1.4 Innovations in educational leadership doctoral programs  (Page 4/4)

There is a wide range of topics (provided that they relate to educational leadership) that students are permitted to pursue. However, the competencies to be demonstrated in the QP are the same, regardless of the topic. The attainment of these competencies is evaluated by the use of a standard rubric. Prior to beginning the QP, the student should have reviewed significant theoretical and empirical literature about their topic and have a level of expertise or sufficient knowledge base about the topic area. Foundational skills necessary for successful development of the QP include, but are not limited to: technical writing, APA, critical reading, critical thinking, critical writing, critiquing theory and empirical studies, research, statistics, information literacy, computer applications. These skills are gained in the research course sequence.

The QP topic should be sufficiently narrow to permit an in-depth investigation, relevant to an area of advanced study/educational leadership that guides a range of inquiry, results in an extensive search of scholarly literature, and generation of questions for further inquiry. The topic may be related to the intended topic of the student’s dissertation.

The QP is equivalent to an "examination." The QP replaces the former "proctored written comprehensive examination," as one of the requirements to progress to doctoral candidacy. As with many forms of comprehensive examinations, students do not have the choice in deciding who writes questions or the evaluators.

The student must obtain formal approval for the written QP from a review panel of two or more faculty members. The review panel may require an oral examination. Because the QP is intended as a culminating “capstone” activity, the QP may not be submitted for approval until a minimum of 42 credit hours of coursework in the student’s program plan of study has been completed. Usually the student completes the QP concurrent with the completion of all of the coursework in the doctoral program except the dissertation related courses. If the student selects a topic for the QP and keeps the same topic for the dissertation, the student has made substantial progress in the writing of the review of the literature for the dissertation. Thus, upon completion of the coursework and QP, the student already has made substantial progress in the writing of the dissertation proposal. Often the student’s research design for their dissertation project has been developed in the research course sequence and the QP used for the review of literature of the dissertation. Completion of the QP is often one of the requirements for Candidacy.

Students successful in completing the Qualifying Paper demonstrate several competencies and skills that contribute to the graduate faculty’s determination if the student is appropriately qualified to pursue original research in the form of the doctoral dissertation. These competencies and skills include:

• Critical Thinking and Scholarly Inquiry
  • Search, read, interpret, analyze, critique (appraise), integrate and synthesize research literature pertaining to selected topic
  • Generate implications for future research, theory and practice through analysis of empirical, theoretical, critical/analytic, and methodological literature
  • Facilitate the application of theory to practice
  • Use and contribute to a variety of knowledge bases developed to deal with contemporary, as well as future problems and issues
  • Cultivate a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of educational change to be able to distinguish its causes, effects, magnitude and cultural significance.
• Mature, Professional, and Effective Writing Style
  • Write a scholarly paper at a level commensurate with advanced graduate study.
  • Use APA Editorial Style.
  • Develop an effective writing style that is at a level commensurate with advanced graduate study: organized, understandable, smooth, cohesive, explicit, concise, and grammatically correct (language use and sentence structure); avoids bias in language; and is in APA manuscript style.
• Accountability and Responsibility
  • Understand ethical responsibilities of providing accurate information and communicating effectively.
• Technology, Computer Applications, and Information Literacy in Scholarly Inquiry
  • Use technology in scholarly inquiry mastering information literacy skills (information seeking and retrieval methods) and computer applications to document information logically, efficiently, and ethically.

*Note: The model for the Qualifying Paper as described here was originally developed by F. Dembowski and J. Scialli for the doctoral program in Global Leadership at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.

References

Dick, B. (1999). What is action research? Retrieved September 20, 2006, from http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/whatisar.html

O’Brien, R. (1998). An overview of the methodological approach of action research. Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto. Retrieved September 20, 2006, from http://www.web.ca/~robrien/papers/arfinal.html

Author Biography

Frederick L. Dembowski is the Hibernian Endowed Professor, and Head of the Department of Educational Leadership at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He received his EdD from the University of Rochester, New York. He has served as a professor, department head and dean for over 25 years at Purdue University, SUNY Albany, Lynn University and the National University of Somalia, Africa. His work has focused on school management, and international development of educational organizations. He currently serves as the Editor of the AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice. He is also the Managing Editor of The NCPEA/CONNEXIONS Project. He has over 100 publications including: Effective School District Management (1999), published by AASA and Scarecrow Press; and Unbridled Spirit: Best Practices in Educational Administration – the 2006 NCPEA YEARBOOK (2006).