- lilia.mantai@mq.edu.au, @LiliaMantai
Lilia Mantai
The University of Sydney, Business School, Faculty Member
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled in the emotional, social, and intellectual process of PhD journeys. As such, developing a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. This paper explores instances... more
Becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled in the emotional, social, and intellectual process of PhD journeys. As such, developing a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. This paper explores instances and practices where doctoral students identify as becoming researchers. Based on interviews with 30 PhD students from two Australian metropolitan universities, this paper presents students' experiences of moments when they feel like researchers. The paper finds identification as a researcher occurs early on in the PhD, and such instances are underpinned by external and internal validation of the student as a researcher. Validation is gained through research outputs (mainly publications), doing research, and talking about research. Such experiences are often mundane, occur daily, and constitute personal, social, informal, and formal learning opportunities for researcher development. Supervisors are largely absent as students draw on multiple individuals on and off campus in assuming a researcher identity.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
My research aims to investigate the role of social support in Australian doctoral journeys. PhD candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education despite opportunities to interact with peers. Evidence suggests that doctoral... more
My research aims to investigate the role of social support in Australian doctoral journeys. PhD candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education despite opportunities to interact with peers. Evidence suggests that doctoral candidates make use of different forms of social support on their doctoral journey, which extends beyond the immediate higher degree research environment. Further, doctoral candidates increasingly use technology as facilitators of social support. Firstly, my paper introduces a new model of social support in the PhD journey. Secondly, I present a review of Australian universities’ higher degree research department websites that shows how different universities address doctoral student support needs. This systematic online review answers questions, such as: how are HDR candidates addressed and portrayed, what support services are linked from the website, what types of support and training does the HDR department offer to its candidates, whether any services are provided for students by students, and how academic community is expressed via the websites. Thirdly, I discuss PhD candidates’ perspectives on the types of social support available at their university and the types of social support that they use and value as discussed in focus groups with PhD candidates. The website review and the focus group findings are compared and discussed against the presented model of social support resulting in implications for further research.
Research Interests:
The quality of the PhD experience is of intense interest to researchers and universities alike, and both identify the role of support networks as crucial to PhD experience and PhD completion. Our aim in this paper is to explore the types... more
The quality of the PhD experience is of intense interest to researchers and universities alike, and both identify the role of support networks as crucial to PhD experience and PhD completion. Our aim in this paper is to explore the types of interdependencies that PhD candidates identify as important in a successful PhD journey. To do so we use an under utilised yet rich data source: PhD thesis acknowledgements. The paper employs a sample of 79 PhD acknowledgements drawn from diverse disciplines within Australian universities. We illustrate the forms of social support provided, who and what is acknowledged as providing support, and the intersections between the forms and providers of support. Key findings of the paper are that three types of support are evident – academic, technical, and emotional – and that supervisors, families, friends and colleagues are acknowledged for providing all three forms of support. The study confirms the critical place of candidates’ networks in the PhD journey, broadens the view of what constitutes support and identifies the range of individuals involved in the process. Further, it identifies potential in acknowledgements as a source of evidence of social support.
Research Interests:
As widely acknowledged, the PhD is a journey in which becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled (eg. Barnacle & Mewburn, 2010). The PhD journey is as much social as intellectual, and as such the formation of a researcher... more
As widely acknowledged, the PhD is a journey in which becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled (eg. Barnacle & Mewburn, 2010). The PhD journey is as much social as intellectual, and as such the formation of a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. Based on the theoretical concepts of identity by Adams and Marshall (1996), McAlpine, Jazvac-Martek, and Hopwood (2009) and Tonso (2006) this paper explores how the social contributes to the students' feeling of becoming a researcher and feeling of belonging to a researcher community. Based on focus groups with 30 PhD students from Macquarie University this paper presents instances of identity development in form of students' narratives, and analyses how these relate to the process of forming a researcher identity. The paper finds that social processes that candidates identify as playing a role in identity formation include informal social settings and extend beyond the HDR environment to include family and friends. The identified social connections cross geographic, cultural and linguistic borders and present valuable support networks in the PhD process. Therefore, we acknowledge doctoral education as preparation of today's graduates for a "globalized knowledge economy" (Nerad & Heggelund, 2011). In recognition of the diversity of HDR candidates, findings are presented in case studies of international/domestic, Sciences/Humanities, and full-time/part-time student groupings. The paper concludes with critical reflections on the notion of the doctoral journey and how institutions and research groups may support the development of researcher identities.
