Dissertation Blues

I didn't go back to grad school for the research... and now I'm at the point at which I have to DECIDE on a dissertation topic - which is harder (at least for me) than it sounds! There are lots of things I could pursue with interest, but nothing that has me jazzed yet. I've been waiting for the lightening bolt to strike and so far, no luck!

Possibilities:
* Alternative schools - Case study of alternative school movement (to/from reg schools)
* Resilience – as nurtured by specific high school programs or features – interview Wallin scholars for info on what worked for them
* Charter Schools in MN – what’s working?
* Demographic issues w/ student loss from MPS district – what are families’ experiences w/ system ?
* Participatory/distributed leadership – what does it mean? What do principals think about it? Management theory says "do it" – how do principals interpret that? What does site-based management and/or shared decision-making look like in MPS? St Paul?
* Role of culture - dissonance between school culture, home culture, neighborhood culture - extent to which the school can be a different culture & still be successful - extent to which home & neighborhood cultures have been tapped for instructional strategies - impact on the achievement gap
* Drop-out prevention/alternatives to social promotion & retention
* Principal Evaluation – What’s being done? What do people think about it?
* Teacher evaluation – what would people like? What is principal’s role?

My advisor has challenged me to have not just a topic but a research question nailed by June - much to consider!