The landscape of professional doctorate provision in English higher education institutions: Inconsistencies, tensions and unsustainability

Carol Robinson

doi:10.18546/lre.16.1.09

Abstract

This article reports findings from a recent research project, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which explored the current landscape of professional doctorate (PD) provision in English higher education institutions (HEIs) (Mellors-Bourne et al., 2016). Given the absence of a clear definition by the Quality Assurance Agency for England of the characteristics that distinguish PDs from practice-based doctorates and the doctor of philosophy, this paper makes a timely contribution through considering the inherent characteristics of PD programmes. The paper presents an overview of the state of play of PD programmes currently available in HEIs in England, highlighting how the proliferation of PD titles and programmes, and inconsistencies between the various programmes, has resulted in confusion about what PDs are, the contribution they make, and the value they add to professional practice. Consideration is given to the tensions created through the expansion in the number and types of PDs available, and the implications of these tensions with regard to the future sustainability of PD programmes in general and in relation to the professional doctorate in education (EdD) in particular.

Highlights

This article reports findings from a recent research project, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which explored the current landscape of professional doctorate (PD) provision in English higher education institutions (HEIs) (MellorsBourne et al, 2016)
Quantitative findings relating to the extent and range of PD provisions in English HEIs are reported in the first section; findings of a more qualitative nature relating to the characteristics pertaining to professional doctorate programmes are reported in the second section
It is important to note that ascertaining the precise number of PD programmes available in English HEIs was not a straightforward exercise due to the different ways in which HEIs counted the number of programmes offered, and discrepancies in what constitutes a PD

Summary

Introduction

This article reports findings from a recent research project, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which explored the current landscape of professional doctorate (PD) provision in English higher education institutions (HEIs) (MellorsBourne et al, 2016). Given the absence of a clear definition by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for England of the characteristics that distinguish PDs from practice-based doctorates and the doctor of philosophy (PhD) (QAA, 2015), this paper makes a timely contribution to the existing knowledge base on PDs. Given the absence of a clear definition by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for England of the characteristics that distinguish PDs from practice-based doctorates and the doctor of philosophy (PhD) (QAA, 2015), this paper makes a timely contribution to the existing knowledge base on PDs It presents an overview of the state of play in terms of PDs currently available in HEIs in England, giving particular consideration to the inherent characteristics of these programmes. The paper explores the tensions created through the expansion in the number and types of PD programmes available, and the implications of these tensions with regard to the future sustainability of PD programmes in general and, in particular, in relation to the professional doctorate in education (EdD)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion