Not to beat a dead horse, but Carnac’s statement about Ed.D. programs was quite off-putting (silenus made a similar comment in the thread about classroom management). I’d hope that one would review a CV - publications, papers, presentations, courses taught, etc. before one labels a program or course of study a “sleepwalk.” My Ed.D. totin’ peers in the past several years have chosen professorships at research-intensive institutions in the U.S. and around the world. Not to brag or anything, but I think my CV, grants earned, etc. puts me right up there with a Ph.D. I knew the Ed.D. thing would potentially be an issue, so I took that stuff seriously.
(FTR, I think my institution was the first to award the Ed.D., and continues to do so because a Ph.D. would be conferred by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, not by the Faculty of the School of Education. All doctoral-level degrees in law, government, education, medicine, and business, I believe, are granted by those respective faculties. Here, anyway.)
It should be noted that there are Ed.D. programs with less rigorous requirements out there… but that’s probably true of any degree program, and the institution and degree holder will probably reflect that. Personally, I have met brilliant people in programs I’d previously never heard of, and been less than impressed by those which are considered to be stellar.
And yes, as you’ve noticed, nobody reads dissertations, period, besides dissertation writers and their committee (sometimes). Put it in an article or a book, then we’re talking, smartypants.
(On preview, what Shoshana said.)