I'm posting this thread about my change of approach for my Doctor of Education, including my topic and how I will be structuring it. The post is helpful for me because it is sort of an official record but perhaps (if people do read it) it might help someone else out there as well.

I chose the EdD because I know in my heart of hearts that while I really respect and enjoy academia, I don't want to be working there full time. I actually love and thrive on mixing with students, parents and teachers and support staff within a school or system-so would not want to leave this totally for academia anyway (even if this was an option). I like the variety and complexity of my work which is always different-it helps working in a really large institution because there are many people to interact with.

However, my topic previously was to do primarily with learning difficulties, parents and improving roles, etc. My Master's thesis comments (and I know this myself) clearly indicated I could undertake a complete doctoral thesis on extending and exploring this further and my supervisor to be (start in October) has said if the Doctorate and PhD are the same work and load then do the Phd and really extend the initial Masters thesis.

The thing is though- I don't want to spend 80.000 words plus and 6 years only on this topic. I'm loving my new role (last year) as Head of Middle School Curriculum and I love getting back into curriculum, learning and working with young adolescents (both with and without learning difficulties and needs) and looking at all the diverse aspects of their lives. I love the creative part of creating projects that bring out the best in such students and with mentoring and creating teams with staff to achieve more overall.

Ive realised that the thought of only taking up my Masters thesis topic alone and being an expert in this is actually quite depressing. So after some months and a couple of vivid dreams, Ive worked out that I am going to borrow the model of some other universities professional doctorates-take them to my new supervisors and adapt my original proposal so that I do three work based projects-one an aspect (small aspect) of my Masters but related to the middle years, one on curriculum and students and one on staffing and cultural change and then write a linking paper overall.

So I am going to make my Ed Doctorate look more like an Ed Doctorate and less like a PhD and directly align with my work and all of my interests. It is much more exciting but will be just as challenging but more practical (for me at any rate). I'm excited because it seems potentially more creative and more inline with who I am and have developed into, than if I just followed my original plan (which sort of stemmed from my Masters supervisor's lead).

So I have to write up this plan before I meet my new team but the first official meeting is a month after I start (thus it is in mid-November) and I have time.
8-)Yes! Freedom...

Good luck Pjlu, you sound like you have got it all worked out and if you think this is best for you, go for it(up). It's incredibly cathartic to make a firm decision and say, 'right, this is what I am going to do, here is where I am heading'. I know a couple of people who extended their masters topic and then felt they had run out of steam so it sounds like you are heading such a scenario off before you even begin! At the best of times PhDs morph into something else so as long as you have a firm prosposal, not too ambitious for a single researcher I'm sure you manage it.

Good luck getting your sort of new proposal through with your team. Be calm, organised and importantly persuassive when you pitch it to them - no doubt it will help that you have already started!

As you say 'Freedom'. I'm nearly finished so am facing a different kind of freedom and can't wait. Good luck, hope it goes well for you.

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Thanks Ady:-)
I will have a clear plan by the time I put forward my proposed changes but I will also make it clear that the first project undertaken will be the one that pursues a line of the Master's 'further research' part, so that they can see and I know that I have a structure to start with and a fair bit of research into the area already.

By the time that project is over-2 years I would think, then I will just about be "over it" (in term's of 'had enough of that particular topic') and should have a fair bit of the literature completed for the new one. I have four course work units to complete first though but plan to complete one per term (including summer and winter terms on top of the usual semester one and two-so they should be all complete by Jan 2013-and project number one about a third complete.

Thanks for your really positive and encouraging response-it is so helpful to have a reader or two-keeps me accountable and keeps it real rather than in my head!