| 1. |
- Angervall, Petra, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Assembling lines in research education : Challenges, choices and resistance among Swedish doctoral students
- 2019
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Ingår i: Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2398-4686 .- 2398-4694. ; 10:2, s. 142-154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – The higher education sector in Sweden has, over decades, faced increasing demands in terms of efficiency rates in research, as well as increasing demands in the international competition for external revenue. These demands have influenced academic career trajectories and postdoctoral tracks as well as the everyday work of doctoral students. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how doctoral students express and challenge subjectivity in the present context of research education.Design/methodology/approach – The authors depart from the overall understanding that doctoral students’ lines of actions in research education depend on and form assemblages and, thus, define an academic institution. By re-analysing eight in-depth interviews, they illustrate how doctoral students from different milieus not only comply but also challenge, use border-crossings and change directions in research education.Findings – The results show that some of these doctoral students try to act as loyal and satisfied, especially in regard to their supervisors, whereas others use coping strategies and resistance. It is illustrated that when some of the students use “unsecure” molecular lines, they appear more open to redefining possibilities and change, in comparison with those on more stable molar lines. Those acting on molar lines sometimes express a lack of emotional (productive) engagement, even though this particular group tend to more often get access to rewarded assemblages. These patterns are partly gender-related.Social implications – The tension between finding more stable lines and spaces for change is apparent in doctoral students’ subjectivity, but also how this tension is related to gender. The women doctoral students appear not only more mobile but also in a sense more alert than their men peers. This offers insights in how actions define and redefine not only academic institutions but also different subjectivities.Originality/value – In the present, given the manifold demands on academic institutions, new insights and methodological approaches are necessary to illustrate how contemporary changes affect research education and the everyday life of doctoral students.
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| 2. |
- Lees, James, et al.
(författare)
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Transnational cooperation in enhancing researchers’ wider employability : the TRANSPEER project
- 2023
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Ingår i: Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2398-4686 .- 2398-4694. ; 14:1, s. 19-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an example of best practice towards enhancing employability in the cross-sectoral labour market for doctorate-holders. This was achieved through an Erasmus+ KA2 (Strategic Partnership) skills development project which created a training programme (TRANSPEER) involving a multi-disciplinary cohort of researchers at a range of career stages, drawn from universities in Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the UK.Design/methodology/approachResearch support staff designed and delivered four transnational training events for the cohort, with the overarching theme of enhancing researcher employability. An initial skills awareness survey of the researcher cohort was undertaken prior to the start of the programme; this survey was repeated after each event. An additional aim of the project was the development of the consortium’s research support staff through exposure to the facilitation techniques and methodologies of their international colleagues.FindingsThe findings indicate that transnational collaboration in researcher development enhances the learning environment for participating researchers and provides significant professional development opportunities for both researchers and researcher developers. The findings further suggest the benefits of mixing cohorts across career stages and engaging researchers with novel and interactive approaches on themes not typically addressed in academic competence development offerings.Originality/valueTransversal skills development cooperation between universities – especially transnational cooperation – is rare. Even more so is the professional development of research support staff in a transnational context. This paper outlines the benefits of such collaborative activities.
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| 3. |
- Schmidt, Manuela, et al.
(författare)
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“I didn’t want to be a troublemaker” : doctoral students’ experiences of change in supervisory arrangements
- 2021
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Ingår i: Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2398-4686 .- 2398-4694. ; , s. 1-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – During the lengthy process of PhD studies, supervisory changes commonly occur for several different reasons, but their most frequent trigger is a poor supervisory relationship. Even though a change in supervisors is a formal bureaucratic process and not least the students’ rights, in practice it can be experienced as challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how doctoral students experience a change in supervisory arrangements.Design/methodology/approach – This study highlights the voices of 19 doctoral students who experienced at least one supervisory change during their doctoral studies.Findings – The findings were structured chronologically, revealing the students’ experiences prior, during and after the changes. In total, 12 main themes were identified. Most of the interviewed students experienced the long decision-making processes as stressful, difficult and exhausting, sometimes causing a lack of mental well-being. However, once the change was complete, they felt renewed, energized and capable of continuing with their studies. It was common to go through more than one change in supervisory arrangements. Further, the students described both the advantages of making a change yet also the long-lasting consequences of this change that could affect them long after they had completed their PhD programs.Originality/value – The study fulfills an identified need to investigate the understudied perspective of doctoral students in the context of change in supervisory arrangements. A change in the academic culture is needed to make any changes in supervisory arrangements more acceptable thus making PhD studies more sustainable.
