The design of doctorate curricula for practising professionals

Article

Armsby, P., Costley, C. and Cranfield, S. 2018. The design of doctorate curricula for practising professionals. Studies in Higher Education. 43 (12), pp. 2226-2237. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1318365
TypeArticle
TitleThe design of doctorate curricula for practising professionals
AuthorsArmsby, P., Costley, C. and Cranfield, S.
Abstract

Expansion and changes in doctoral education globally have challenged universities to meet the needs of practising professionals. Values and purposes, structure and content and pedagogy of the provision are key considerations. This curriculum evaluation work investigated the views of 68 higher education staff mainly from Europe and North America involved in the development and delivery of professional doctorates on current issues in designing an appropriate curriculum for practitioners. Analysis of views from two international workshops suggested that while the social benefits of practitioner research were acknowledged, staff struggled with tensions in their higher education contexts to manage practitioner-focused elements, including the balance between theory and practice, recognition of practitioner methodologies and provision of appropriate supervision. The paper concludes that a wider understanding of the values and purpose of doctoral education within and beyond the academy is required that recognises the production of knowledge through practice, and supports ethical social action.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the participants who took part in the two international workshops for their helpful contributions, and the reviewers for their helpful comments.

KeywordsDoctorates; professional doctorates; curriculum design; practice-based learning; values
Research GroupWork and Learning Research Centre
PublisherTaylor & Francis (Routledge)
JournalStudies in Higher Education
ISSN0307-5079
Electronic1470-174X
Publication dates
Online25 Apr 2017
Print02 Dec 2018
Publication process dates
Deposited20 Apr 2017
Accepted08 Apr 2017
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Higher Education on 25/04/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03075079.2017.1318365

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1318365
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85018675999
Web of Science identifierWOS:000451593300007
LanguageEnglish
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