Valerie A. Storey – författare

An outcome of international conferences on the professional practice doctorate has been a continuing conversation amongst scholarly practitioners focused on addressing challenges and issues being encountered concerning in the number and variety of professional practice doctorates in the twenty-first century. These conversations have resulted in a proliferation of programs utilizing a variety of pedagogical models focused on practicing professionals undertaking research and development in the workplace. Grounded by critical friend theory, contributions from scholar practitioners in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, USA, and Wales address trends and themes in international professional practice doctoral programs. These include how knowledge is produced, organized, developed and used; doctoral program design; program capstone models; insider- outsider collaborative research partnerships; and collaborative ways to work across national boundaries in different settings.

Exploring the Impact of the Dissertation in Practice significantly contributes to our understanding of the design and impact of the Dissertation in Practice, the capstone of professional practice doctoral programs.

Chapter authors are to be commended for sharing with the reader a broad and reflective view of their dissertation journey, and as a consequence give the reader insight into the nature of professional practice doctorate education in the early 21st century. Readers have the opportunity to hear firsthand how the dissertation is changing not only in format but also in the impact it makes in the field. Faculty and program graduates share accounts of their scholarly practice; the problems of practice that they have encountered and addressed in their professional practice; and their evolving role as change agents in their field of practice. In the process, they assist all faculty involved in designing and evaluating professional practice programs by identifying challenges and opportunities for construction of powerful end-of-program doctoral work. Individually and collectively chapter authors reflect on their experiences in creating practice-anchored and intellectually rigorous Dissertation in Practice.