The Dissertation in Practice at the USC Rossier School of Education Presented by Robert Rueda & Rudy Castruita, University of Southern California June 2013 CPED Convening

1. Dissertations of Practice vs.Capstones – this is not an
either/or distinction –
Bothare focused on significant educational issues and the
primary audience is a specific educational setting or
settings
Both can be distinguished from PhD dissertations (which
focus primarily on creating new generalizable
knowledge and theory development)
Regarding inquiry coursework and experience – if you
want to train practicing physicians, don’t train them to
be medical researchers – The Inquiry skills should match
the goal
The Dissertation in Practice at the USC Rossier School of Education
Robert Rueda & Rudy Castruita
University of Southern California
What are the key components of the EdD that we expect
students to be proficient in?
Problem solving –
framing problems of practice that are concrete,
significant, and solvable, and tied to the mission
and priorities of the organization
Diagnosing and verifying underlying causes
Leveraging research-based solutions
Inquiry
Understanding and critically evaluating research
Ability to investigate problems of practice, their
causes, and solutions, with a variety of methods
and approaches as appropriate
The General Model
• In the USC program, we employ a thematic group
option
• While a small number of students do independent
work with a chair, the majority of students participate
in a thematic group
• This format was created both for reasons of efficiency
but to build on the social nature of learning and
collaboration skills which will be needed in future
career work
• All new dissertation chairs are paired with an
experienced chair the first time
The Dissertation of Practice or Capstone May Include:
• Consultancy model – gap analysis or other problem-
solving approach
• Thematic groups in a range of approaches
• Traditional 5-chapter study
• Three article design
• Policy brief/analysis
• Evaluation
• Other approved projects or products
Some of the Common Problem Solving Models
The following are non-negotiable elements for any dissertation of
practice or capstone:
• The work includes a problem statement and framing of the
approach, which establishes the rationale and significance of the
work
• The current literature is used as a foundation for the work and
approach at key points: framing the problem, synthesizing what is
known about the problem, and informing the solutions and
implications of the work
• The work is systematic and represents sufficient effort to serve as
a capstone
• The product represents a contribution to urban educational
practice
• The product and process serve as an opportunity to demonstrate
the ability to apply theory and research to solving or informing an
educational problem
• The work demonstrates the ability to present ideas and arguments
and evidence in a logical, systematic, and coherent fashion in both
written and oral formats
SOME CURRENT MODELSSOME OF THE BASICSKEY COMPONENTS
A RANGE OF INQUIRY TYPES
NON-NEGOTIABLE ELEMENTS
CONCLUSIONS
How Are These Competencies Expressed?
In the USC Program, we expect dissertations of practice
and capstones to exhibit the following characteristics
Addresses an educational issue
Focused on some aspect of urban education
Focuses on a significant problem of practice
Demonstrates proficiency in Inquiry skills and
methods as appropriate to the problem
What is the Dissertation of Practice or Capstone?
“Expectation is that students will prepare a scholarly
project that demonstrates a synthesis of the student’s
abilities, lay the groundwork for future practice
scholarship, and demonstrate mastery of ability to
frame and critically inquire in to a significant
educational problem of practice.” (CPED website)
Characteristics
Enduring and important problems of practice (and not
theory expansion as the primary goal)
Collaboration with others, and
Field-relevant data collection and analysis strategies.
DISSERTATIONS OF PRACTICE
• In the USC program, we employ a thematic group
option
• While a small number of students do independent work
with a chair, the majority of students participate in a
thematic group
• This format was created both for reasons of efficiency
but to build on the social nature of learning and
collaboration skills which will be needed in future
career work
The Most Common Configuration Consists of
A Thematic Group:
• The thematic group consists of 8-10 students with a
dissertation chair;
• The thematic group meets as a class for two semesters
during the dissertation process (faculty get the course
credit)
• Students work on a common problem or around a
common theme;
• Each student has a different research questions or focus
within the theme or problem area
• Students produce an individual dissertation
Some Common Variations:
• Faculty may pair up and serve as co-chairs for a group
(this is a requirement for new chairs who have not led a
thematic group before)
• Thematic groups may use common research questions
and/or common methodologies
• Alternatively, some groups may pursue a common
theme but students pursue their own questions and use
their own methodology
• Students may work individually or in teams
• Dissertations often follow a standard five chapter
format, but there are variations depending on the
thematic group – Gap Analysis projects often have a
literature review chapter on the background of the
problem and a separate literature review chapter leter
which is solely focused on solutions
• Students may produce individually authored
dissertations (the most common approach) or they may
collaborate and co-author some of the chapters while
still producing their own final product (care is taken to
credit authorship)
• A small number of students elect not to join a thematic
group and complete a dissertation indivdually
• Note that in any of the preceding configurations, the
actual focus of the work may range from a problem-
solving project for a local end user as the audience to a
more traditional study which may contribute to more
generalizable knowledge and a larger external audience
of researchers
WHAT ABOUT INQUIRY COURSES?
It is an oversimplification to say that the PhD is a
research degree and the EdD is a practice degree –
Inquiry skills are important important in both
In general, inquiry in the service of generating new
generalizable knowledge and theory development
characterizes the PhD
In general, inquiry in the service of addressing or solving
a significant problem of practice characterizes the EdD
It is a mistake to think that Dissertations of Practice do
not use theory, just as it is to think that Ph.D.
dissertations never have practical application or address
important social and/or educational issues
For further information contact
Robert Rueda (rueda@usc.edu)
Rudy Castruita (rcastrui@usc.edu)