How Prepared Are MSW Graduates for Doctoral Research? Views of PhD Research Faculty

ABSTRACT

This national survey of PhD faculty assessed the research preparation of entering doctoral social work students on a wide range of research knowledge and related skills. The prior literature shows that PhD programs repeat much BSW and MSW research course content. This study shows that the trend continues and has perhaps widened. PhD research faculty report that the typical entering PhD student displayed solid conceptual, ethics, and writing skills but lesser preparation for conducting quantitative and qualitative research, including methods related to understanding evidence-based practice. The research expectations of responding PhD faculty were low, reflecting limited retention and little production of research among typical entering doctoral students. These findings raise the issue of how effectively the social work profession prepares students for research and for future PhD education.     

Are You Still Looking for the Place?

Ｍｉｋｅｗｏｒｋｅｄｉｎａｎｏｆｆｉｃｅｉｎａｓｍａｌｌｔｏｗｎ .Ｏｎｅｄａｙｈｉｓｂｏｓｓ (老板 )ｓａｉｄｔｏｈｉｍ ,“Ｍｉｋｅ ,ＩｗａｎｔｙｏｕｇｏｔｏＲｉｃｈｍｏｎｄ,ｔｏａｎｏｆｆｉｃｅｔｈｅｒｅ ,ｔｏｓｅｅＭｒＳｈｕｔｅ .Ｈｅｒｅ’ｓｔｈｅａｄｄｒｅｓｓ.”ＭｉｋｅｗｅｎｔｔｏＲｉｃｈｍｏｎｄ .Ｗｈｅｎｈｅｗａｌｋｅｄｏｕｔｏｆｔｈｅｓｔａｔｉｏｎ ,ｈｅｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ,“Ｔｈｅｏｆｆｉｃｅｉｓｎ’ｔｆａｒｆｒｏｍｔｈｅｓｔａｔｉｏｎ .Ｉ’ｌｌｆｉｎｄｉｔｅａｓｉｌｙ .”Ｂｕｔａｆｔｅｒａ…     

What Are the Goals of Kindergarten? Teachers’ Beliefs and Their Perceptions of the Beliefs of Parents and of Agents of the Education System

Research Findings: The study examined the beliefs of kindergarten teachers (K-teachers) regarding the goals of kindergarten. We asked K-teachers to reflect on their own beliefs, their understanding of parents’ beliefs, and their understanding of the beliefs that guide agents of the education system. We further examined differences between K-teachers based on the type of kindergarten in which they worked (religious or secular) and the socioeconomic status of children’s families (middle-high or middle-low). A total of 120 K-teachers responded to closed questionnaires, and 12 teachers also participated in a semistructured interview. The results revealed an incongruence between K-teachers’ perspectives and their understanding of the positions of parents and of agents of the education system. K-teachers evaluated fostering children’s positive self-esteem as the most important goal and promoting literacy and mathematics skills as the least important. They believed, however, that parents and agents of the education system regard children’s advancement in literacy and mathematics skills as the most important goal. Practice or Policy: Recognizing this incongruence facilitates understanding of the rationale behind K-teachers’ actions and their relationships with parents and professional partners. It enables identification of topics that need to be addressed by the professional education community in order to create a dialogue among K-teachers, families, and policymakers.     

Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?

This paper investigates the amount of academic service performed by female versus male faculty. We use 2014 data from a large national survey of faculty at more than 140 institutions as well as 2012 data from an online annual performance reporting system for tenured and tenure–track faculty at two campuses of a large public, Midwestern University. We find evidence in both data sources that, on average, women faculty perform significantly more service than men, controlling for rank, race/ethnicity, and field or department. Our analyses suggest that the male–female differential is driven more by internal service—i.e., service to the university, campus, or department—than external service—i.e., service to the local, national, and international communities—although significant heterogeneity exists across field and discipline in the way gender differentials play out.     

Placement Evaluations and Remedial Education: Are Students Shopping for Bargains?

The purpose of this study is to provide evidence that students may be doing comparison shopping when it comes to community college placement in English and mathematics courses. Comparisons may occur because of the difference in the placement process across campuses and the variation in the levels of developmental education offered. The implications of students’ course shopping are discussed in terms of state policy.     

