From Curricular Alignment to the Culminating Project: The Peabody College Ed.D. Capstone
Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 84, No. 1
Claire Smrekar
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University
Kristin McGraner
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University
The Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations (LPO) at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, recently replaced the conventional Ed.D. dissertation with a team-produced, client-consultant oriented, culminating report. This article describes the purpose and principles associated with the "capstone" project and describes the "fit" between the curriculum and the capstone experience. The chapter also describes the "lessons learned" from the initial cohort of doctoral students and clients who collaborated in the pilot year of capstone projects.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Claire Smrekar is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Smrekar earned her doctorate in Education Policy at Stanford University. Her research focuses upon the social context of education and education policy, with specific reference to the intersection of desegregation plans and choice policy on families, schools, and neighborhoods. She is currently involved in a study of public housing reform and neighborhood schools. Professor Smrekar teaches courses in research methods and the social context of education for the Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. She is the Co-Director of the Ed.D. Capstone project.
Kristin McGraner is a Research Associate and Project Manager in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University and a research associate with the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Her current research focuses on the role of leadership and policy in teacher induction and professional development. She has presented her work at the annual conferences of the American Educational Research Association, the University Council of Educational Administration, and the New Teacher Center at the University of California at Santa-Cruz. Earlier in her career, Dr. McGraner collaborated with teacher education institutions in evaluating teacher education and school leadership programs, as well as served as a lecturer in teacher education and organizational leadership, and as a high school teacher. She holds her Doctorate of Educational Leadership and Policy from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.
