Doctoral Program in Adult Education Dr. Stephen Brookfield, currently distinguished Professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, served as consultant in the design of the adult education doctoral program. He has published widely and is a consistent contributor to both U.S. and British journals. Dr. Brookfield continues to serve as visiting faculty in the program. The Doctoral Program takes as its primary concern the study of how adult educators practice their craft, in particular the study of how they become critically reflective practitioners. A critically reflective practitioner is one who makes a determined and consistent attempt to identify assumptions under-girding her own educational work and reflects on when and under what conditions these practices are antithetical to adult education.
Course work is offered over the initial two years and six months of the program.
Guided independent study is a prominent feature of the program during and between participation in weekend and summer sessions. After completion of the course work, monthly CEP clinics facilitate the completion of both the course work and the CEP within three years. Students participate in the Program as members of a cohort of approximately twenty-five learners. They are encouraged to conduct their doctoral work, including CEP, within a group support and learning model. This group learning model is reinforced by a residential format which provides an immersion experience in doctoral study.