The Ed.D. -- Who Needs It? This is a fairly long article I found at the Chronicle of Higher Education site. Since there is a discuission going on here about the merits of the EdD I thought some of you might find this interesting. I just quoted the recommendations from Dr. Levine (Ph.D. in sociology and higher education, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1976) From the issue dated September 23, 2005 http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i05/05a02001.htm User name \ password required In part:
Pretty damning. Now, . . . hands up, please . . . Which of you will volunteer to slaughter the cash cow? Hmmm? Anyone? . . . I thought so. marilynd
Oh, man. That's about as rotten a picture as could be painted. It does kind of fit with the perceptions I've mentioned elsewhere but you know darned well that there are many genuine scholars and first rate administrators who will be tarred wrongfully with this brush. Tell you what, though; here in N.Mex., one of the half dozen poorest states in the Union, the average Superintendant of Schools in the public system earnes between $100,000 and $150,000 per year. The VAST majority hold the Ed.D. so the degree is valuable.
One of the main points is that it's a practitioner's degree rather than a research degree, so they want to call it a Masters. But IMO, that's one of the reasons why it's called an "EdD" rather than a "PhD". Same sort of thing goes for the "JD". It's a practitioner's doctorate, but it's not the same as a true research PhD. Now that said, most of my information on this is anecdotal or taking the word of my professor inlaws. I'm sure Tony in Illinois will weigh in on this. And I'm equally sure that many EdDs are just as rigorous as PhD programs in Ed. I'm fairly sure, for example, that Purdue's and the University of Nebraska's EdDs (which can be had via distance, by the way) are both rigorous and legitimate.
There was a live discussion on this subject at: http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2005/09/levine/ Do not believe you need a user name\password to access. I found this statement from Dr. Levine interesting:
Carlos, thank you for finding this. I wish that I had known about it and could have submitted a question asking why he was focusing upon the name of a degree (Ed.D.) when, in fact, his emphasis was on reforming the field of educational administration. What he proposes could also be used to eliminated Ph.D. in educational administration (and there are plenty of those). I had no trouble whatsoever with Levin's comments. In fact, I think that they are superior in some ways to his article. Maybe I'll just write to him myself.
Just some thoughts. If you were to look at the Harvard School of Education now you would see that they continue to offer a rather diverse set of concentrations that result in an EdD. Once upon a time they offered the EdD in "Counseling and Consulting Psychology" or something quite like that, but they dropped it somewhere along the line. The one that seems the most interesting to me is the EdD in Human Development. I believe that Harvard also offers a PhD in Psychology with a focus on Developmental Psychology. It would be interesting to get representatives from both departments to say something about the real distinction between these two degrees. Jack
Anthony, There is obvious contention regarding the content, rigor, value and continuation of the Ed.D within the domain of education. However, I believe that an Ed.D with specialization is such fields as Organizational Leadership can be utilized quite well by individuals seeking to enhance their professional dossier as organizational/career development consultants, trainers and executive coaches. In fact, combined with a clinical degree such as in mental health counseling or social work one can be in a very strong position to offer organization consultantcy services if they market themselves effectively. Simon
Thanks, Tony. I have seen some weird things in ed programmes, but they were the fault of stupid instructors and careless administrators--NOT inherent in the discipline. The ol' nomenclature kook would hate to see the EdD disappear and the utterly ill-named PhD become the only game in town.
