To Ed.D or not Ed.D

This weekend, I attended a panel on Ed.D programs at the California Association of Professors of Education Administration (CAPEA) Conference and read Perry's article to Ed.D or not Ed.D in Kappan Magazine. A great read for current and prospective Ed.D students, describing the work of the Carnegie Project on the Educational Doctorate (CPED). As a prospective student, I had concerns about the perception of the Ed.D degree as a Ph.D light and I still find myself often explaining what an Ed.D degree is to family, friends, coworkers,  and even strangers. My big takeaway from the conference is that the Ed.D is a relevant degree for education practitioners and the research produced can strongly impact our fields.


The concept of praxis, combining theory and practice, has been appealing to me in my daily work in academic libraries. Go to any academic library conference and the term, "evidence-based research" is bandied about as a way to improve our services and demonstrate the value of academic libraries. Putting my library career on hold to attend a full-time Ph.D program was not an option I chose since my career path was administration, not academia. The Ed.D allows me flexibility to focus on leadership in academic libraries and to learn from a diverse group of educational leaders. The evening, weekend, and occasionally online coursework enables me to continue my full-tme work. I've gained so many insights about my own workplace through application of educational and leadership theories. Improving my work performance and leadership skills while conducting research that adds to the library and information science field makes me confident in my choice to Ed.D.

 

Caring, Daring and Sharing: Learning in New Media Environments

In the TED talk above, Cultural Anthropologist, Dr. Mike White opens with his experience in Papua New Guinea observing the introduction of books and censuses in a remote area and the dramatic impact on the culture. This rapid change is used as an analogy for social media and its impact on our culture. With opportunities as well as challenges in this new environment, Dr. White declares we need more open, caring, daring, creative, collaborative, self-motivated and voracious learners.

In order to do this, he suggests that we utilize new media to empower students and promote collaboration. Students need to become participants in the learning process and traditional models of instruction that treat students as empty vessels need to change. The current state of education is highlighted in the viral video, A Vision of Students Today, that Dr. White created with his 200 cultural anthropology students. There are many powerful new media tools that exist that allow students to be active participants in learning and impact others outside the classroom. To promote this educational shift as an instructor and a leader, I must strive to be an open, caring, daring, creative, collaborative, self-motivated, and voracious learner.

Carrots and Sticks + Autonomy: Leadership applications of Daniel Pink's Drive

Carrots and Sticks

In the book, Drive: The Surpising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink, rewards and punishments as motivators or "carrots and sticks" are discussed at length. Here are the "Seven Deadly Flaws" of Carrots and Sticks (p.57) according to Pink:

1. They can extinguish intrinsic motivation
2. They can diminish performance
3. They can crush creativity 
4. They can crowd out good behavior
5. They can encourage cheating, shortcuts, and unethical behavior
6. They can become addictive 
7. They can foster short-term thinking 

In higher education, I see many of the seven deadly flaws of carrots and sticks in the tenure process for faculty. The carrot in the tenure process is a guarantee of effectively permanent employment + academic freedom. The stick is not awarding tenure, which gives a faculty member an additional year before separating from a college or university. Although I see the allure of a secure position and therefore, paycheck, however a common critique of the tenure process is that tenured faculty are not productive, have no incentive to innovate, and can bully junior faculty. Post-tenure review can occur every three-five years depending on the situation but it is often thought of as "toothless" since it is extremely difficult to fire faculty, especially those that are in unionized environments. In my new position as an interim library dean, I will be reviewing faculty and staff performance for the first time. I try to give my staff constant feedback instead of relying solely on the annual review. Pink argues that carrots can be effective for tedious tasks if they are unexpected - I'm looking forward to trying that out.  

Autonomy

Some of my best work occurred in my first librarian position at CSU San Marcos where I had a great deal of autonomy with my research agenda. I accrued one day a month to devote to research and made additional time to attend and present at library conferences. Although I was required to do research as part of the tenure process, I was able to choose what I wanted to study, how to study it, and choose research partners. With my collaborators, I had the opportunity to present research on instant messaging in Sweden, publish a few peer-reviewed articles in library journals, and lead discussions at library conferences. In addition to the autonomy, I had financial support from my institution and supervisor and was given time out of the office to accomplish these tasks. 

In my current environment at a community college, faculty are not required to publish and present in order to get tenure. I do not have the same extrinsic motivators but I have continued to submit conference proposals and collaborate with my CSUSM colleagues  though to a lesser extent. I face new challenges as a library administrator such as allocating resources with a reduced budget, personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day overall library operations. I don't have a set schedule but I'm checking email when I wake up at 6:30am and through the evening. I deal with issues and emergencies as they emerge and squeeze in everything else around it. Although my work has completely changed, I continue to have high intrinsic motivation.