This study conducted at the University of Central Florida was of two-fold importance. First, information gathered via this study has served to continually improve the rigor and relevancy of the curriculum and program requirements to issues in education. Second, the research findings from this study served to move forward the national and increasingly international efforts to improve the Ed. D. and other professional practice doctorate programs. The review of literature was organized to present an introduction for the conceptual framework of the efforts to distinguish between the Ph. D. and Ed. D. and strengthen the education doctorate overall. The review presented discussions on the history of the doctorate, history and reform models for the professional doctorate, history of the education doctorate, the Ed. D. versus the Ph. D., differentiation of the education doctorates, and the future of the education doctorate. This study was conducted in the University of Central Florida’s Executive Ed. D. in Educational Leadership program, and employed a mixed methods approach. A series of four surveys were developed to gather both quantitative perception rating responses on a Likert scale of either one to four or one to five, as well as qualitative or open responses to enhance context. Means and standard deviations were analyzed to determine perception ratings, and one-way analyses of variance were conducted to determine differences in perceptions between cohorts and over time. This research illustrated that the perceptions of students in the Executive Ed. D. in Educational Leadership program were positive. Student respondents indicated that their reasons for applying to the program are reflected in the program design, the program is aligned well with iii the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate’s (CPED) Working Principles, and the program was meeting their needs at defined points in the program of study. Implications for practice include using admission and demographic information to inform instructional and advising processes, continuing to gather student perception ratings and open responses to keep the Executive Ed. D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Central Florida aligned with the CPED Working Principles and all programs with the students’ needs, and following up with graduates to gather perceptions on the perceived impact of their study. Recommendations for further research include continuing this study in a longitudinal format to gather perceptions and conduct tests for changes in perceptions over time prior to entering the program, at different points throughout the program, and after completing the program. Also, continuing to gather data on the variable of persistence, to determine relationships between whether or not a student remains enrolled in the program and predictor variables including GRE score, undergraduate GPA, and professional position. Similarly, gathering measurements of program viability including graduation rates and time to degree completion to compare with those measurements on program prior to being redesigned as well as evaluating relationships between admission requirements and time to degree completion and graduation rates.

This study conducted at the University of Central Florida was completed to inform the Ed. D. in Education program within the College of Education and Human Performance. The main purpose of the study was to determine the Dissertation in Practice (DiP) project types that should be allowed for use as the capstone requirement based on a needs analysis of K-12 schools and school districts. The secondary purpose was to inform the instructional design of the program to ensure the necessary skills and knowledge required are included in the program. The study was conducted in the University of Central Florida's Ed. D. in Education program and employed a qualitative approach to a needs analysis. Interviews were conducted with two distinctly different participant groups. The first group was comprised of administrators and teacher-leaders identified by a superintendent of a rural school district in Central Florida as "highly effective". The second group of participants was comprised of current Ed. D. students working in K-12 education with more than 10 years' experience. This research identified specific project types that best support school improvement and should therefore be integrated into the Ed. D. in Education program as allowable project types for use as the Dissertation in Practice. The results also identified qualities of highly effective administrators and teacher-leaders that may be considered by program faculty for inclusion in the design and implementation of the curriculum for the Ed. D. in Education program. Implications of this research include using the results to inform instructional practices and the allowable DiP projects for the Ed. D. in Education program. As this study was a needs analysis that serves as a basis for program instructional decisions, the results of this study may inform other Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) member institutions how to modify or enhance their programs as well. The focus on this study was exclusively on K-12 education. However many students enrolled in the program work in business, government, or non-profit settings. This research could be replicated to determine improvement project types that are commonly implemented in those settings in order to better meet the needs of all students enrolled in the Ed. D. in Education program.

According to Kerlin (1995a), first-generation students are not expected to survive to doctorate degree attainment because of vulnerability to negative affects associated with their status; yet persist they do at East Tennessee State University. The desire to study the first-generation East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education and the limited number of first-generation graduate studies available, especially in the academic field of education, promoted developing this study. It was the intent of this study to offer additional empirical research toward understanding variables associated with first-generation persistence as encountered by East Tennessee State University's Doctors of education. Quantitative analysis derived through survey research served as an explanatory framework to investigate major variables of first-generation persistence. The survey targeted East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education who received degrees prior to June 2004. Investigation of empirical evidence revealed that unlike previous first-generation studies (Hayes, 1997; Hurley, 2002; Inman and Mayes, 1999; Khanh, 2002; NCES, 1998; Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, and Nora, 1996) the bulk (73.7%) of East Tennessee State University Doctors of Education were first-generation. Moreover, although previous studies suggested the presence of unique barriers attributed to first-generation status, no significant differences resulted in either identification or ranking of barriers or facilitators to degree attainment between first-generation East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education and their non-first-generation counterparts. The Survey of ETSU Doctors of Education requested respondents prioritize identified barriers and facilitators. After plotting significant bivariate coordinate pairs among ranked barriers and facilitators, flat line (zero sloped) clusters depicted the presence of six weak monotone associations among variables. Facilitator rankings were associated with a respondent's age, parental college attendance, and education specialist degree, while barrier rankings were associated with a respondent's marital status at the time of degree attainment, secondary support source, and post doctorate employment.