Facilitating reflective learning in higher education

Although writing groups have a long history in higher education, they have only recently been recognized as a support strategy for doctoral students, particularly those at the dissertation stage. From the perspective of student participants, we investigate motivations for participation in and perceived outcomes of voluntary semi-structured writing groups used to facilitate doctoral degree completion. Group participation resulted in the development of a vibrant intellectual community among students, recent doctoral recipients, and faculty. Commitment to degree completion and student and faculty scholarly productivity soared through the use of this simple but innovative pedagogical strategy.     

The biomedical doctorate in the contemporary university: education or training and why it matters

The form and function(s) of doctoral education continue to be a subject of much debate by stakeholders internal and external to the university. Notable concerns driving this debate derive from a seemingly discursive array of factors including increasing student numbers, increased understanding of the economic value of doctoral graduates, capitalisation of the academic market and a focus on allocating funding using ostensibly narrow, arbitrary measures of ‘program success’ such as completion rates/time to completion, all framed by a wider debate regarding precisely what constitutes valid knowledge in contemporary society. Within the university, the biomedical sciences are one area of scholarship undergoing rapid change in this respect. One of the salient outcomes of these internal and external dialogues is the apparent transition of biomedical doctoral education towards a ‘training model’ that places increasing emphasis on rapid completion and the generation of ‘industry ready graduates’; a transition that is, potentially, occurring at the expense of the edifying and transformative aspects of biomedical doctoral education. Focusing on the effects of academic capitalisation, this paper draws on data from Australia and Europe to examine the drivers and potential effect(s) of this shift on contemporary doctoral education in the biomedical sciences. This paper acknowledges the potential benefit of contemporary developments whilst simultaneously concluding that by progressing too far towards a quantitatively assessed, industry-driven training model we risk eliminating the intellectual and societal transforming aspects of biomedical doctoral education that make graduates increasingly valuable to our economy and, just as importantly, to our society as a whole.     

Completing the Three Stages of Doctoral Education: An Event History Analysis

Doctoral programs have high dropout rates of 43% representing the highest among all post-baccalaureate programs. Cross sectional studies of doctoral students?? retention have showed the importance of financial aid in predicting degree completion. These studies however, do not estimate the labor market??s effect on doctoral student retention and neglect the longitudinal nature of doctoral study and the multiple requirements that make doctoral education a three-stage process. This research study examines the effect of various factors, including financial aid and labor market conditions, on the likelihood that doctoral students will complete the three stages of doctoral education: transition, development, and research. The results show that although financial aid as a whole is important, the type of financial aid received is even more significant and has differential impacts on doctoral students?? retention at each stage. The study concludes that research assistantships have the highest likelihood of degree completion compared to students with other forms of financial support. Labor market conditions are also an important factor affecting doctoral student retention with higher expected earnings motivating doctoral students in the later part of their programs to complete their degrees.     

Should first-year doctoral students be supervised collectively or individually? Effects on thesis completion and time to completion

Whether supervision of doctoral students is best pursued individually or collectively is a recurring but unresolved question in debates on higher education. The rarity of longitudinal data and the common usage of qualitative methods to analyse a limited number of cases have left the effectiveness of either model largely untested. To assist with overcoming these problems, this paper reports on a study of 145 individuals admitted to a specific doctoral programme between 1991 and 2014. It analyses the effects of either individual or collective supervision during the first year of the programme on the probability of thesis completion and the time to thesis completion. Group means, Cox regressions, Kaplan–Meir curves and Ordinary Least Square regressions are calculated on the basis of the number of months spent by each doctoral student in the programme without defending a thesis. Studied in these ways, it appears that collective supervision in the first year significantly increases the probability of thesis completion and decreases the time to thesis completion. Collective supervision may have this effect as it enhances peer learning, creates a wider academic learning context, allows doctoral students to gradually acquire the values and behaviours of a research practice community and reduces the risk of premature selection of permanent supervisors.     

