Faculty Leaders Challenges and Strategies in Redesigning EdD Programs

Jill A Perry,Debby Zambo,Emma Abruzzo

doi:10.5195/ie.2020.143

Abstract

Producing change in higher education is not always easy or quick (Kennedy, et al., 2018; Perry, 2014a; Schuster & Finkelstein, 2006; Tierney, 1998). Conferences provide faculty with exposure to new ideas, but that exposure is often not enough to produce programmatic and structural change. In addition to new ideas, faculty must also have the tools they need to navigate change and institutional resistance when introducing and implementing new ideas. Over the last decade or so, school of education faculty, guided by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) have worked to redesign the Education Doctorate and make it a professional practice degree. As a leader in educational change, CPED aims to reframe the EdD through both the cultivation of innovative ideas and the promulgation of those ideas across existing institutions and structures. CPED found faculty leaders to be necessary in creating institutional change, but also that the role of leader is a challenging one. Building upon earlier inquiries of faculty from CPED member institutions, this current study sought to discover more about the needs, challenges, and means for successful innovation implementation by EdD programmatic change leaders.

Highlights

AND FOUNDATIONAL WORKSince its birth in 2007, Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) collaborated with faculty to rethink and redesign the EdD, and to learn about that process along the way
Faculty resisters were most frequently described as individuals who hold PhDs and who largely did not see the merits of redesigning courses and milestones to be different than traditional PhD programs
Over the last thirteen years, many CPED faculty acting as change agents at their home institutions have worked to reimagine the EdD and to make it a strong professional practice experience for those who lead educational organizations

Summary

Introduction

AND FOUNDATIONAL WORKSince its birth in 2007, CPED collaborated with faculty to rethink and redesign the EdD, and to learn about that process along the way. FIPSE data showed the challenges faced by change leaders and faculty who were highly involved or leading redesign efforts. In this study, these leaders described their workload as more intense and more time-consuming (Perry et al, 2015). The same and more could be said for junior, tenure-track faculty chosen to lead or be involved in programmatic changes. These faculty members found themselves calling meetings and providing answers and rationales to more senior faculty with even fewer resources while having an increased imperative to publish. The study concluded that designated change leaders are forced to bear a cost relative to their time and career focus (Perry et al, 2015)

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Results

Conclusion