Problems of Practice: A Document Analysis of Education Doctorate Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn how education doctorate students create the problems of practice researched in their dissertations, and the potential impact of their research on their local contexts to enhance the generation of knowledge. Three research questions guided this study: 1) How do education doctorate students derive their problems of practice?, 2) What is the nature of the problems of practice that the students have studied?, and 3) What are the reported impacts the study of problems of practice has on doctoral students’ local contexts? To answer these questions, the researchers conducted a document analysis of 19 dissertations. Student dissertations included a diverse set of problems of practice largely determined by their professional roles. The findings indicate a need for further refinement of the concept of a problem of practice and how the education doctorate program and their candidates employ the concept of a problem of practice in their dissertations and how this impacts local contexts. Furthermore, the nature of their problems of practice researched through the dissertation contributed to the perceived impact on the local context of the author.

Keywords

• education doctorate
• dissertations
• problems of practice