structures and external bodies to accept…

This article presents insights from X University's inaugural EdD program, evaluating its curriculum, pedagogy, and innovations through an annual program evaluation. Designed for full-time professionals, this part-time, online program emphasizes interdisciplinary improvements to educational Problems of Practice (PoPs), aligned with the Carnegie…

This article offers a perspective on teacher education and training for doctoral students in LIS PhD programs. It discusses literature related to doctoral teacher education and training generally and in the LIS discipline in particular and provides an analysis of teacher education curricular offerings and requirements in doctoral programs based in…

Plant extracts and their components have been reported to have antimicrobial properties against phytopathogens. Although such properties could be harnessed for the development of new pathogen control strategies, there are no standardised methods for their assessment in different extracts. The laboratory exercise presented here involves the use of…

As experts that have recently transitioned from practicing in the special education field, special education doctoral students are crucial levers that can influence special education policy and advocacy initiatives. This article details the unique role doctoral students play in this work, ways doctoral students can familiarize themselves with…

The long-standing traditions of the dissertation are long overdue for a challenge. Creative and disruptive thinkers operate with a default "what if?" mindset that helps them challenge the status quo (Carter & Krahenbuhl, 2022). It is time for creative minds in higher education to kick-start how and why they see new opportunities…

The CPED Framework (CPED, 2022) envisions the EdD as a professionally-oriented alternative to the PhD. Within the framework, two professional aims are proposed: stewardship and scholarly practice. In this essay, I distinguish between the two terms, exploring how Erving Goffman's (1986) concept of frame analysis can be a useful approach to…

This essay discusses the emergence of the program evaluation dissertation in our doctoral program as the preferred dissertation in practice (DiP) option. We also outline important considerations that must be reviewed with students when considering this approach. Our students are professional educational leaders in the settings where they conduct…

We describe our experiences with the first offering of a new program, BMEntored, for supporting first-year doctoral students in Biomedical Engineering (BME) during their first semester. The goal of BMEntored was to enhance the first-semester experience of first-year doctoral students in BME with an emphasis on guiding students in selecting a…

The ever-changing educational environment calls for scholars and practitioners alike to trouble the current ways of seeing and doing dissertations and to invite conversations about doing dissertations differently. Alternative dissertations serve as an avenue for this type of critical work. We begin this article by providing an overview of the…

Education doctoral programs have an essential role to play in this moment of American history, as we train, teach, guide, and prepare education professionals to learn, unlearn, and lead as antiracist education activists. EdD program faculty and administrators sit in critical roles and must examine our own antiracist beliefs, while also…

Doctoral education is a time of profound identity shaping. Educational leadership continues to be dominated by assumptions about Whiteness and maleness as well as calls to center social justice in the educational leadership curriculum. In this paper, I describe the critical pedagogical approaches and underpinnings I used in the genesis,…

The requirement that a doctoral dissertation must contribute an original body of knowledge can present a quandary to the doctoral candidate, how does one pursue this route without embracing risk? Through reflective storytelling, this narrative delves into the transformative journey of a teacher-researcher navigating the doctoral study environment.…

Higher education and student affairs (HESA) doctoral programs might not be keeping pace in preparing leaders for the challenging roles they will occupy in the future. Curricula may lack relevance to leadership practice, and doctoral programs might emphasize research excellence and preparing future faculty over leadership development and…