Implications of the Introduction of the Doctor of Education Degree in British Universities: can the EdD reach parts the PhD cannot?

Abstract

At a time of continuing concern about the nature and meaning of doctoral education in the United Kingdom, this paper outlines the moves by an increasing number of universities towards ‘part‐taught’ doctorates. Focusing on the new degree of Doctor of Education now offered by over seven British universities, the paper outlines the differences between EdD and PhD in education, and questions the need for any differentiation. Arguing that the ‘statistics of failure’ in doctoral education in the United Kingdom continue to mount a challenge to universities in the United Kingdom, the paper argues for a refocus on process as well as product, where the goal should be on learner empowerment and transformation, rather than on the misassumptlons that doctoral study is primarily an ‘academic apprenticeship’. Finally, the paper indicates an agenda to establish doctoral programmes and structures capable of developing and fostering creative talent whether the individuals undertaking doctoral study are going to become professional researchers or researching and scholarly professionals.     

Voices at the gate: Faculty members’ and students’ differing perspectives on the purposes of the PhD comprehensive examination

Abstract

The comprehensive examination is a customary, yet relatively unexamined, requirement in North American doctoral education. This case study explored the purpose of a comprehensive examination as perceived by faculty members and students in a Faculty of Education program, at a Western Canadian University. We found that, in addition to the traditional gatekeeping function of the examination, other purposes emerged. Contrasting views about whether the examination was designed to assess content mastery necessary for teaching or designed to assess readiness for doctoral research were found. The use of the comprehensive examination as an opportunity to learn and as a means for identity formation, including introducing students to the pressures of academic life, also contrasted with its traditional assessment function. The purposes of the comprehensive examination remained ambiguous to students, even though they had been privy to discussions concerning the design and development of the examination. Moreover, faculty members did not always agree on the purposes of the comprehensive examination. The differences in perspective and how these affect the administration of the comprehensive examination have an impact on students’ experience, including examination preparation. Implications for the implementation, preparation, and assessment of the examination are discussed.     

Research,Information and Education in Building: Where Are the Links?

RESUMÉ

A recent systematic study showed that the transfer of information from research to practice in construction is not efficient: results are disseminated badly, are difficult to trace and are little used by practitioners, whose information-gathering routines are defective. The way in which the building process is organized, characterized by discontinuity and variety, creates a context where the well-proven recipe is preferred to scientific knowledge, too difficult to apply with haste. How can one educate future practitioners and teach them to reconcile the need for better building—based on science—within the chaotic environment of the building industry? One answer to this question lies in improved exploitation of information, its systematic transformation and its valorization. A second answer lies in a search for operational continuity, thus paving the way for informed innovation.

Une étude systématique ricente a démontré I'inefficacité du passage de I'information de la recherche à la pratique en construction: les résuhats sont mal disséminés, difficiles a repérer et peu utilisés par les praticiens, eux-mêmes rarement avertis de I'importance de I'information. L'organisation de l'acte de bâtir, avec la discontinuite et la variété qui le caractérisent, crée un environnement o[ugrave] la recette éprouvée passe avant les connaissances scientifiques, trop difficiles à appliquer ‘àla va-vite’. Comment peut-on éduquer les futurs praticiens, et leur faire comprendre la nécessite de mieux construire—grâce a I'apport de la science—dans I'environnement chaotique du secteur du bâtiment? Une meilleure exploitation de I'information, de sa transformation systematique et de sa valorisation est sans doute une premiére réponse à cette question primordiale; une deuxième réponse préconise en outre la continuité operationnelle, ouvrant ainsi la parte à L'innovation guidée par I'information.     

Criminal Justice Education: Are We Missing One-third of the Crime Triangle?