Doctoral ‘orphans’: nurturing and supporting the success of postgraduates who have lost their supervisors

Much research into doctoral student-supervisor relations focuses on developing positive interactions. For many students, however, the research experience can be troubled by breakdowns in communication and even the loss of the supervisor(s), turning the student into a doctoral ‘orphan’ and impacting on their academic identity and ability and confidence in producing a sound doctoral-level contribution to knowledge. Our work with a range of UK- and internationally-based doctoral students looks specifically at reasons for supervisor loss and/or absence and the students' experience of being doctoral ‘orphans’ in terms of identity, confidence and progress. In focusing on those who achieve successful completion, it suggests the need for institutional and community support and highlights the development of effective strategies leading to ownership, empowerment and emotional resilience.     

Peer to peer support: the disappearing work in the doctoral student experience

This paper reflects on the importance of study groups in contributing to a positive postgraduate experience and explores specific concepts, such as ‘disappearing behaviours’ in contrasting the ‘official’ languages of universities with the beneficial behaviours found through study groups. Additionally the paper advocates the systematic inclusion of strategies such as study groups in the postgraduate experience. Funding arrangements and research frameworks for higher education in Australia focus on student progress and completion, as well as comparison of research quality within and between universities. As a result, there is a significant emphasis on timely completion of postgraduate degrees. This paper posits that there is an apparent contradiction between the indicators of success in this area, such as completion rates and annual progress reports and the positive contribution that study groups can make to the doctoral student experience.     

Typical scope of time commitment and research outputs of Thesis by Publication in Australia

ABSTRACT

The Thesis by Publication (TBP) is an approach to doctoral education that offers the advantage of achievement of a doctoral degree while at the same time facilitating development of transferable knowledge and skills necessary to enter and sustain a career in contemporary academia. There is a need to build deeper understanding of the demands of the TBP, and the characteristics of those who select it over the more common traditional approach to enable universities to provide doctoral education programmes and policies that are responsive to doctoral students’ needs. Such knowledge can also facilitate timely completion, and improve understanding of the extent of TBP candidates’ contribution to institutions’ research outputs. This study draws on survey data from 246 doctoral graduates from universities in Australia, where the TBP is comparatively new but increasing in popularity. The article identifies the characteristics of candidates who complete a TBP in Australia, before exploring the typical scope of time commitment, through making visible their length of candidature. Finally, volume, type, authorship and publication status of research outputs are detailed, enabling prospective candidates and their supporting institutions to gauge the possible scope of time commitment and research outputs to inform support services and policies, and to guide supervisory and student choices between traditional and TBP models.     

Transitions,transformations and finding success. A phenomenological analysis of the experiences of a doctoral student in early candidature

ABSTRACT

This article examines and analyses the authentic experiences of a doctoral student, Kate, in the period just prior to Confirmation, an academic milestone in the Australian doctoral education context. The article uses qualitative phenomenological inquiry as the methodology and employs ideas drawn from the writings of hermeneutical phenomenologist, Paul Ricoeur, especially his notions of narrative, self, time, and human agency. These ideas are utilised in order to ‘get inside’ the constructions of self, the strategies of learning and adaptation, and the experiences of being a doctoral candidate within the milieu of an Australian university education faculty. The writers argue that such a close and personal examination of experience and a hermeneutical approach to analysis is important for a deep understanding about how Kate negotiated her way through the hurdles of early candidature and adapted her life and identities towards success. Particular focus is given to Kate’s experiences of transition and change and the formation of her academic identity that emerged out of these experiences, which led to successful negotiation of this early period of candidature. The research findings reported in this article suggest that Kate’s deep reflexivity, enjoyment of her research and sense of her own well-being as a doctoral student are significant for her perseverance through difficult milestones and ultimately her successful completion of her PhD.     

