In Part I of this continuous improvement brief on selection, UIC Center for Urban Education Leadership researchers and UIC Ed.D. program administrators describe the development of an admissions process to the EdD in Urban Education principal preparation program to assess characteristics associated with school leader success. [For Part II of this…

On October 18, 2003, one of the authors had the privilege of giving one of the keynote speeches to the Ford Foundation Fellows Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that was titled "The Making of a Ford Fellow: A Trek Towards Excellence in Applied Social Science," which explained that he managed to develop some of the ideas that led to the…

The notion of design research entails research where design practice forms part of the knowledge production. Based on our characterization of the nature of design, we propose to conceptualize this kind of research as programmatic design research. Two ongoing PhD projects in interaction design are presented as examples of programmatic research…

Whenever a discussion opens about nonacademic employment for Ph.D.s, it is not long before someone suggests reducing graduate-school admissions. "The market for full-time scholars has fallen off a cliff lately," this argument goes, "so why not just train fewer of them?" The strategy to reduce the number of Ph.D. students recurs in those…

This study examined our perceptions as a music education professor and three PhD students as we conducted a self-study of our individual and collective experiences teaching graduate students. We framed our work around the key question: How do PhD students describe experiences specifically in relation to perceived potential as teachers of graduate…

An online community of learning within a distance doctoral programme was explored to determine if and how the community evolved and transformed over time. This part-time doctoral programme gathers students into cohorts and runs a structured community with students and faculty for 18 months before students confirm candidatures and begin individual…

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the needs for a lean continuous improvement professional certificate and/or lean leadership cognate for a Doctorate of Education in leadership focused in three main research questions: "What do organizational leaders need from a Lean graduate programming?"; "What are the preferable methods of…

Examining the role of humanities graduate preparation programs in facilitating underrepresented undergraduate students' socialization to the field (social context) of graduate education, this critical multisite case study finds that these programs are crucial to bidirectional anticipatory socialization for graduate education, where one gains new…

As the number of students taking online courses continues to grow steadily, it is becoming increasingly important to inquire about the experiences of these students in order to understand the factors that contribute to their success. It is imperative that the social needs of students be understood, as interaction is an important aspect of the…

Educational design research (EDR) is described as a complex research approach. The challenges resulting from this complexity are typically described as procedural, whereas EDR might also be challenging for different reasons, specifically for early career researchers. Yet, challenging experiences may be noteworthy in the process of learning to do…

If teaching physical education is a moral activity, it follows that there is a moral component to the preparation of teachers of physical education and thus a moral component to the preparation of teacher educators. In this article, I examine the major policies, agendas, and practices that influence doctoral preparation in physical education…

After decades of decline, African higher education is now arguably in a new era of revival. With the prevalence of knowledge economy discourse, national governments in Africa and their development partners have increasingly aligned higher education with poverty reduction plans and strategies. Research capacity has become a critical development…

University-community partnerships have gained popularity in the United States as a means of extending university research resources and collaborative opportunities. However, research-driven partnerships between universities and K-12 school districts that prioritize the research needs of K-12 schools are unique. Recently, education scholars have…

If current trends continue, international students will comprise half of U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD graduates by 2020. The proportion of international PhD-level students on temporary visas to study STEM subjects in the United States has doubled over the past thirty years. Further, these students are much more…

The doctoral journey is as much about identity transitions as it is about becoming an expert in a field of study. However, transitioning from past and professional lives and identities to scholarly identities is not an easy process. Three doctoral students at various stages of completion engaged in self-study research to explore their emerging…