Professional Doctorates: Revised papers from the fifth Professional Doctorates conference

Abstract

The following selected and refereed papers are from the Fifth Biennial International Conference on Professional Doctorates held between 25th-26th November 2004 at Deakin University in Geelong, Australia. Professional Doctorates is a field of study that has increasingly interested academics, professionals and policy makers, especially in Australia (see, for example, Maxwell& Shanahan, 1997, and McWilliam and others, 2002). For some, the emergence of Professional Doctorates has created a new structural entry point into academe, while for others their interest emanates from their overall dissatisfaction with the PhD. Whatever the motivation for one's interest in Professional Doctorates, there is a broad recognition that valuable (new) doctoral knowledge is created outside academe in professional and workplace contexts. In an evolving global landscape, where knowledge and information are being increasingly decentralised, and universities are increasingly corporatised and privatised, the activities of academe are becoming intertwined with those of the professions. To this end, the development of Professional Doctorates has made an impact within higher education in general, and to doctoral education in particular.