Theoretical explanations, systemic response, and policy work on offenders and specific crime types are the backbone of criminal justice curricula in the United States. However, a similar breadth and depth of education on crime victims appear to be lacking in traditional criminal justice curricula, despite voluminous research on victims of crime. In this exploratory study, the authors conducted a content analysis of 679 programs from the Academy of Criminal Justice (ACJS) website directory. Departmental and course-level variables were included in the analysis. Results indicate that while more than half of the programs have faculty with expressed interests in victimization, only 11% of programs studied required coursework on crime victims and/or victimization. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Graduate Education in Kinesiology: Are We Part of “America's Backbone for Competitiveness and Innovation”?

Graduate education in the United States has been identified as being the backbone of American competitiveness and innovation in a recent report by the Council of Graduate Schools. The report provides a framework for examining the role of graduate education in partnership with business and government to advance an action agenda for achieving competitiveness and innovation. The role and positioning of graduate education in kinesiology in this agenda for change is addressed and a challenge issued.     

Do Returnee Faculty Promote the Internationalization of Higher Education? A Study Based on the “2014 Faculty Survey in China”

Abstract

Based on data from the “2014 Chinese University Faculty Survey,” this article analyzes the distribution characteristics and manifestations of internationalization from returnee faculty to Chinese colleges as well as their impacts on the internationalization of higher education in the three dimensions of scientific research output, teaching content and methods, and international exchanges. Compared to local teachers, returnee faculty members adjust their research output strategies to reach a higher level of internationalization. They favor publishing papers in international journals and publish fewer domestic papers and make fewer domestic patent applications. They focus on international perspectives and content in their course teaching content and methods. In terms of international exchanges, they participate in international academic conferences and travel abroad more often for advanced studies. Their experiences studying overseas accumulate their comparative advantage in the internationalization of the academic profession. Higher education institutions should make them play larger roles in promoting the internationalization of scientific research and teaching as well as international academic exchanges to improve the level of internationalization of Chinese higher education.     

Education for sale: at what cost? Lifelong learning and the marketplace

This paper examines the influence of the marketplace on discourses in lifelong learning and raises questions about the future direction of these discussions, drawing upon critical and feminist analyses. A brief overview of how the notion of lifelong learning has shifted from an emphasis on cooperation and shared development to a discourse of competition and individualism is given. Drawing upon the works of various educators, an overview is given of some of the ways in which the marketplace has influenced lifelong learning discourses and has become a pervasive presence in academia. Both critical and feminist analyses are used to examine how justice, equity issues, and critical thinking are suppressed when the marketplace becomes a predominant influence in education. An assessment of questions raised by educators working to challenge this marketplace orientation in lifelong learning and suggestions for further areas of research conclude the paper.     

Canada’s Industry-University Co-op Education Accreditation System and Its Inspiration for the Evaluation of China’s Industry-University-Institute Cooperative Education

Abstract

The high degree of interest that higher education systems around the world have in employability has driven the profound development of industry-university cooperative education. Canada’s industry-university co-op education system has served as a model for global cooperative education, and its accreditation system guarantees the high quality of cooperative education. Canada’s industry-university co-op education accreditation system is characterized by the authority of the certifying institution, scientific accreditation standards, and operable review criteria. As it continuously improves, it has always embodied the best practices of co-op education. The social environment and administrative mechanisms for Chinese industry-university-institute cooperative education are still immature, and the primary functions of its evaluation system, including monitoring and diagnosis, feedback and regulation, and incentives and guidance, are an important starting point for perfecting the system. In learning from Canada’s accreditation experiences, it is necessary to update the concept of cooperative education, refine evaluation entities, and build a Chinese industry-university-institute cooperative education accreditation system with global vision, to further improve evaluation methods.     

Are You My Grandmother?: Constructing and Maintaining Stepgrandparent Identity and Roles

The disruption of the biological family unit due to divorce or separation followed by remarriage or re-partnering has a profound impact on every family member, including extended family members. An individual becomes a stepgrandparent through later life re-partnering, when an adult child becomes a stepparent, or when a stepchild becomes a parent. In order to gain a greater understanding of the communication influencing the development and maintenance of stepgrandparent roles and identity, a qualitative interpretive analysis method was employed as a guide for interviews with 41 adult stepfamily members across two generations of stepfamily membership: stepparents and stepgrandparents.