Program: Transformative Education, Ed.D - Clark University

Tranformative Education Overview

Clark University’s Ed.D. in Transformative Education is designed for education professionals committed to equity and social justice, who seek to become agents of change in their fields. This program supports practitioners by enhancing their practice through academic scholarship and practitioner inquiry. The Transformative Education program guides doctoral students to develop the practical skills and the theoretical and scholarly expertise to become leaders in educational transformation.

Transformative Education Requirements

PROGRAM COURSEWORK

The Ed.D. in Transformative Education involves completing 15 courses with members in your cohort and at least one independent dissertation writing course to be taken with your dissertation advisor during your last semester before graduation, making it a total of 16 courses. The fifteen courses include seven theory courses, five research courses, and three electives as follows.

Theory Courses (7 courses required)

Research Courses (5+ courses)

Independent Research Course

The following independent research writing course is repeatable and taken with your dissertation chair. You will need to be enrolled in this course the semester before your graduate when you finalize and defend your dissertation.

EDUC 395 - Dissertation Writing (Independent)

Elective Courses Within Education (Choose 3 courses)

Qualifying Papers

In addition to completing the coursework, Ed.D. students will be required to complete two qualifying papers. These papers will be developed in different required courses within the program and are designed to become chapters of your dissertation. They include:

A Literature Review on an approved topic (ideally the topic of your dissertation)

A Conceptual Framework that explores your analytical approach to a research topic

Your qualifying papers will need to be signed off by two faculty in the program.

Dissertation Committee

As you complete your coursework, you will need to develop a dissertation committee. Your dissertation committee will include a chair who will serve as your primary advisor. Your dissertation chair should be a faculty member affiliated with the Ed.D. in Transformative Education (see below for the list of available faculty). Your dissertation committee will also include two additional members who hold doctorates in fields connected to your dissertation topic. They can be from outside the Transformative Education faculty, but it is the responsibility of each doctoral student to form their committee by recruiting members to join.

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

Upon successful completion of the 15 courses, the successful approval of your qualifying papers, and the formation of your dissertation committee, you will develop a proposal for your dissertation committee. The doctoral candidate will submit the proposal to their dissertation committee and schedule the defense of the proposal, ideally during their third year in the program. Upon the successful approval of the dissertation proposal by all three members of their dissertation committee, the doctoral students will be advanced to candidacy for a doctorate.

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

Upon advancing to candidacy, students, in consultation with their advisor/dissertation chair, will complete the research and writing of their dissertation. Candidates must enroll in the Dissertation Writing (EDUC 395) course during their final semester before graduation. Students should consult with their advisor about the timing of this. Candidate will need schedule their defense of their dissertation with their committee a month before the end of the semester in order to finalize their dissertation and graduate with their Ed.D.

Please see the handbook for more details and course descriptions.

Program Faculty

Holly Dolan, Ed.D. - Chair

Kate Bielaczyc, Ph.D.

Eric DeMeulenaere, Ph.D.

Aaron Haddock, Ph.D.

Letina Jeranyama, Ph.D.

Erin Nerlino, Ph.D.

Carmen Ocon, Ph.D.

Jie Park, Ph.D.

Raphael Rogers, Ed.D.

Rae Stevenson, Ph.D.

Nadia Ward, Ph.D.