Developing a doctorate of education

This paper explores the development of a professional doctorate at the University of Newcastle during 1989 and 1990. The introduction of a coursework and thesis Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) was seen to be an effective way of assisting teachers to improve their professional standing in this era of merit selection and comparative assessment as it provides the options of effective part-time study linked to relevant content. The first candidates begin in 1991 in two courses on Educational Administration. These courses have been developed as a team exercise and contain group assessment procedures.