Introduction

The concept of formal education is universally acknowledged as a major resource for maintaining and improving the social, economic, physical, and spiritual health of our world. Doctoral programs represent the highest level of such education, and dissertation work is the pinnacle event in them. Many educators, however, are not satisfied that this culminating product is really doing all that much to solve the challenges facing us in the twenty-first century. In fact, a number of us believe that in many ways, directly or indirectly, the “academy” may be partially responsible for our collective inability to significantly mitigate warfare, global warming, social and ecological injustices, domestic violence, loss of habitat, racism, economic despair, loss of the commons, etc. The dissertation authors featured in this text recognize how tapping into more diverse perspectives, more authentic experience and reflection, and more creative abilities can address the problems.