女博士生学术表现比男博士生好还是差?——基于全国博士毕业生调查数据的分析

女博士生在追求科研卓越的道路上较男博士生面临着更多的困难和挑战,“其学术表现比男博士生好抑或差”是博士生教育领域一个亟待回答的基本问题。对此议题进行研究,一方面有助于我们关注、了解和认识女博士生群体在接受博士生教育的过程中可能存在的特殊之处;另一方面有助于为我们制定男女博士生差异化指导政策提供实证依据。本文运用标准负二项回归等分析技术对“2017年中国博士毕业生调查课题”的8207份博士生数据进行分析发现:在学术产出方面,女博士生的国际/国内期刊论文数量及专利数量均比男博士生显著更低;在按期毕业方面,女博士生延期毕业的概率比男博士生要显著高出18.48个百分点,其延期时长也比男博士生显著更长。     

STEM Doctoral Completion of Underrepresented Minority Students: Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Participation in the Doctoral Workforce

This article is a result of the analysis of student-level enrollment records from twenty-one research universities in the United States, and it contributes to a more robust understanding of timely completion of STEM doctorates by underrepresented minority students. Using multivariate logit regression models, findings indicated that Hispanic/Latino and students from other underrepresented groups complete at higher rates than do their Black/African American counterparts. Findings also indicated that prior master’s degrees and institutional participation in doctoral completion programs positively correlate with STEM doctoral completion. We conclude by offering insights and recommendations for graduate schools about how to increase the STEM doctoral attainment rate of students from underrepresented groups.     

Identity and agency: pleasures and collegiality among the challenges of the doctoral journey

How do doctoral students develop their identities as academics? In this analysis, we explore identity from the perspective of agency – humans as active agents. The analysis was based on the collective data from three earlier studies in different contexts. Embedded in the data were expressions of agency linked to affect – both positive and negative – in which doctoral students were acting to shape and not just be shaped by their experiences. Key findings were evidence of collective student identity as well as supervisors modeling and affirming student agency. Both these findings are pertinent in rethinking doctoral pedagogies: the latter provides a model for supervisors to explicitly model student agency, and the former suggests the value of creating opportunities for collective identity in which students act as positive agents in improving their own doctoral experiences.     

"纵横双向"网格化博士生培养质量保障体系探究与实施——以天津大学药物科学与技术学院为例

天津大学药学院积极响应学校作为教育部博士生教育综合改革试点历史性要求,建立"纵向+横向"系统网格化质量保障体系.学生入校始,即"纵向"为每位博士生建立个人培养学术档案,将入学至毕业的各个环节进行跟踪;此外"横向"将所有博士生培养过程进行汇总,掌握整体情况,同时也可将某位博士生的进展情况在院内进行较为精准的定位,以确定继续扶持以取得更好的成绩,或者启动预警机制.该方法既实现了博士生培养过程的个性化管理,又能帮助导师和学院及时掌握每位学生的学业动态,为院级单位博士生培养质量管理提供有力支持.     

Doctoral students’ access to non-academic support for mental health

Increased doctoral student numbers has led to a growth in studies dedicated to doctoral experience. These studies have raised a range of mental health concerns around workload, supervision processes and student well-being. Despite these challenges being well documented, few studies have looked at doctoral student’s experiences of accessing non-academic support services. This article presents the findings of a mixed-method study to investigate doctoral experiences of non-academic support, conducted at one British university with a large postgraduate research population. Drawing on focus groups and a student survey, the article concludes that many doctoral students are not accessing institutional support when they could benefit from it, with many turning to external support mechanisms including family, personal doctor and online resources. Five institutional recommendations are proposed to develop improved dedicated doctoral student mental health support: clear signposting, online self-help, workshops, parity of support and supervisor training.     

互联网影响博士生学习方式的研究

通过对博士生访谈、调查问卷对互联网从正反两个方面影响博士生学习方式进行分析,认为基于互联网检索式学习已在博士生自主学习中广泛运用,互联网成为博士生确定科研方向、丰富科研内容和寻找科研方法的脚手架。互联网资源共享平台推动了博士生自主深度学习,通过支撑博士生认知、优化博士生认知结构和促进博士生高阶学习,提升了博士生的批判性思维。互联网维系了博士生自主探究学习的兴趣,为博士生提供了体验的场景和提升了博士生探究学习的成就感。但也要反思互联网检索式学习造成了博士生学习的碎片化,网络不适应造成博士生信息迷航以及互联网路径依赖易造成博士生创新性的遗失等问题。     

From ‘Year 9 dropout’ to doctoral candidate: An autoethnographic journey of becoming (with friends)

