TRANSFORMATIONAL DISSERTATIONS

Doctoral & Masters Dissertation Support Services

A Private Service of Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows), aka Donald Trent Jacobs, Ph.D., Ed.D.

"Empowering And Helping Students to Create Dissertations that Make a Difference: Rebalancing Life Systems, Challenging Hegemony, and Inspiring Change"

INTRODUCTION

Over 50% of people starting a doctoral degree in the US and Canada. Globally doctoral programs are creating mental health issues for students. Getting the dissertation you want to write through committees mired in academia and the hegemony it carries can be challenging and frustrating, but it does not have to be so if you have the courage, determination, insight and strategies that I (Four Arrows) will help you master.

As author of The Authentic Dissertation: Alternative Ways of Knowing, Research and Representation, I brought credibility to arts based dissertations, Indigenous research, co-authored dissertations, creating one’s own research methodology. I encouraged effective counter-hegemonic considerations relating to one’s topic. Working for a quarter of a century with doctoral students, I have learned ways to have students able to work on dissertations “from day one” in most universities.

As a counter-hegemonic Indigenous-based scholar, and author of 24 books, including Teaching Truly: A Curriculum to Indigenize Mainstream Education, selected by the Chicago Wisdom Project as a top-twenty progressive education text along with Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and John Dewey’s Democracy in Edcuation, I am ready to help YOU get the doctorate and write the book that is in your heart. I am committed to helping students create research that not only challenges hegemonic systems but also contributes to the urgent task of rebalancing life systems on Earth.

With decades of experience and a passion for fostering dissertations that challenge conventional thinking, I’m dedicated to guiding students toward research that contributes to healing the planet. My work focuses on supporting students whose dissertations aim to restore balance, embrace ecological harmony, and respect Indigenous knowledge systems, while critically engaging with hegemonic structures. My books, chapters, articles and peer-reviewed papers have been praised by such notables as John Pilger, Vandana Shiva, Tyson Yunkaporta, Bill Plotkin, Manulania Aluli Meyer, Noam Chomsky, Henry Giroux, Sam Keen, Jack Miller, Vill MxKivwn, Rebecca Adamson, Derrick Jensen, William Ayers, Thom Hartmann, Darcia Narvaez, Vine Deloria, Jr., Daniel Wildcat, Morris Berman, Jeremy Lent, and many others.

My services are designed to guide you through every stage of the dissertation process. Whether you’re grappling with research question development or final defense, I’ll provide personalized mentorship that emphasizes making your dissertation a vehicle for change.

SERVICES OFFERED

Whether your dissertation explores Indigenous worldview applications, art-based research, social/ecological justice issues, peace education, higher education, K-12 schooling or ecological sustainability, my mission is to support you in making a meaningful impact by:

Nailing down your 90% sure research question “From Day One” of the program (or as soon as possible) so course work can be working on the dissertation until you “officially” work on it. I’ll help you craft meaningful, impactful questions that drive inquiry toward social and ecological justice.
Creating a literature review proposal chapter that reflects the uniqueness and importance of your research question that meets the highest academic standards without losing creativity, uniqueness and logical flow.
Choosing the best research approach for answering the research question.
Getting your Proposal through committee! Whether your dissertation is art-based, Indigenous, ecologically focused, or critically engaging with power structures, I’ll guide you through the writing, analysis, and representation process with a focus on creating work that makes a real difference that will pass muster with the most reluctant committee members.
Answering questions as needed (with monthly availability option).
Critiqueing a first draft of your dissertation.
I can also help you get your dissertation published.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

First, keep in mind that the chances are high that as a result of working with me and following my instructions you will graduate with an approved dissertation that you can be proud of, that will be meaningful, and publishable as a book at 2.5 to 3 years into most programs. Keep in mind that on average doctorates are completed in 4 to 7 years. You can do the math on the overall cost savings of the shorter time.

I charge 200 USD for 90 minute one on one Zoom Meetings
I charge 100 USD for 90 minutes per person when two to four students want to learn together.
I charge 200 dollars for helping you become excited about aligned answers to the following four questions, going back and forth in emails for as long as it takes: (1) What is the grand problem in the world you are addressing? (2) What overarching research question will significantly address a slice of it? (3) How will you try to answer it? (4) What would be a good title for your best-selling book?
I will proof read and make comments for your dissertation at 5 cents per word. I will not do copy editing.

TESTIMONIALS

If your are interest in inquiring about my services, let me know what your research interests are and I will send you some relevant testimonials from students I have chaired or otherwise guided that relate to your own research question and ways you are thinking about answering it.

INDIGENOUS RESEARCH FOCUS

For students who wish to focus on my specialty relating to applications of Indigenous Worldview Precepts and how they can be researched or used in research to show how and why restoring our Nature-based, Kinship Worldview for rebalancing life systems is necessary, I offer a 20 percent discount. I also can offer a special trip to my home in Mexico in winters and on Vancouver Island in summers, to participate in Lakota ceremonies with me, learn about the non-dualistic but contrasting Indigenous and colonial worldviews, and enjoy the ocean in both places out our front door. Costs for such 4 day workshops can be discussed.

Four Arrows (Wahinkpe Topa), aka Donald Trent Jacobs, Ph.D., Ed.D.

fourarrows73@gmail.com