What is Doctoral Study

What does Doctoral Study mean?

According to the Random House Dictionary (1983) a community is defined as a group of people living in somewhat close association, and usually under common rules. Doctoral students in Educational Leadership Studies are such a group who share the experiences of working towards the highest degree in the land, by learning about the members of their community, and by locating themselves in that milieu through the dissertation.

In my opinion, doctoral study is:

• disciplined inquiry that involves both a survey and in-depth study of classical and contemporary scholars, provides historical, legal, and theoretical perspectives on concepts, problems and dilemmas of practice through research, and helps students belong to a community.

• a transformative experience that involves course work, comprehensives, and a dissertation that helps to find one's voice and place in the community.

• a scholarly, rigorous, creative endeavor where the student is expected to become an expert in a body of theory and its research in order to propose and conduct original research that will make a contribution to the discipline.

The dissertation was such an exciting time of learning for me. It became the basis for a career of research and for a process of continuous learning. As a university professor, research has been my vehicle for promotion and national recognition. I was able to build upon both the topic and design of my dissertation to continue a law and policy focus in my writing, teaching,and service. Doing research has also become the way that I now learn. The topics that I write on are those that I want to learn most about. Not only was the dissertation a time to learn skills and to discover new knowledge, but it was also a transformative experience that is still an important part of my professional life.