ABSTRACT

In this article, I am joined by two academic colleagues to explore my personal narratives and experiences as a doctoral student, and to explicate the challenges and achievements of my pathway into doctoral studies. Positioning itself within the growing field of doctoral research, the article focuses on an exploration of three vignettes which identify important points in my unfolding stories of formation in becoming a doctoral student as an older person. This autoethnographic study draws on Transformative Learning Theory and the critical discourse understandings of Gee to examine my stories of becoming from school-leaver at 15 to doctoral student over four decades later. The study has three implications. First, it is important to recognise and appreciate alternate pathways to doctoral education. Second, that there is a need to better understand the complex formation of doctoral students within an academic research community; especially in regard to those from diverse or challenging backgrounds. Finally, the significance of seeing doctoral education as identity work and work of the soul, built as much on affective experiences and reflexivity as learning to perform and write as an academic, is key.     

Peer facilitated writing groups: a programmatic approach to doctoral student writing

Very few empirical studies have investigated programmes in which doctoral students act as peer facilitators in faculty writing groups. We report on the development of a centrally delivered doctoral student writing programme in which twenty student participants were mentored and provided with the resources to initiate their own faculty-based doctoral writing groups. ‘Legitimate peripheral participation’ was used as a conceptual lens to interpret the data collected during the establishment and evaluation of the programme. All student participants in the preparatory training course, which was developed in consultation with postgraduate students and research supervisors, went on to become doctoral writing peer facilitators of peer writing groups. Insights from seven of these showed how a well-structured and supportive programme harnessed the benefits of peer learning by bringing personal rewards to participants and building institutional capacity around doctoral research writing literacies.     

Mentorship and the socialization of underrepresented minorities into the professoriate: examining varied influences

This study examines the mentoring component of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation’s (CIC) Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP). The national initiative, implemented on various campuses throughout the United States, seeks to establish a diverse faculty by encouraging the enrollment and completion rates of minority doctoral candidates. Results from interviews with former and current undergraduate student participants suggest that mentorship influences the individual, interpersonal, extra‐programmatic, and to a lesser extent, collective realms of protégé experiences. Study results emphasize the importance of faculty‐directed mentorship in preparing students of color for both graduate education and entrance into the professoriate.     

Socialization to interdisciplinarity: faculty and student perspectives

Socialization has become a common framework through which to understand the doctoral student experience; however, the framework has predominately been used as a lens through which to understand traditional, single-discipline doctoral student experiences. Interdisciplinary doctoral programs are becoming increasingly common in both the United States and elsewhere but relatively little empirical research exists about this distinct experience. Through multiple interviews with 18 doctoral students and their 35 faculty members, we discuss differences in the socialization process for these students in regard to knowledge acquisition, investment, and involvement. Implications for practice and future research are included.     

知识生产模式转型背景下博士生培养质量评价

当代博士生培养质量评价是对当代博士生培养活动及其效果优劣程度进行综合评判,它集中体现于博士学位获得者原创性知识贡献评价、学术研究素养评价和对就业市场的适应性评价三个方面。以知识生产模式转型为背景来观照当代博士生培养质量评价,就是强调用知识生产模式转型中的知识创新思想、学术训练要求和博士生对就业市场的适应性标准来评价博士生培养质量,优化博士生培养质量评价模式与机制,使当代博士生培养质量评价的视角、内容、制度等与知识生产模式转型的要求相适应。     

A model for the supervisor–doctoral student relationship

The supervisor–doctoral student interpersonal relationship is important for the success of a PhD-project. Therefore, information about doctoral students’ perceptions of their relationship with their supervisor can be useful for providing detailed feedback to supervisors aiming at improving the quality of their supervision. This paper describes the development of the questionnaire on supervisor–doctoral student interaction (QSDI). This questionnaire aims at gathering information about doctoral students’ perceptions of the interpersonal style of their supervisor. The QSDI appeared to be a reliable and valid instrument. It can be used in research on the relationship between supervisor and doctoral student and can provide supervisors with feedback on their interpersonal style towards a particular student.