Impact of an Online EdD Programme on Personal Development and Professional Practices

Lopez, J (2017) Impact of an Online EdD Programme on Personal Development and Professional Practices. Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

A professional doctorate in education degree (EdD) is a degree where students contextualize professional knowledge into a “theoretical academic framework” (Quality Assurance Agency, 2015, p. 8). This study’s context is a 100% online EdD programme in the United Kingdom (UK) comprised of students throughout the world. Because online EdD programmes are relatively new, limited knowledge exists about the online EdD phenomenon from the students’ perspectives. In effect, the student voice about the online EdD is nearly absent in the literature but should be considered. How to fulfil the primary aim of the programme, to interrelate theory and professional practice and evoke social change (Costley, 2014), also has received limited attention. Two main aims of this study are: (1) To investigate the impacts of the online EdD learning experiences and outcomes on the participants’ personal and professional development through a phenomenologically-informed lens; and (2) To advance the student voice about learning experiences in online EdD programmes. This thesis is phenomenologically-informed, which enabled an in-depth investigation and a “Textural-Structural Description” (Moustakas, 1994, p. 121). The methods to collect data were interviews and document collection, which offered response triangulation and further analysis. The study results indicated that the participants experienced emotional and social challenges (e.g., cultural and linguistic disconnections and incremental disorienting dilemmas) that the transnational higher education (TNHE) virtual learning environment (VLE) sometimes exacerbated. Five of the eight participants’ stories contained evidence of each transformative learning stage (explored further in section 4.6) (Mezirow, 1991). The majority of the participants applied new knowledge from the online EdD programme to their professional contexts to effectuate social change, which is discussed in Chapters IV-V. This study draws attention to the online EdD phenomenon and furthers the discourse about the impacts of the online EdD on students’ personal and professional development. Key words: professional doctorate in education (EdD); phenomenologically-informed; transformative learning; student voice

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctor of Education)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2017 14:23
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2024 17:21
DOI:	10.17638/03009510
Supervisors:	Wang, R Gough, M
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3009510