For student candidates and educators pursuing their Ed.D., this Educational Applied Dissertation Model can serve as a valuable framework for the creation of their own thesis.
For teachers and principals, this proven thesis can be used to develop, implement, or modify existing school practices to identify special education students and provide them with appropriate classroom services. It provides parents with knowledge in helping their child that may be at risk.
Dr. Karen Rooks-Dotson chose to examine student performance at one of the top-achieving neighborhood schools in Chicago. Focusing on the third grade, data indicated that more than 10% of the students referred for individual evaluations did not qualify for a specialized program and were in jeopardy of failing.
Dr. Rooks-Dotson supported the concept that every child is capable of learning and that help should be available to students and teachers in strengthening specific reading skills and in providing appropriate instructional stategies. With the assistance of a revised local School-Based Problem-Solving (SBPS) procedure, she believes that every child would master his or her learning objectives and meet current academic standards set by the state school system.
The major accomplishments and achievements made during the implementation of her applied dissertation showed that the restructured program worked in improving student performance and that the proposed hypotheses were effective. Results also indicated that similar SBPS processes would likely benefit other schools in situations similar to the targeted elementary school and increase student achievement.
Karen P. Rooks-Dotson, Ed.D., is a writer who taught in the Chicago inner city schools for many years. She received her Master’s in Arts Degree in Educational Supervision, soon after became an assistant principal and then principal. She later obtained her Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She recently retired and now enjoys being with her family, mentoring young adults and traveling. 