Chapter 9: Using Action Research to Develop Educational Leaders and Researchers

In this chapter, we focus our discussion on action research and the Action Research Dissertation in Practice (AR DiP) as signature pedagogy (Shulman, 2005) in EdD programs as a means to appropriately prepare scholar practitioners. We begin with essential elements that characterize institutions affiliated with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) that are working to reform and reimagine the Education Doctorate (EdD). We then offer an overview of the personal and professional motivations EdD students bring to their programs. Following that discussion, we provide an explanation of the tenets/traditions of action research and how these align with CPED’s principles and design concepts and also meet the needs and motivations of working professionals. Next, we examine action research from a pragmatic perspective and suggest nine reasons it is particularly beneficial to students who wish to become leaders of change. We then discuss the transformative nature of AR and how it influences students and graduates of doctoral programs. Finally, we complete the chapter by offering some conclusions about action research dissertations and EdD programs.