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| 4. |
- Schmidt, Manuela, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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“I didn’t want to be a troublemaker” – doctoral students’ experiences of change in supervisory arrangements
- 2022
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Ingår i: Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2398-4686 .- 2398-4694. ; 13:1, s. 54-73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeDuring the lengthy process of PhD studies, supervisory changes commonly occur for several different reasons, but their most frequent trigger is a poor supervisory relationship. Even though a change in supervisors is a formal bureaucratic process and not least the students’ rights, in practice it can be experienced as challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how doctoral students experience a change in supervisory arrangements.Design/methodology/approachThis study highlights the voices of 19 doctoral students who experienced at least one supervisory change during their doctoral studies.FindingsThe findings were structured chronologically, revealing the students’ experiences prior, during and after the changes. In total, 12 main themes were identified. Most of the interviewed students experienced the long decision-making processes as stressful, difficult and exhausting, sometimes causing a lack of mental well-being. However, once the change was complete, they felt renewed, energized and capable of continuing with their studies. It was common to go through more than one change in supervisory arrangements. Further, the students described both the advantages of making a change yet also the long-lasting consequences of this change that could affect them long after they had completed their PhD programs.Originality/valueThe study fulfills an identified need to investigate the understudied perspective of doctoral students in the context of change in supervisory arrangements. A change in the academic culture is needed to make any changes in supervisory arrangements more acceptable thus making PhD studies more sustainable.
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| 5. |
- Schmidt, Manuela, et al.
(författare)
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“I didn’t want to be a troublemaker” – doctoral students’ experiences of change in supervisory arrangements
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 2398-4686 .- 2398-4694. ; 13:1, s. 54-73
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: During the lengthy process of PhD studies, supervisory changes commonly occur for several different reasons, but their most frequent trigger is a poor supervisory relationship. Even though a change in supervisors is a formal bureaucratic process and not least the students’ rights, in practice it can be experienced as challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how doctoral students experience a change in supervisory arrangements.Design/methodology/approach: This study highlights the voices of 19 doctoral students who experienced at least one supervisory change during their doctoral studies.Findings: The findings were structured chronologically, revealing the students’ experiences prior, during and after the changes. In total, 12 main themes were identified. Most of the interviewed students experienced the long decision-making processes as stressful, difficult and exhausting, sometimes causing a lack of mental well-being. However, once the change was complete, they felt renewed, energized and capable of continuing with their studies. It was common to go through more than one change in supervisory arrangements. Further, the students described both the advantages of making a change yet also the long-lasting consequences of this change that could affect them long after they had completed their PhD programs.Originality/value: The study fulfills an identified need to investigate the understudied perspective of doctoral students in the context of change in supervisory arrangements. A change in the academic culture is needed to make any changes in supervisory arrangements more acceptable thus making PhD studies more sustainable.
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| 6. |
- Wao, Hesborn, et al.
(författare)
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Encouraging social innovation for combating poverty : Master's students’ gendered experiences with a service-learning intervention in Kenya and Uganda
- 2022
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Ingår i: Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. - 2398-4686. ; 13:2, s. 171-187
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – This study aims to understand master’s students’ experiences of service-learning, following their participation in a workshop with local social innovators whose activities had contributed to combating poverty in East Africa and to determine how this participation affected work on the students’ theses. The authors also explored possible gender differences in this context. Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on pretest–posttest mixed methods research design. Data were collected from master’s students within the social sciences and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, respectively, in Kenya and Uganda, via surveys and interviews before the workshop, immediately afterwards and six months later.Findings -Students’ immediate experience was that the workshop contributed to increased critical awareness, adoption of transdisciplinary community-serving approaches and strengthened self-confidence. Six months later, most had related their projects to social problems (e.g. poverty) in their communities. Moreover, the results motivated integration of gender-sensitive curricula based on service-learning in East Africa.Practical implications - Based on the results, the authors suggest a framework for gender-sensitive curriculum development that can stimulate service-learning in master’s students. Implementation of such a curriculum could eventually contribute to community development, including, e.g. poverty reduction.Originality/value - Studies on service-learning are rare in Africa, especially in postgraduate education. Gender-sensitive studies on service-learning are generally scarce and the same holds for studies on encouraging STEM students to integrate social innovation into their thesis work. By combining these aspects, this study presents an original contribution to existing research.
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