{"id":27131,"date":"2019-04-10T14:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=27131"},"modified":"2019-04-10T12:49:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T17:49:51","slug":"apsus-education-doctorate-experiences-strong-first-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2019\/04\/10\/apsus-education-doctorate-experiences-strong-first-year\/","title":{"rendered":"APSU\u2019s education doctorate experiences strong first year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Peay State University (APSU)<\/h2>\n

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Michael Johnson, a Northwest High School music teacher, can\u2019t stop thinking about leadership strategies. For the last seven or eight months, he\u2019s fixated on the topic, causing him to scrutinize his conversations with students and colleagues.  <\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/a>

Michael Johnson hopes to one day work as an assistant principal.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

 \u201cA year ago today, I would never have analyzed it as much as I do now,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThe way I view things now is from the lens of \u2018What\u2019s the leadership style? Why is this working or not working?\u2019 I\u2019m not in a leadership role yet in the school system, but my thinking has translated into my classroom and my interactions with other teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson began developing this new mindset back in August when he became one of Austin Peay State University\u2019s first doctoral students. He, along with 19 other educators and working professionals, enrolled in the Eriksson College of Education\u2019s new Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree program, with a focus on educational leadership, and with program\u2019s first year coming to an end, he remains committed to one day being called \u201cDr. Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear this is not a fly-by-night degree,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is very well established, with high expectations, and they\u2019re not going to just hand you a degree. You\u2019re going to have to work for it. That\u2019s exciting. As the first cohort, we get to set the standard for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Hard-Working Cohort<\/h3>\n

Dr. Gary Stewart, APSU professor of education, spent the last several years developing the doctoral program because of a growing demand from local educators. Last summer, when the University was finally ready to admit students, Stewart made sure they enrolled only the top candidates.<\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/a>

Sarah Dugger plans to use her doctorate to teach at the college level.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re everything we thought they would be,\u201d he said. \u201cWe knew almost 99 percent of them because they came through either our Ed.S. program in leadership or they came through one of our graduate programs. We knew the caliber of students we were getting.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent Monday evening, the doctoral students gathered in a small classroom inside the Claxton Building. As they waited for their class to begin, some students yawned while others sipped coffee. They\u2019d spent the day teaching or working other jobs, but instead of going home to eat dinner or relax with their favorite Netflix show, these individuals came to campus to analyze leadership strategies.<\/p>\n

 \u201cSo far, it\u2019s different from everything I did in my other degrees,\u201d Sarah Dugger, a science teacher at Cheatham County Central High School, said. \u201cI know it will definitely be worth it. I want to teach at the college level. Right now, even though I\u2019m just a classroom teacher, I\u2019m able to apply the leadership concepts I\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

[320left]In the next few weeks, Stewart will begin interviewing candidates for the doctoral program\u2019s second cohort of students. And though the program is almost a year old, people continue to ask him if the rumors about Austin Peay offering an Ed.D. degree are true. He tells them they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get calls and emails all the time,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cI keep a perspective list over here, and just for the next cohort, I have almost 40 people who\u2019ve expressed an interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

These potential students often have different professional goals, but they all want the program to help them grow as leaders. In the current cohort, Dugger plans to use her leadership training to teach at a college or university, while Johnson hopes to become an assistant principal within the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have long aspired to have a doctorate and knowing that it was going to be the first doctoral class at Austin Peay was a deciding factor,\u201d he said. \u201cWith it being a college that was created for teachers, it seemed like the perfect university to get an educational leadership degree from. It\u2019s continuing a tradition of excellence, of high standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin Peay was founded in 1927 as a normal school for the training of rural educators in Tennessee.<\/p>\n

The Degree<\/h3>\n

The Ed.D. was designed to meet the needs of several groups of potential students, including:<\/p>\n