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"DOCTORAL STUDENTS"
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Non-linear path to a doctorate
Worldwide, research reports increasing proportions of nontraditional doctoral students including those who return to a doctorate after a short or prolonged gap (indirect-pathway students (IPS)). However, studies lack knowledge about background, motivation, educational experience, and outcomes of IPS and differences between them and direct-pathway students (DPS) in regard to these characteristics. Our research aims to fill this gap using data from a survey of doctoral students at Russian universities (N = 5007). We compare three groups of students: DPS, interrupters (IPS with a less than 5-year gap), and returners (IPS with a longer gap). The analysis shows that returners stand out from the other two groups of students: they more frequently study part-time, have a full-time job, are married and have children, and enter doctoral programs with their own specific topic of dissertation. During their studying, returners less frequently interact with their supervisors and face a bigger amount of problems related to lack of academic skills, problems with knowledge of a foreign language, and family duties and the need to combine studying with work. At the same time, such students are more satisfied with their programs, develop more skills during their doctoral journeys, less often have difficulties with their supervisors or want to withdraw, and demonstrate a higher level of publication activity. We conclude that the master-apprentice model of doctoral education, elements of which are still highly widespread in Russia, could be more suitable for these students. Our findings raise questions about the necessity of doctoral programs' diversification. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Journal Article
The unruly PhD : doubts, detours, departures, and other success stories
\"The Unruly PhD is a collection of first-person stories recounted by former graduate students who have successfully reached the other side of a PhD - and are willing to speak frankly about the challenges and decisions they faced along the way. Their stories reveal that many of the difficulties associated with graduate school are institutional rather than personal; that getting sidetracked, detoured and even derailed are the norm, not the exception; and that success is not necessarily tied to the tenure track - or even to completion. Ultimately, The Unruly PhD leaves no doubt that there are as many right ways to get through graduate school as there are students willing to forge their own paths\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Between decolonization and recolonization: investigating Chinese doctoral students in Malaysia as a case of global South-South student mobility
International student mobility has traditionally witnessed a global South-North pattern. In recent years, a shift has occurred as the appeal of alternative geographies waxes, with Malaysia being an exemplar of inbound student mobility destination. To facilitate a deep probe of the under-researched global South-South student mobility, this study utilized a qualitative method to delve into 10 Chinese doctoral students' emic perceptions of their sojourn in Malaysia. Guided by a theoretical framework incorporating decolonization and recolonization, this study unpacks how these sociohistorical forces penetrate into and shape the students' preparation and navigation of a doctoral sojourn. Findings of the study reveal that while taking advantage of the Southern niche to yield commensurate benefits, thereby delegitimizing the Western supremacy, the students' make-do mentality and self-subjugating resistance inadvertently reinforce the Western dominance. Besides, these macro effects generate interlocking and conflicting affective consequences, instilling simultaneously positivity and inclusivity, inferiority, and anxiety. Altogether, decolonization and recolonization are concretely registered at the emotional level and bear a broader social significance. This article concludes with an alert and a call to address covert yet compelling inequalities in international student mobility. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Journal Article
The invisible others: stories of international doctoral student dropout
A doctorate degree is characterized in the literature as a time of high stress and uncertainty for students as well as subject to worrisome attrition rates, with an estimated 50% of doctoral students discontinuing their degrees. International doctoral students (IDSs) specifically face the additional challenges of adapting to new academic environments and cultures upon embarking on their doctoral journey. While existing research provides us with insight into the general challenges associated with the international doctoral experience, we have limited understanding of how these challenges contribute to their dropout. Drawing on life story interviews, this study qualitatively investigates the attrition experiences of IDSs at a Western European university. To analyze IDSs' discontinuation stories, we employ the concept of Othering. This concept draws our attention to students' perceptions of being marked as different by those in positions of power or privilege. We identify four types of Othering, where students were cast the Foreign, Academic, Financial, and/or Social Others and the role these played in their discontinuation. Findings suggest that Foreign Othering shadowed and reinforced additional Othering experiences; the IDSs lacked familiarity with the academic system, culture, and language which made them more vulnerable to acute academic challenges, financial hardship, and social exclusion. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for a more barrier-free and inclusive doctoral experience. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Journal Article
Mentorship and well-being
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how doctoral students experienced mentorship in their supervision context and how the mentorship they received impacted their well-being.Design/methodology/approachAn interpretive phenomenological methodology was selected to frame the research design. This research approach seeks to study the individual lived experience by exploring, describing and analyzing its meaning.FindingsThe findings revealed three different quality levels of mentorship in this context authentic mentorship, average mentorship and below average/toxic mentorship. Doctoral students who enjoyed authentic mentorship experiences were more motivated and satisfied, students who reported average mentorships needed more attention and time from their supervisors, and students who had below average/toxic mentorships were stressed out and depleted.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this study is the lack of generalizability owing to the small sample size typical in qualitative studies. Another limitation is that this research did not include students who quit their programs because of dysfunctional supervision experiences.Practical implicationsStudents and supervisors can use the findings to reflect on their beliefs and practices to evaluate and improve their performances. Also, authentic mentors can benefit from the findings to create a positive culture for all students to receive support. Finally, current supervisory policies can be reviewed in light of this paper’s findings.Social implicationsThe findings show the nature of mentorship in an authoritative context, and how it can be toxic when power is misused.Originality/valueThis study provides new knowledge in relation to the different types of mentorship experiences that exist in doctoral supervision, and how each type can influence students’ well-being differently. Additionally, it reveals that doctoral students can graduate, even in the face of toxic mentorship, but at the expense of their well-being.
Journal Article
Narratives of 'delayed success'
PhD (non-)completion rates have been considered important criteria with which to evaluate the effectiveness of doctoral programmes and of universities' performance. To date, there has been a lack of qualitative studies on the voices and experiences of funded international students who discontinue doctoral research degrees. This paper uses qualitative methods and six themes of a life course perspective to uncover the 'hidden' experience of international Vietnamese students who dropped out of funded doctoral programmes in social sciences and humanities. Its findings suggest that linked/independent lives and the timing of live themes helped to understand reasons for international doctoral students to drop out, which underline their engagement with research networks, academic identity and familial responsibilities. Meanwhile, the consequences of dropout illustrate the intersections of five themes: linked/independent lives, development risk and projects, the timing of lives/interplay of human lives and historical times, and diversity in life courses. The five themes capture diverse life trajectories and forms of agency developed by PhD non-completers while negotiating social pressures and institutional politics in their home institution as well as their perceptions of well-being and life priorities. Their life trajectories and forms of agency are gendered and culturally specific, with female non-completers being more active in searching for and building back their 'agentic orientations' through learning new skills, entering motherhood or leaving academic institutions. These findings are useful for reflecting on the current supporting structures, especially mental health support, for international doctoral students and supervisor training. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Journal Article