Del dicho al hecho

A coursework mode is preferred by all of the members of the cohort. Norm’s suggestion that the coursework component of the degree be extended was echoed by all of the other members of the cohort:

In regards to style for the EdD program, I think it is a professional doctorate which can be related to work. I think the FRAGS committee should relax their approach a bit. More course work and more avenues as alternatives to the thesis; for example an advanced publishable paper or something along that line.

Anne reflected the views of the whole group when she spoke of her preference for a coursework mode of study:

If I could do all coursework, that’s what motivates me, and I find that much more manageable. And the thing about that is when you are working full time, um, doing course work, you can drop off a semester and fit back into it or pick it up much better than what you can doing a thesis. I think the EdD should consist of mostly coursework with say a 15,000 word paper at the end.

Len was interested in the coursework component of the program but when it came to the thesis he withdrew from the program:

I’ve learned a lot (during coursework). I can write a lot better than I could when I first started. You know I’ve had an insight into everything but I would have to get the motivation back and my topic would be the problem you know. I’ve had topics I could write about (in coursework). It’s like they keep saying you have to have the desire. I mean I haven’t got a burning desire to write

about (his workplace). That’s been the problem from the start, what will I write about?

Bob argued that he believed all six subjects that the first cohort undertook were necessary preparation for the thesis component of the degree:

Gary, Max and Ann reiterated this idea through the following suggestions:

Another is the last subject, was the Investigating Professional Practice 2. I think that subject should be one year not half not one semester because that is more related to what you are going to do in the next stage, which is the thesis and the lecturers (wanted) to do it quick, because it was a short course or a half year. So when I went to do my first review I was a bit struggling because I didn’t get much out of that previous lecturer. The time we had for this unit was very short and I think they need to look at it again (Gary).

But now I can recommend more of the subjects like the final one we did in preparation for the thesis and this thing called Demystifying the Thesis (Adam’s, 2005). Another recommendation would be put more in to do with management maybe, ‘cause most of the people there like, they come from a professional

management background whether they’re education or training or whatever (Max).

They should incorporate writing skills at the start rather than saying go read a book. I think the study groups are a great idea and would encourage the buddy system (Ann).

One of the most positive aspects of any professional development undertaken by the members of the cohort was the social interaction and the bonding that took place during coursework degrees as previously mentioned by Ellen. Bob and Queenie contributed the following ideas related to the benefits and support they felt they received from the group.

Well, something else I would like to say is to do with the importance of being a member of a group too, participating group. I’m one of those people who needs to have people doing their thing to help me make sure I, to a greater or lesser extent, do my thing, and I can enjoy what they’re

doing, but I also enjoy, by their doing it is going to make me stay on track. And I can’t speak too highly of the importance of that feature of this program (Bob).

Ken and I have discussed that earlier, I’ve worked with him at a city university, we did a Masters together there, and we both felt they were much more competitive, whereas here we do work as a group and a supportive group and there is none of that competition of you know that we felt came from the other institution and the group itself is a strong source of PD (Queenie).

Joe, Fran and Anne agree that the inspiration they received from the other members of the cohort made the experience more do-able. Indeed, throughout the coursework component of the degree there was constant agreement amongst the cohort about the encouragement they believed they received through group interaction.

I’m not good at working alone in isolation I love being part of groups (Joe). So, even if you were tired and you turned up at class you forgot how tired you were (Fran).

…and it’s the class participation and the fact that you can talk to people on a weekly basis about…and they are people that are working too and so they understand and so they sympathise (Ann).

I thoroughly enjoyed doing coursework, and I love meeting and talking to people and I could happily sit there, I could happily go on doing coursework (Helen). By contrast, the thesis stage of any degree was not highly regarded by the members of the cohort. Chloe was disappointed with her progress once she moved into the thesis stage of the degree:

The thesis stage has a lack of urgency that was there with the coursework. No due dates makes me put things off until tomorrow. If you know what I mean. It also

seems that a few others are putting things off or taking some leave. My learning style is to have stronger deadlines.

Chloe also reflected on the supervision she had received up to the point of the interview:

I’m not sure about the experience of the current supervisors. I’m not getting a great deal of support and guidance, but maybe that is up to me to motivate myself a little bit more.

Ann also had concerns in regard to supervision:

I think there could be greater interaction between students and lecturers for example that we would be able to go to other lecturers for advice on top of our supervisors.

However several of the members of the cohort mentioned the benefits they felt they had received from the self-reflection needed for the interview process of the current study. Patterson and Fleet (1996) alerted us to the stories of professional practice becoming increasingly recognised as an effective approach for developing

understanding and critical thinking. Teachers’ stories contribute to professional growth through the opportunity to reflect on personal practice. Bob was aware of the benefits derived from telling his story:

It’s a reminder because you are forced to think back over the years and where you got to and the kinds of things that propel you in a different direction. It’s almost therapeutic in a way.

Gary also felt there was a therapeutic value to being able to unburden himself of his frustrations in relation to the professional development which took place at his school:

You remember when I said some PD we’re going to do at school is not related. I had to say to someone. Because it’s an honest and open interview …so I had to…and it’s good when you feel comfortable with the person you are talking to and you are part of the group.

Intellectually and emotionally engaging interview opportunities can offer reappraisals of self and have the potential for validation of personal values. Through these

experiences, some adults identify a different perspective on what is important and valuable in their lives as Bob reflected during the focus group:

I think that your research project has helped us but perhaps we should have thought even more keenly about the relationship of the EdD course because of what you’ve asked us in the research project and other things that were happening so there was a sort of relativity thing going on with the EdD as part of other things as opposed to an isolated experience.

Another benefit is that recounted experiences provide knowledge of this group of educators and their educational contexts that otherwise might not be made available. It is indeed a ‘rare experience for adults to spend a considerable amount of

uninterrupted time talking about themselves to an interested other. Researchers who undertake in-depth interviews provide opportunity for, and legitimate, what otherwise might be seen as an indulgence’ (Nias and Aspenwall, 1995:190).

There are also benefits at a broader level; ‘recounted narratives can also be used by other educators to construct their own lives. Biographies can thus be utilised as educational material to promote self-reflection and, hence, to facilitate professional development and growth’ (Knowles, 1991 cited in Syrjala and Estola, 1999:5). Recounted narratives invite ‘the reader to vicariously participate in other’s personal experiences. By doing this readers are provided with an opportunity to assess and reassess their own understandings’ (Cole and Knowles, 1995:150). As Clandinin and Connelly (1991:277) suggested, shared narratives ‘help readers question their own stories, raise their own questions about practices, and see in the narrative accounts, stories of their own lives’.