Dr. Rachel Barrachina entered the New York University (NYU) Steinhardt’s EdD in Leadership and Innovation with a clear vision for the topic of her Problem of Practice (POP) project. Dr. Barrachina had noted throughout her education the lack of authentic representation of people of color in textbooks and other educational resources. With an education background — including roles in teaching, policy development, and edtech — Dr. Barrachina was determined to focus her POP on the authentic representation of race in digital educational resources.
Her early vision for her POP was well-defined and grounded in her personal experiences and professional insights; external factors caused her project to evolve. The support and guidance that Dr. Barrachina received throughout her journey helped her adapt to changes and navigate challenges. This article highlights Dr. Barrachina’s experience and growth through the EDLI program at NYU.
The Evolution of a Problem of Practice
Dr. Barrachina entered the program committed to focusing her POP on authentic racial representation in digital educational resources; she even had a solution in mind.
Research is an iterative process, however, and, like many other students’ POPs, Barrachina’s morphed as she progressed. First, an organizational transition at work disrupted her plan of action. Then, a research methods course caused her to rethink her project.
The program encouraged Dr. Barrachina to embrace uncertainty, refine her ideas, and take a more theoretical approach to understanding representation in digital educational materials. This required her to shift her mindset from practitioner to researcher; a difficult adjustment. However, the capstone class helped her realize it didn’t have to be either/or; she could blend theory and practice. She also embraced the idea of researcher positionality: the acknowledgement that her background, identity, and experiences may influence her process and results. She embraced the role of an insider researcher.
Her project ultimately evolved from being concrete, tangible, and rooted within a singular organization to having a broader, more theoretical scope that applies across tech organizations, with a focus on edtech. The support she received from faculty and peers helped her successfully navigate this transition.
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Overcoming Challenges: A Personal and Professional Transformation
Dr. Barrachina faced moments of doubt and adaptation during the EdD program. For example, the organizational transition she experienced required her to rethink her POP approach. Instead of abandoning her research and the topic she was passionate about, she broadened the scope, making it applicable across sectors.
Dr. Barrachina credits the program’s structure with helping her manage this shift. She notes that the program’s readings and coursework are transferable across different sectors and academic topics and that its flexibility allows students to navigate issues they encounter during their POP. A course in Organizational Change and Innovation introduced Dr. Barrachina to the psychology of change, after which “suddenly, I had tools in my toolbox of how to navigate all these different personalities and their reactions to change,” she explained during a recent POP-themed panel discussion. This helped her adapt her POP.
Dr. Barrachina also emphasized the power of the community in supporting her through unexpected changes. She shared how her cohort encouraged each other and developed an authentic bond, even though they never met in person: she described her peers as “your partners in learning, and you will figure it out together.” Resilience and community support play a crucial role in helping students navigate unexpected changes. As Dr. Barrachina noted, “POPs do evolve, but this program will guide you and help you through that evolution.”
The Role of Applied Research in Leadership
Dr. Barrachina’s story highlights how applied research bridges theory and practice — a cornerstone of NYU’s EdD program. Students can use the POP to explore a problem in their organization from an academic perspective and develop a well-researched solution that provides real-world benefits.
Students dedicate two years to their POP journey, allowing them to delve deeply into their research and analyze data from various perspectives to formulate the best solution. Students also create performance metrics to measure the success of their solutions, opening the door to future enhancements that increase the solutions’s impact.
The solutions support schools, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations while students apply their learning in a real-world application that positively impacts their organization. Through the POP, students gain career-ready skills, develop valuable relationships, drive meaningful organizational change, and add a project that demonstrates expertise to their portfolio. The long-term impact of an evolving POP also benefits the students’ organizations by solving a pressing need, potentially leading to cost savings, improved efficiencies, and a competitive advantage.
The focus on applied research benefits executives across industries by providing the leadership training, resources, confidence, and relationships to effectively identify problems and create actionable solutions that drive organizational transformation.
NYU’s EdD in Leadership and Innovation: A Program That Guides Growth
NYU’s EdD incorporates an interdisciplinary approach to learning that fosters leadership growth. The program convenes leaders from different sectors and interest areas and examines important issues from various industries; as a result, students develop the skills and knowledge to become impactful leaders.
A global cohort of peers from sectors such as business, government, nonprofits, and education helps students expand their worldviews by exposing them to diverse worldviews and experiences from different fields. Students develop a holistic approach to problem-solving that considers various factors and strategies to create new solutions for their organizations and industries.
Rather than requiring students to complete traditional dissertations, NYU EdD students create innovative solutions to problems in their organizations. The POP provides a unique research experience that advances students’ leadership and innovation skills while enhancing non-technical skills such as creative thinking, problem-solving, and project management. Regardless of their career aspirations, students graduate ready to take on new challenges in their fields.
Dr. Barrachina’s experience reflects the transformative nature of the EdD in Leadership and Innovation. The program prepares students to become executive-level changemakers in their organizations through a diverse and supportive cohort, rigorous coursework, and practical learning experiences. For Dr. Barrachina, the Management and Ethics of Data course figured significantly in shaping her research approach and education. The course introduces students to critical and ethical issues related to data, including research and applied ethics, privacy and publicity concepts, and data collection and mining issues. Learning about these topics helped Barrachina understand how digital educational resources can ethically and respectfully incorporate student data. She also learned how to harness the innovativeness of new technologies to support both the development and implementation of high-quality, engaging digital educational resources. This knowledge benefits Dr. Barrachina in her current role as a middle school literature/writing teacher at Winston Preparatory School in New York.
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A Leadership Journey Through Applied Research
Dr. Barrachina’s experience in NYU’s EdD program was transformative. It included both highs and lows; facing obstacles while working on her POP required her to remain resilient and adaptable. With the support of faculty and peers, Dr. Barrachina adapted her POP as she encountered obstacles and accomplished her goal of creating a solution that presented authentic representation in resources. The program’s focus on the broader role of applied research in leadership equipped Dr. Barrachina with the knowledge and skills to develop sustainable, scalable solutions to organizational challenges.
The EdD program prepares full-time working professionals to make a real-world impact, much like Dr. Barrachina did through her evolving POP. Explore the EdD program and consider how your own leadership journey might be enriched by applied research.