Fitting the Mold of Graduate School: A Qualitative Study of Socialization in Doctoral Education

Doctoral student attrition in the United States has reached alarming proportions, with reported rates of approximately 50% across disciplines (Nettles and Millett 2006). Attrition rates of underrepresented populations have been reported at higher rates across disciplines (Council of Graduate Schools 2004), pointing to a disparate experience for these students. Socialization has been shown to be a determining factor in doctoral student success and retention (Turner and Thompson 1993) while not necessarily reflecting how the socialization experience differs by disciplinary and institutional contexts. Through this qualitative study I sought to understand the effects of the socialization process upon doctoral student success and retention in the disciplines of chemistry and history at two institutions. Results highlighted a disparate experience for women, students of color, students with families, part-time students, and older students. Suggestions for policy, practice, and further research are included. Susan K. Gardner  received her Ph.D. in Higher Education from Washington State University and is currently Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Maine in Orono. Her research interests include doctoral education, student development, and issues of social justice in higher education. She can be reached at susan.k.gardner@maine.edu.     

The Changing Environment for Doctoral Education in Australia: implications for quality management,improvement and innovation

Although there has been considerable institutional attention to quality management and improvement in Australian higher education, concerns about the quality of doctoral education persist. This paper argues that addressing these concerns will require a shift in perspective. The conventional view of doctoral education which assumes an on‐campus, full‐time student experience, with socialisation arising formally and informally through interaction with the supervisor(s) and other academics in a university department, and which prepares the candidate for academic or other full‐time research work, is increasingly recognised as problematic. The rapid growth in candidate numbers is associated with a more diverse doctoral student population, and increasingly flexible patterns of research and study. These trends are likely to continue as they are in response to major changes in the higher education environment and changes in patterns of research activity. The argument presented is that addressing concerns for quality management, improvement and effective innovation demand the development of a research‐based wholistic conceptual framework for doctoral education which integrates all aspects of the doctoral education experience, and a focus on constructing and evaluating doctoral programmes in their particular organisational settings and physical locations.     

Socialization of Doctoral Students: Implications for Social Work Education

Recent discussions on social work education increasingly have drawn attention to doctoral education. The purpose of this article is to consider these discussions that debated some of the ways of improving doctoral student education and professional development, using professional socialization as a conceptual framework. Issues such as research, teaching, and research assistantship, and conferences are considered as key components of the process of preparing doctoral students for knowledge building through teaching and research. Finally, the paper discusses some implications for social work education.     

The Construction of Paradox?: One Case of Mature Students in Higher Education

Despite the fact that educational institutions have been actively encouraging mature students into higher education, we understand little of whether the experience of this group is the same as or different from that of the other students. There is a dearth of published research on the subjective experience of mature students. Much of the most widely quoted research on mature students has relied on quantitative techniques. While such procedures are useful for providing background details, they are less useful for exploring the lived experiences of being a mature student. Until we understand how the experience of being a mature student is lived, it is difficult, if not impossible to consider how policy and teaching practice for mature students can be developed. With qualitative and quantitative research methods, this research looks at the 'lived experience' of being a mature student in a Scottish university. Using a social constructionist framework, the focus is on how the reality of being a mature student is constructed by mature students. It shows how self contradictory these views of reality can be.     

Experiential learning in doctoral training programmes: fostering personal epistemology through collaboration

There has been increasing recognition for the need to reform doctoral training practices to foster students’ personal epistemology. This study describes the design and evaluation of a learning experience designed to help students understand the scholarly publication process. Firstly, this study discusses the design of the learning experience, describing the collaborative process of writing an interdisciplinary publication using both online and face-to-face learning. Secondly, this study evaluates the effectiveness of the learning experience by examining students’ reflections. We show that participation in the learning experience helped students to develop their academic writing proficiency, collaboration and teamwork, intercultural competence, and ability to engage in reflective practice. Importantly, we show that each student also created more individualised knowledge, gaining insight into how they and others think. This study, therefore, demonstrates that personal epistemology can be fostered through collaboration in a doctoral writing group context.     

“What’s the Middle Ground? Am I Ever Going to be the Perfect Teacher?:” Self-Study of a Doctoral Student’s Acculturation Process

In higher education, doctoral training has been identified as a process of stewardship development whereby individuals learn the knowledge and skills required to advance their respective disciplines. Self-study of teacher education practices is one approach that has gained the interest of doctoral students to help them understand their own development whilst also forging recommendations for others in publications. In this self-study, we worked to understand the experiences of Shrehan, a teacher from England beginning doctoral study in the USA. Shrehan had no experience teaching at the college level prior to moving to the USA, and she saw self-study as an opportunity to understand her development and acculturation into an unfamiliar system of higher education. Data were collected through journaling, critical-friend discussions, and artefacts, as well as student data in the form of surveys, exit slips, and focus-group interviews. Qualitative data analysis of Shrehan’s experiences was guided by the four stages of acculturation theory – honeymoon, culture shock, adjustment, and recovery. Shrehan’s journey emphasizes the importance of getting to know undergraduate students and building rapport as key aspects of teaching at the college level. Self-study provided Shrehan with a heightened personal-identity awareness that increased her cultural sensitivity and broadened her worldview. Results are discussed with reference to acculturation theory and future directions for research are provided.     

