Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award

General Overview of Submission Process

This prestigious award is given to EdD graduate(s) whose DiP shows evidence of scholarly endeavors in impacting a complex problem of practice and aligns with CPED Working Principles. 

Guidelines 

Submitting institution may be a Designing & Developing, Implementing, or Experienced CPED member but must have been an institutional member for at least one year. The Dissertation in Practice must have been successfully defended prior to the submission deadline and must have been defended within the past year.

The EdD graduate must submit all required documents (.pdf format only) through the online submission process and be able to attend the October CPED Convening.

The CPED DiP Award Committee will select five finalists who will be asked to submit their full DiP for review. Award Committee members will draw on the rubric criteria in considering the award decisions, recognizing that submission may vary widely and achieve distinction in many ways.  

The author(s) of the winning DiP will be invited to attend the October CPED convening where they will be recognized. The recipient(s) will be presented with an award and a check for $500. The recipient(s) will be encouraged to submit an article to IE for publication based on the DiP.

More information and the application form can be found HERE.

2024 Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award Winner

Dr. Sachiko Oates, Arizona State University

• Dissertation: From Resilience to Empowerment: Immigrant-Origin Adult Learners’ Journeys towards Postsecondary Education.
• Chair: Dr. Oates

2023 Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award Winner

Francesca Smith, EdD, American University

• Dissertation: Asset-Based Biliteracy: Recentering Emergent Bilingual Students in Dual Language English Reading Instruction
• Chair: Dr. Alida Anderson

2022 Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award Winner

2021 Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award Winner

Rev. Dr. Rosalyn Barnes, Fordham University

• Dissertation Title: Transforming School-Wide Professional Development Using Culturally Relevant Pedagogy to Engage Black Boys in Literacy
• Chair: Dr. Margaret T. Orr

2020 Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award Winners

Sherisse Jackson, EdD, University of South Carolina 

• Dissertation Title: Focusing on Social Presence in an Electronics Course at a Two Year College: An Action Research Study
• Chair: Dr. Christopher Bogiages

Leslie Richard, EdD. University of South Carolina 

• Dissertation Title: "More Luggage": The Heavy but Invisible Social Burden Carried by African American Advanced Placement Students
• Chair: Dr. Christopher Bogiages

2019 Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award Winner

Suzanne Rodriguez, California State University, Fresno

The Urgency of Principal Professional Development and the Implications for Policy and Practice

Additional Resources

Prior Winners

All prior DiP award winners and links to their dissertations in practice.

DiP Award Committee Reports 

To learn more about the DiP committee review process, we offer the following annual committee presentations: 2013, 2015, 2017.