Epistemologically Schizophrenic

Self-diagnosed. Two very big words that sum up how very little is going on in my brain these days.

Here's the thing. I'm coming to the end of the coursework phase of my doc program and for most people this means preparing for comprehensive exams and beginning the dissertation proposal (a short 100 page summary of your research idea--ugh). The problem is I don't have a solid idea, or maybe I just have too many unsolid ideas. I think the professor who will likely be my dissertation chair is starting to wonder why she ever let me into the program. HELP!

So, I'm opening this up for your votes. It works for American Idol, so why not for my dissertation topic. I've given myself a deadline for coming up with a topic by April (sometime in April).

Some options, broad topics without specifics:

1. Education Policy in Romania--did some research there in 2005 and there are plenty of interesting topics, especially as they've just joined the European Union and now have to make good on some of their paper policies. Some specifics include looking at minority language policy(Romania has sizeable Hungarian and Roma minority populations who have the right to study in their mother tongue), looking at rural education policy(Romania is largely agrarian and schools, transportation and funding in rural areas are scarce), the Bologna process (not the lunchmeat, see Wikipedia). It also looks like Tim and I will be likely spending some time in Eastern Europe next spring for his MBA program, so I would be able to be in Romania to collect the data I need.
2. Education Policy in Arizona, Minority language policy in AZ--I'm particularly interested in looking at the ridiculous and racist policies surrounding education for English Language Learners ELLs(or lack thereof). There are currently several federal lawsuits about the unconstitutionality of Arizona's education policies and I get so riled up about it that I'm not sure I could be an unbiased researcher. But then again I get riled up about it, so I might actually be motivated to finish the dissertation. Arizona voters passed Proposition 203 in 2000 which effectively bans all bilingual assistance and bilingual education, so students with no English proficiency are taught exclusively in English...all the research shows this as a much inferior teaching method for ELLs. Arizona's charter schools, however, are exempt from the law...so that could be an interesting comparison study.
3. Charter School Policy--I've spent this academic year as a research assistant looking at charter school autonomy in DC, so I have some background here and it could make the process easier for me. Some ideas include looking at how traditional public school districts are responding to competition from charter schools, looking at what happens to the students when a dysfunctional or low-performing charter school is closed, teacher attrition(quitting) in charter schools, look at the overlap and contradiction charter schools face in trying to implement multiple policies along with their charter, along with hundreds of other charter school study ideas. This study would have to be state specific because the charter school laws in every state are vastly different.
4. Looking at the new voucher program in UTAH. I'm still so shocked that Utah passed a compensatory (pro-poor policy) voucher policy and I would love to do a descriptive case study on how this policy is implemented and examine if the $3000 is enough to encourage low-SES (poor) students to enroll in the few private schools that Utah actually has. This is obviously very new and very controversial and I just wonder if I could get the access I need, but it would be very interesting.
5. Education Policy in Mexico--I'm particularly interested in the cash transfer policy there. The PROGRESA program gives a cash subsidy to poor parents in exchange for student attendance in school. It has proven very effective thus far, especially in getting students to continue from primary school to secondary school. There has been a lot of research on it thus far, but I would like to look at some specifics. It is likely that Tim and I will be in Monterrey next spring for a little while, too, so Leslie--can you ask Alex and company in Monterrey if they have an ed policy research ideas on the local school system there?
6. Education Policy in Argentina--no specifics yet, but interested in how systems with scarce resources prioritize spending.
7. Education Policy in Czech Republic--school choice and voucher system there. Following the Czech's Velvet Revolution and fall of communism, they instituted a sort of voucher system that seemed to work during the transition period when many other public entities were falling apart. I would like to look at the policy now and perhaps do a comparison with other eastern european countries

Ok, folks. That's all for now. If you've made it this far without falling asleep, you must really love me. I appreciate any input or other ideas you might have. If you have contacts who might have some leads or expertise in these areas, please let me know.