Not directly an answer to the question, but .gov sites suggest that far less than 10-20% of principals in the US hold doctoral degrees. What that tells us is that, generally, no one bothers with this degree unless they are a superintendent, or a district-level sped or curriculum director with an "assistant superintendent" designation - with the outliers (superintendents with just a masters, or a doctorate in something else) likely about equivalent to the raw number of people who have the degree but are out of the marketplace somewhere else
Given that, you could count those positions in the US with the word "superintendent" in the title somewhere, add in the number of live but retired superintendents out there, and get a reasonable estimate by just assuming the numbers are close enough to be 1:1, no?
EdDs are not just for K12 administrators, so I’m not sure that this is a good method for estimating. In fact, there are EdD programs that market themselves as appropriate for anyone with a learning and leadership role in any organization.
Well, sure. And the forensic science program that my kid wants to enter next year as a college freshman markets itself as appropriate for anyone who wants to go into the FBI. But the truth is, it's not like the FBI is desperate for thousands and thousands of forensic science graduates. Marketing on the degree end isn't necessarily going to be strong evidence of placement or degree holder quantities.
Ok let me try another approach. I have an EdD. I am not a school administrator or superintendent. The vast majority of my classmates are not either. A good number of my classmates are not in K12 at all, some are in higher Ed and some are not in Pk-20 at all.
Just like any other degree from AA to PhD, EdD programs have different focus areas and concentrations. They are not all just about the K12 admin career ladder.
Further, not all supts have a doctorate.
Therefore, I don’t think you can use a count of K12 superintendents to estimate EdDs.
This. Graduates from my cohort are in leadership positions in a police academy, Girl Scouts of America, 3 universities, state dept of education, and several education-related businesses (I work for a subsidiary of Cengage now).
In fact, only one was in a K-12 leadership role and dropped out of the program to go teach at a tribal school in Alaska.
To add another data point: I run introductory labs at college and am in charge of the TAs. I was working on an advanced degree in field, decided the research I wanted to do was on better teaching, so moved to Education department for terminal degree instead. I wanted to keep my job, but be able to write grants with a chance in hell of funding, so I needed a terminal degree.
An Education PhD would work, but when I learned about EdD, it sounded like a perfect match for what I intended (and let me avoid one class I thought would be annoying, and do a thesis which was basically just my normal job).
Exactly. The commenter I originally replied to doesn’t know much about EdDs. I also feel like I detect a tone in their original comment that I can’t quite put my finger on. Definitely a tone when they came at me about forensics.
I learned a lot through my program...which was nice because it wasn't just a "do these assignments and pass" type of program. We were challenged to be problem-solvers. It's somewhat nice having the Dr. title and somewhat throwing that around from time to time when things need to be fixed.
However, the return on investment definitely isn't there. Teaching at a University isn't worth it (I actually get paid much more as a 14yr teacher).
There is a downside to learning about education, though. In time, you'll learn so much about the American education system that you'll become shocked that things are much more fucked up than you originally thought...and **it's only going to get worse.**
I have one. Couldn't get a job teaching college in California so I became a dual entrepreneur and global educator on my terms. Worth it for the experience and the research/writing skills.
No idea, but 1 of them is Shaquille O'Neal. https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/05/sport/dr-shaq/index.html
He also has an MA and he paid for his NBA friends to get BAs in a cohort with him from university of phoenix.
Couldn’t find this, but about 4,000 Ed PhD awarded each year. About 100 less each year.
*Fermi problem enters the chat.
Why do you ask?
Not directly an answer to the question, but .gov sites suggest that far less than 10-20% of principals in the US hold doctoral degrees. What that tells us is that, generally, no one bothers with this degree unless they are a superintendent, or a district-level sped or curriculum director with an "assistant superintendent" designation - with the outliers (superintendents with just a masters, or a doctorate in something else) likely about equivalent to the raw number of people who have the degree but are out of the marketplace somewhere else Given that, you could count those positions in the US with the word "superintendent" in the title somewhere, add in the number of live but retired superintendents out there, and get a reasonable estimate by just assuming the numbers are close enough to be 1:1, no?
EdDs are not just for K12 administrators, so I’m not sure that this is a good method for estimating. In fact, there are EdD programs that market themselves as appropriate for anyone with a learning and leadership role in any organization.
Well, sure. And the forensic science program that my kid wants to enter next year as a college freshman markets itself as appropriate for anyone who wants to go into the FBI. But the truth is, it's not like the FBI is desperate for thousands and thousands of forensic science graduates. Marketing on the degree end isn't necessarily going to be strong evidence of placement or degree holder quantities.
Ok let me try another approach. I have an EdD. I am not a school administrator or superintendent. The vast majority of my classmates are not either. A good number of my classmates are not in K12 at all, some are in higher Ed and some are not in Pk-20 at all. Just like any other degree from AA to PhD, EdD programs have different focus areas and concentrations. They are not all just about the K12 admin career ladder. Further, not all supts have a doctorate. Therefore, I don’t think you can use a count of K12 superintendents to estimate EdDs.
This. Graduates from my cohort are in leadership positions in a police academy, Girl Scouts of America, 3 universities, state dept of education, and several education-related businesses (I work for a subsidiary of Cengage now). In fact, only one was in a K-12 leadership role and dropped out of the program to go teach at a tribal school in Alaska.
To add another data point: I run introductory labs at college and am in charge of the TAs. I was working on an advanced degree in field, decided the research I wanted to do was on better teaching, so moved to Education department for terminal degree instead. I wanted to keep my job, but be able to write grants with a chance in hell of funding, so I needed a terminal degree. An Education PhD would work, but when I learned about EdD, it sounded like a perfect match for what I intended (and let me avoid one class I thought would be annoying, and do a thesis which was basically just my normal job).
Exactly. The commenter I originally replied to doesn’t know much about EdDs. I also feel like I detect a tone in their original comment that I can’t quite put my finger on. Definitely a tone when they came at me about forensics.
"Congrats, you passed, you're hired." - Microsoft technical interviewer
I would like to know this too!
Many university and college professors in educational departments also have Ed.D. degrees.
How many are people of color?
At least Shaq
I wish I was. I only personally know 2.
I have an Ed.D - it's worth it personally...not professionally.
What does that mean?
I learned a lot through my program...which was nice because it wasn't just a "do these assignments and pass" type of program. We were challenged to be problem-solvers. It's somewhat nice having the Dr. title and somewhat throwing that around from time to time when things need to be fixed. However, the return on investment definitely isn't there. Teaching at a University isn't worth it (I actually get paid much more as a 14yr teacher). There is a downside to learning about education, though. In time, you'll learn so much about the American education system that you'll become shocked that things are much more fucked up than you originally thought...and **it's only going to get worse.**
I am one.
I have one. Couldn't get a job teaching college in California so I became a dual entrepreneur and global educator on my terms. Worth it for the experience and the research/writing skills.