Since first appearing in British universities during the early 1990s, the Doctor of Education (EdD) degree has spread rapidly through the UK higher education sector. However, despite the existence of a single set of Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) descriptors for doctoral level achievement, some in academia have always been willing to describe the EdD, either openly or in private, as inferior to the PhD. This thesis endeavours (through a wide-ranging questionnaire completed anonymously by 27 academics from a total of 16 English universities, and follow-up interviews with seven individuals selected from the original sample) to discover how a sample of those who teach on such programmes (EdD academics) view the EdD, in general terms. For instance, it seeks to ascertain how widespread among EdD academics is the notion that the EdD does not reach the ‘gold standard’ represented by the PhD in Education. As data collection proceeds from the questionnaire to the interviews, the focus narrows to three key topics: specific characteristics of the EdD as compared with the PhD in Education (in terms, for example, of learning experience, programme aims, and modes of assessment); strengths, weaknesses and purposes of the EdD viva voce examination; and the concept of 'originality' as operationalised by EdD academics/examiners in deciding whether or not an EdD candidate/thesis displays 'doctorateness'. A range of informed and sometimes forthright views from EdD academics on these matters is recorded. On the basis of data analysis and interpretation, the thesis concludes with proposals for further, more extensive research, and a call for one of two courses of action: either the abolition of the EdD, or the appointment of a committee to review EdD practices nationally, and to recommend ways of strengthening EdD rigour and reputation.

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The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to examine the stories of public elementary school teachers who hold doctorates and to discover what these stories tell about their understanding of education within the context of public schools. Specifically, investigation centered on reasons teachers in this group pursued doctorates. This study also examined the ways in which they describe their role as educators within the public school system; the ways in which they view their relationships with public school colleagues; and the ways in which the doctoral experience has influenced their beliefs about teaching, public schooling, and education. Participants included seven California elementary public school teachers who took part in two tape recorded interviews and contributed one story from their professional experience and/or a personal reflection on the interview process. Analysis of the data involved restorying the participants' stories, identifying segments of information, labeling the segments with codes that describe their meaning, grouping the codes into themes, and identifying examples from the data that supported the themes. Six themes emerged from the collected data: learning, connection and collaboration, conflict, leadership, satisfaction, and respect . The participants described their various learning experiences, how they connect and collaborate with others, the ways in which they experience conflict, the contexts in which they exhibit leadership skills, the circumstances that have brought about personal satisfaction, and the ways in which they have observed and experienced respect. Results revealed that the teachers pursued a doctorate in order to broaden their knowledge base and educational experience and that the doctoral experience has given them a broader perspective of education. They have assumed a leadership role within the public school system, and although they acknowledged that they have a different viewpoint of education and schooling than their colleagues, they see those with whom they work as valuable members of the school community. Implications from the results focused on the importance of change within the learning process and the responsibility of leadership that comes with advanced knowledge and experience.