DETC and Professional Advancement in K-12 Education

In effort not to thread jack my previous thread on CCU, I started a new one.

Ok, so I know there is conflicting information on the viability of a DETC doctorate and ability to adjunct. Whatever. My ultimate goal with a doctorate is to advance in K-12 administration. From what I understand, nobody really cares as long as your Ed.D. is accredited for professional purposes. Once you start heading towards the academia crowd things start to smell a bit and noses begin shooting towards the sky.

So, in my situation, being that I have a BA and MA for RA institutions, and I'm currently a department chair looking to apply to assistant principal jobs soon, does anyone have any evidence that a DETC Ed.D. would not be beneficial?

 

You need to look at state requirements.

In my state, only regionally-accredited degrees are recognized in K-12 public education.

 

I live in CA. CA has it's own pain-in-the-@$$ credentialing programs for teachers and for administrators that are completely separate from your actual degree program. In other words, here in CA, as long as your degree is accredited you are eligible for extra stipends, etc., but it doesn't qualify you for jack. You can have an Ed.D. from Harvard and you won't be able to get a job at a CA school unless you have gone through the CA credentialing program for administrators.

 

An Ed.D. (RA or NA), in my experience, should /would not be considered necessary for ANY K-12 assistant principal (AP) position. At the campus principal level … it may play some significance; nonetheless, a doctorate would likely still be unnecessary. At the campus level, school district politics in building principal selection will consistently trump the Ed.D. holder as regards K-12 public education …

 

Right. I understand that it isn't necessary. As long as you have the credential, you are technically qualified, but do you stand out? It seems to me that more and more administrators are touting doctorates. And if there is one think I know about K-12 education in California, having a doctorate makes you a star...especially in smaller districts.

 

Then by all means go for one … seemingly you are convinced of its importance.

On the other hand, I don’t work within PK-12 education in California. However in Texas, the mere standalone possession of the PhD /EdD as regards K-12 public education will neither make a “star” nor even imply stardom; not justifiably anyway. In my view one will “stand-out” comparative to: 1) their level of integrity, 2) leadership abilities and professional competency, 3) emotional intelligence and most notably … 4) the accomplishments of those they have led or currently lead … not whether or not they possess a doctorate degree.

 

Well, in CA I'd say the only one that applies is #4. The other three are definitely important, but I'm not sure how a school can get all of that from an interview. To make up for it, we get doctorates to try and fake our way through and get high paying jobs. It's kind of messed up, but tis the field of education in CA. Pieces of paper mean 100 times more than experience (as opposed to the business world where experience matters more than paper).

 

I'm sorry to say it but if that's your attitude I hope, for the sake of the students, that you do not succeed. The last thing kids need is an unmotivated faker as a school administrator.:chairshot:

 

There isn't conflicting information. There are, however, conflicting assessments regarding that information. And there are those who really hope their degrees from DETC-accredited schools will be okay, even to the point of shouting down others with little more that fervor to back up their statements.

That said, check your local requirements. Shouldn't be too hard to find out if a degree from an NA school will suffice.

 

Wait, are you saying that I'm shouting others down? Or is that just a blanket statement about the DETC zealots?

Meh, after a bit of thought, I decided that the time and effort isn't worth it at this point in my career. I wouldn't want to have a degree that I would always worry about being questioned. I doubt it would be questioned in the field I'm in, which isn't post-secondary academia, but there would still be that little voice in my head that says, "NA loser!!!" So yeah, I'm passing for now.

 

Lol! I should have explained better. I would never take an administrator position on the premises that I'm faking anything. I've seen MANY adminstrators do it, though. And they usually burn out and are back in the classroom within 5 years...that is unless they can fake it long enough and get lucky and are offered a cush district job and nice corner office.

 

I think you explained it perfectly. The only shift is that once you were confronted you stopped saying "we" and started saying "they."

Read through this thread. Look at everything that Odin has written. Then tell me that he's not a faker.

 

Most sarcasm is lost through the keyboard, Kiz, so I understand your inability to understand what I was saying. It's not your fault. And you're obviously not involved in K-12 education either, so it makes it more understandable why we don't understand each other and you're calling me a liar. That's ok, and I don't hold it against you.

 

The zealots. I don't know you.

If you earn a degree from a DETC-accredited school, it won't ever be "questioned." There will be situations where it will not be accepted as a degree, and many more where it will. No matter what anyone says, that isn't true of degrees from RA schools. (Not for their accreditation status, anyway, except where a degree with professional accreditation is required.)

No shame in earning such a degree. It's only the apologists I struggle with. (And the crummy accreditation standards so often shown by DETC.)

 

I do not have any evidence that it would not be beneficial. I have one conversation with one superintedent and my own opinions. When I visited with the superintendent about Ed.D. programs he said you should never go to a school and do the work it takes to get a doctorate that will ever result a potential employer questioning the name (ie never heard of that school) or the validity of the degree.
First I do not know California. Never been there. I know Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, and New Mexico. I either taught or went to school with other administrators from those states and in general follow their employment boards/listings or job sites. An assistant principal job is usually a promotion of an existing appropriately certified or licensed person either in or in close proximity to the hiring district/school. Usually. If I saw someone, and I sit on all hiring panels for my district, applying for an AP job with a doctorate I would assume they would only be in this job for a very short time. People with Dr. attached to their name do not usually stay an AP. I do not think I would think much more than that really. Other facts like whether the position was an AD one as well, the gender of the person leaving (try to avoid all administrators being the same gender usually), who within the district was applying, and how well they did in an interview would trump a doctorate. Depending on the district, being bilingual would easily trump the doctorate as well for lots of jobs. My opinions only.

 

Are there any DETC schools that offer a graduate certificate in education?

 

Deakin University (Australia)
Postgraduate courses for Educators