Some Ed.D. Programs Adopting Practical Approach. Team Efforts Supplant Individual Research by Aspiring School Leaders.

St. Louis University is one of a growing number of higher education institutions that are retooling their Doctor of Education, or Ed.D., programs to concentrate more on the practical skills required of district leaders. Such programs have emulated the structure of Ph.D. programs, despite the fact that they generally serve a different purpose. At schools of education that offer both degrees, the Ed.D. is for aspiring superintendents and other practitioners, while the Doctor of Philosophy program is for budding academics. In a widely read report, Arthur E. Levine, president of Teachers College, Columbia University, had suggested eliminating the Ed.D. degree which does little to prepare people for the contemporary demands of educational administration. Instead, some universities have sought to differentiate their Ed.D. programs more clearly from their Ph.D. programs. Common strategies involve emphasizing the application of theory to practice and forming more cohesive cohorts of candidates who go through the programs together. Some of the biggest changes are with the dissertation requirement, which some education schools are dropping in favor of team-based projects. This article further discusses the different views and concerns of some education school leaders on this matter.