Socialization of Doctoral Students to Academic Norms

Using the framework for graduate and professional student socialization developed by Weidman, Twale, and Stein (2001), this study addresses socialization of doctoral students to the academic norms of research and scholarship. Data are presented about the perceptions doctoral students in a social science discipline (sociology) and in educational foundations at a major research university have of the scholarly and collegial climates of their departments. Data on students' social relationships with faculty and peers as well as their reported participation in scholarly activities are also reported. A multivariate analysis provides support for the framework, affirming the importance of social interaction among both students and faculty as well as collegiality among faculty for creating a supportive climate for doctoral study that also has the potential to provide a strong foundation for subsequent academic and/or research careers by stimulating students' research and scholarly productivity.     

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。     

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.     

Identity and social practice in higher education: student experiences of postgraduate courses delivered ‘offshore’ in Singapore and Hong Kong by an Australian university

This paper highlights the complexities surrounding the social practices involved in being an international higher degree student, and the ways in which these practices contribute to the formation of student identity. It reports research in progress aimed at understanding how higher degree students experience studying for a degree delivered ‘offshore’ by an Australian university. In particular, it presents findings of two interpretive case studies, one of a masters degree course delivered in Singapore and another of a doctoral dissertation programme delivered in Hong Kong. The line of inquiry concerns questions about the perspectives of the students: how they understand the dynamics of their particular educational context and their sense of themselves as students in relation to the communities to which they belong.     

博士生学业成就影响因素分析及其概念模型研究

博士生教育承担着为党和国家培养高层次人才的重要任务,全球化背景下知识经济竞争的加剧使得博士人才培养的重要性日益凸显。随着我国研究生招生规模的扩大,博士生教育面临的教育质量问题愈发严峻。博士生教育质量体现在博士生的学业成就上,而影响学业成就的因素是多方面的,了解影响因素并揭示相互之间的关联无疑可以帮助博士生顺利完成学业,提升高等教育质量。本研究基于契合理论,扩展了博士生环境契合度的理论框架,创建了更为细致的博士生教育契合度多维框架,包括博士生环境契合度、学生职业契合度和博士生文化契合度三个维度。该分析框架呈现了博士生教育契合度与博士生学业成就之间的关联,对于完善博士人才培养、提升教育质量具有重要作用。     

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.     

博士生导师如何影响博士生科研发表？ ——基于2016年首都高校学生发展状况调查数据的分析

随着博士招生规模的扩大，博士生教育质量问题受到各方关注。导师作为博士生培养中最直接且关键的因素，对博士生的科研创新能力发挥着重要影响，但鲜有严谨的实证研究阐明其影响机制。基于2016年首都高校学生发展状况调查的数据，采用处理效应模型控制学生选择导师的内生性后，估计了导师对博士生科研发表的影响。研究发现，导师的学术指导显著正向影响博士生科研产出，这种影响主要通过作用于博士生科研参与实现，而导师的社会资本对博士生的科研产出存在负向影响。导师学术指导的正向影响更多体现在理工类博士生群体中，导师社会资本的影响更多体现在人文社科类博士生群体中。     

The Role of Threshold Concepts in an Interdisciplinary Curriculum: a Case Study in Neuroscience

Threshold concepts have been widely utilized to understand learning in academic disciplines and student experiences in a disciplinary curriculum. This study considered how threshold concepts might operate within an interdisciplinary setting. Data were collected through interviews with 40 doctoral students enrolled in an interdisciplinary program as well as content analysis of interdisciplinary curricula. The findings emphasize the importance of the integrative process to interdisciplinary initiatives. Interdisciplinary threshold concepts do not result from the addition of multiple disciplines, but rather are fostered through unique facets of the interdisciplinary experience.     

Personal study planning in doctoral education in industrial engineering

The duration of doctoral studies has increased in Europe. Personal study planning has been considered as one possible solution to help students in achieving shorter study times. This study investigates how doctoral students experience and use personal study plans in one university department of industrial engineering. The research material consists of a questionnaire study and personal study plan forms submitted by doctoral students. The results show evidence concerning the usefulness of personal study planning in doctoral education in industrial engineering and reveal differences across student groups. This study highlights the situation-dependent character of personal study planning and confirms that the implementation of personal study planning requires time and effort in order to change the culture of individualised studies.     

