Policy Advocacy

NATIONAL LOUIS UNIVERSITY DIGITAL COMMONS

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP (EdD) DOCUMENT ORIGINATION STATEMENT

This Policy Advocacy Document was created as one part of a required three-part dissertation in the National Louis University (NLU) Educational Leadership (EDL) Doctoral Program. The National Louis Educational Leadership EdD is a professional practice degree program. (Shulman, et al., 2006)

For more information on the National Louis Educational Leadership EdD go to:

http://www.nl.edu/academics/colleges/nationalcollegeofeducation/ncedoctoralprograms/eddeducationalleadership/

For the dissertation requirement, doctoral candidates are required to plan, research and implement three major projects, one each year, within their school or district with a focus on professional practice. The three projects are:

Program Evaluation
Change Leadership Plan
Policy Advocacy Document

In the Policy Advocacy Document candidates develop and advocate for a policy at the local, state or national level using reflective practice and research as a means for supporting and promoting reforms in education. Policy advocacy dissertations use critical theory to address moral and ethical issues of policy formation and administrative decision making (i.e., what ought to be). The purpose is to develop reflective, humane and social critics, moral leaders, and competent professionals, guided by a critical practical rational model. (Browder, 1995)

Works Cited

Browder, L.H. (1995). An alternative to the doctoral dissertation: The policy advocacy concept and the policy document. Journal of School Leadership, 5, 40-69.

Shulman, L.S., Golde, C.M., Bueschel, A.C., & Garabedian, K.J. (2006). Reclaiming education’s doctorates: A critique and a proposal. Educational Researcher, 35(3), 25-32.