1.3 Doctoral program issues: accreditation of programs  (Page 6/10)

Following, we explore the overall unit NCATE Standard 1

Standard 1: Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

Candidates preparing to work in schools as teachers or other professional school personnel know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. Assessments indicate that candidates meet professional, state, and institutional standards.

Application to doctoral program. The Target of Standard 1 for other school personnel is as follows: Candidates for other professional school roles critique and are able to reflect on their work within the context of student learning. They establish educational environments that support student learning, collect and analyze data related to student learning, and apply strategies for improving student learning within their own jobs and schools. Components of the NCATE explanation provided are as follows: Candidates preparing to work in schools as other school personnel demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to meet professional, state, and institutional standards. (Professional standards may be aligned with UCEA standards outlined previously.)

Under NCATE, candidates in these graduate programs should develop the ability to apply research and research methods. Doctoral programs would have ample applicability in this area where students in such programs are solving real problems. Candidates also develop knowledge of learning, the social and cultural context in which learning takes place, and practices that support learning in their professional roles. Doctoral programs would be expected to have courses related to instructional/learning theory, societal/cultural issues, and leadership theory/practices.

NCATE indicates that candidates might assess the school environment by collecting and analyzing data on student learning as it relates to their professional roles and developing positive environments supportive of student learning. Doctoral programs would be expected to maintain a course on program evaluation. Institutions must submit program documentation, including candidate performance data, which responds to professional standards for national and/or state review prior to and during the on-site visit. Doctoral programs do not necessarily have state or national standards; however, it is usual for state higher education units to have approved a doctoral program with its own goals and standards. Therefore, it is those local doctoral goals that potentially could be used for the review; that may include research and the types of research as well as internships. The program documentation will include performance assessment data collected internally by the unit and external data such as results on state licensing tests and other assessments. Many doctoral programs do not have a certification connected to them. In this case outcome data, comprehensive/qualifying examinations, or competencies would be the type data that could be gathered for documentation. Outcome data might include, but are not limited to, what promotions the candidates have received while participating in the program and the campus or district ranking before and after the candidate was hired in the position, dissertation competitions, numbers of publications by candidates, and reviews of doctoral dissertations by outside professionals.