Becoming an academic: international perspectives

Stress during doctoral study is common; however, its presence is of concern to students as it has a deleterious impact on well-being and performance, and to the university which has a duty of care to students and the desire to promote a supportive research environment. This article reports on the qualitative findings from an online survey that sought to identify students’ experiences related to stress during the early-stage doctoral study. All newly enrolled PhD students at the University of Otago (New Zealand) received invitations to participate and respond to two questions related to stress during the early-stage doctoral study. In total, 152 survey responses were acquired from 352 first-year PhD students (response rate 43.2%). Nine main areas of concern were identified from an inductive thematic analysis of participants’ responses. Key stressors were time pressure, uncertainty about doctoral processes, sense of belonging in scholarly communities, and financial pressures. Some findings are contrary to previous research with novel perceptions on the student–supervisor relationship, different financial issues, and transition stresses contrary to previous research; this may reflect the changed academic landscape of doctoral studies. Findings provide insight into potential support strategies to better support early-stage PhD students.     

Student conceptions of international experience in the study abroad context

While much of recent study abroad research has focused on identifying and measuring different learning outcomes in terms of specific skills, competencies, perspectives and attributes acquired during study abroad opportunities, less research has considered how students’ deeper conceptions and understandings of international experience may change and develop during such educational encounters. This paper presents a phenomenographical research study that explored how students conceive of and make meaning out of their international education experience in a study abroad context. The data are based on detailed semi-structured interviews conducted with a sample of 28 undergraduate students at an American university who engaged in a variety of different study abroad opportunities. Guided by Variation Theory of Learning, the analysis of the data resulted in a typology of student conceptions of international experience (SCIE) that identified four distinct categories of conceptions of international experience (observing, interacting, participating and embracing) described across three constitutive features (being in the other culture, relating to the other culture and learning in the other culture). Hierarchically related through nine critical aspects of variation, the typology provides a unique and useful framework against which to map the “messiness” of students’ complex, often complicated understandings of their experience. It offers study abroad programmers opportunities to better understand and design student learning experiences and assessment instruments that go beyond competencies, skills and other learning outcomes.     

Doctoral Student Satisfaction: An Examination of Disciplinary, Enrollment, and Institutional Differences

Previous research suggests that it is the department, not the graduate school that bears the greatest responsibility for doctoral students’ progress and success (Ehrenberg et al., Doctoral education and the faculty of the future (pp. 15–34). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009) dictating the need to examine and understand how doctoral students experience their education at the department level. In the present study, we analyzed the NAGPS’ 2000 National Doctoral Program Survey (NDPS) data in an effort to understand the differences in the satisfaction levels of doctoral students (current, recent graduates, and former) across various academic disciplines (e.g. social sciences, humanities, engineering) and different institutional types (e.g. research extensive and research intensive). Employing both traditional (ANOVA) and item-level (Rasch Rating Scale Model) analyses we found that although overall satisfaction with doctoral experiences appears to be equivalent/similar across multiple disciplines, student satisfaction within disciplines varied significantly and consistently with respect to specific academic experiences.     

Coaching doctoral students – a means to enhance progress and support self-organisation in doctoral education

In this paper we focus on individual coaching carried out by an external coach as a new pedagogical element that can impact doctoral students’ sense of progress in doctoral education. The study used a mixed-methods approach in that we draw on quantitative and qualitative data from the evaluation of a project on coaching doctoral students. We explore how coaching can contribute to the doctoral students’ development of a broad set of personal competences and suggest that coaching could work as a means to engender self-management and improve relational competences. The analysis of the participants’ self-reported gains from coaching show that doctoral students experience coaching as an effective method to support the doctoral study process. This study also provides preliminary empirical evidence that coaching of doctoral students can facilitate the doctoral study process so that the doctoral students experience an enhanced feeling of progress and that they can change their study behaviour in a positive direction. The study discusses the difference between coaching and supervision, for instance power imbalances and contrary to earlier research into coaching of doctoral students this study indicates that coaching can impact the supervisor–student relationship in a positive way.     

PhD by Publication: innovative approach to social science research,or operationalisation of the doctoral student … or both?

ABSTRACT

The PhD by Publication offers doctoral students an opportunity to focus on publishing during their candidature. A considerable body of literature has explored questions of legitimacy, consistency and quality of this model of scholarship, while students have reflected on how this approach helped build a publishing track record and develop skills associated with writing scholarly articles [Jackson, D. (2013). Completing a PhD by publication: A review of Australian policy and implications for practice. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(3), 355–368; Robins, L., & Kanowski, P. (2008). PhD by publication: A student’s perspective. Journal of Research Practice, 4(2), 1–20]. However, there is a need to explore how this approach both shapes and reflects the student experience of doctoral studies. This auto-ethnographical article analyses my own experience of the PhD by Publication. On the one hand, this method suited my multidisciplinary research topic and approach to research and assisted the flexibility and creativity of my research. On the other, I began to view my value as a researcher and the value of my research, in terms of the quantitative performance metrics of research in output, citation counts and h-index. Concept of performativity, I analyse how the PhD by Publication potentially reshapes what it is to be a doctoral student, and how the value of doctoral students is construed by themselves and others within their university.