misterwhy

How are UK vs US PhDs/DPhils viewed in terms of future career options? I'm from the US and am considering UK programs. I'm not totally sure what I want to do post-degree, but I'm open to a wide range of options besides a traditional academic career. I can see myself going into policy, think-tank work, teacher-training programs, etc. I'd like to research and write on education but am open to lots of ways to do that. Would I be shooting myself in the foot by considering UK programs? By "shooting myself in the foot," I mean limiting my options. I've read forum posts that indicate it's not a great idea, but I spoke with an education professor (with whom I'm writing a book) and she indicated that she thought it would be considered an advantage, since US education is so slow to change. Thanks!

Thanks!

The research group does say "the group has a common set of interests in...teaching and learning...organisational change, and the politics of education reform" as well as "innovation in teaching and learning" as a particular area of interest. That said, the Teacher Education research group is probably a more likely fit. They have some work directly related to what I'm interested in. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

I'm narrowing my list of PhD programs to apply to this fall (intending to enter fall 2013) and have developed a burning desire to do this next phase of graduate work at Oxford. I don't know anyone who has gotten into UK programs, and I'd appreciate some advice. I'll explain what feels like relevant professional background and research interests. I'd be grateful for insight as to how my credentials may position me as an applicant at Oxford. I've also got Stanford and WashU on my list right now. Professional Qualifications I've been a classroom teacher (history/social studies) for seven years. Five of those have been at an independent (private) school, and I was a founding faculty member at that school. I've developed curriculum and held a variety of leadership positions at the school. I just finished my M.Ed in Teacher Leadership last week and will be presenting my work in a solo session at the school's summer institute next week. I am currently co-authoring a book with a professor I've worked with before. It's for the National Council of Teachers of English and their Policy in Practice series, focused on "real-world literacies." It is due in December and will go through peer-review before coming out next summer. I will be listed as a co-author. Presented a two-week seminar in Paderborn, Germany in April/May 2011 entitled "Finding Freedom Through Structure: Designing Curricula for Engagement and Understanding. Spoke on a panel at NCTE's national conference this past November in Chicago. Strong recommendations from my advisor, the Head of School from my current place of employment, and the professor I'm working with on the book. Undergrad: 3.54 GPA from St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM/Annapolis, MD. Haven't taken the GREs yet, intend to do so this summer. Interests Broadly, I'm interested in teacher education, the culture of schools, and the sociology of education. More specifically, I'm interested in what happens when mid to late career teachers attempt to change the way they teach, how to make those changes sustainable/lasting, and what factors (classroom and institutional) help/hinder that professional growth. My M.Ed work was an action-research case study of myself and my own students on essentially this same topic, and the seminar in Germany was for pre-service teachers but on essentially the same stuff. The book we're working on is also related topically. Ideally I'd like to conduct ethnographic research using three case studies. One would be at a network of charter schools in California focused on some truly progressive educational ideas. They support their teachers well from the top down and have instituted some very interesting professional-development models. The second would be at a school in the UK that is dipping its toes into school reform and project-based learning, but neither the teachers nor the administrators have jumped in fully. The third would look at teachers in Nairobi, Kenya who will participate in a pilot program using mobile phones as a tool to facilitate professional development/growth. I have connections at all three institutions already. I'd like to do comparative work looking at teachers/students/administrators at these three sites. My own M.Ed research identified some interesting cyclical relationships between teacher/student behavior and change in educational practice, and I'd like to explore these ideas further. Ultimately I'd hope to translate that work into further research, writing, and advising on professional development for teachers. Why Oxford? [*]They have a research group focused on Higher Education and Professional Development. The program also looks at evaluation practices, which is a core part of making change stick. The international focus I want would be facilitated by a non-US institution. [*]Because I have clear interests and seek an overseas education, I feel like Oxford is a great fit. They have faculty working in the areas I'm interested in. Anyone have any thoughts, advice, opinions, etc?