Research Interests:
There are numerous existing resources which claim to discuss the most important factors a potential PhD student should consider when looking for a possible supervisor. Commonly discussed topics include the supervisors’ record and... more
There are numerous existing resources which claim to discuss the most important factors a potential PhD student should consider when looking for a possible supervisor. Commonly discussed topics include the supervisors’ record and approach, but there is much more to finding a reciprocal and beneficial relationship. This chapter will address some of these less discussed factors to look for when selecting a supervisor, including sense of humor. This chapter will help the hopeful PhD student maneuver the uncomfortable − and often overwhelming − waters of selecting a supervisor by pointing out the questions students forget to ask, the character traits they don’t think to consider, and examples of supervision selection gone wrong. It starts with the often-confusing process of knowing where to start looking, then highlights five frequently ignored factors that deserve more consideration, and finishes with warning signs to look for that mark supervisors to avoid.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Beni Hassan Research Group (BHRG) was established to develop employability skills in Ancient History students and enable active, authentic and collaborative engagement with current research undertaken at Macquarie University. The... more
The Beni Hassan Research Group (BHRG) was established to develop employability skills in Ancient History students and enable active, authentic and collaborative engagement with current research undertaken at Macquarie University. The BHRG, comprised of academic staff, doctoral candidates, and undergraduate students, aims to develop an online visual archive to showcase current research on Beni Hassan, which MQ holds the concession to record and publish. A learning in partnership methodology is applied to create an inclusive knowledge-building community to engage students and build capacity in 9 key areas to prepare students for a variety of professional pathways: written communication, data curation, digital literacy and key technology skills, interpersonal skills, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, self-development and learning to learn.
Research Interests:
As student enrolments grow and student diversity increases in many areas of higher education, faculty face challenges to support and ensure individual student learning and development. At the same time, active and experiential approaches... more
As student enrolments grow and student diversity increases in many areas of higher education, faculty face challenges to support and ensure individual student learning and development. At the same time, active and experiential approaches to learning are recognized for their potential to develop autonomy and critical thinking, among other valuable skills. However, such approaches are challenging to implement at scale and alter the educator’s role from a directive one to a more facilitating role. This article reports on a questionnaire with 66 business academics at a large Australian metropolitan university that examined teaching experiences at scale and identified perceived barriers and enablers of experiential learning in large classes. Academics reported their lived experiences of teaching at scale and revealed the need to recognize teaching practice as a highly networked and distributed activity. In experiential learning, and particularly in large classes, the locus of control for...
Research Interests:
In the neoliberal university, how do doctoral candidates (PhDs) and early career academics (ECAs) experience time? This analysis brings together two qualitative studies in Australian universities: interviews with 64 PhD candidates, and a... more
In the neoliberal university, how do doctoral candidates (PhDs) and early career academics (ECAs) experience time? This analysis brings together two qualitative studies in Australian universities: interviews with 64 PhD candidates, and a survey of 522 ECAs on teaching and research experience, and identity and career development. The data is analysed using Ylijoki and Mäntylä’s (2003. “Conflicting Time Perspectives in Academic Work.” Time & Society 12 (1): 55–78. doi:10.1177/0961463X03012001364) categories of academic time: scheduled, timeless, contracted and personal. Reading Derrida’s Specters of Marx (1994) enables us to extend this framework to include deferred time. We argue that the dominant affect of deferred time is anxiety. As political subjects of the university, following Derrida’s line of argument, participants are in a deferred state of waiting for academic careers that are yet to come.
Research Interests:
In universities across the world, academics struggle to establish and sustain their careers while satisfying intensifying institutional demands. Drawing from the author’s decades of observation and experience in academia, this exceptional... more
In universities across the world, academics struggle to establish and sustain their careers while satisfying intensifying institutional demands. Drawing from the author’s decades of observation and experience in academia, this exceptional book responds to the challenges of fostering a successful academic career. Featuring an overarching focus on holistic career development as well as specific chapters on mentorship, networking, job applications and interviews, publishing, funding and more, this book guides readers through their prospective academic careers while offering informed and compassionate advice and insights. While the book is organized chronologically, providing early-, mid- and late-career guidance, the issues and challenges discussed can be addressed continuously and sometimes simultaneously across an academic’s professional life. In a straightforward and engaging style, How to be an Academic Superhero offers realistic, practical advice for anyone contemplating or develo...
Research Interests: Sociology, Education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Academic Development, Political Science, and 8 moreAcademic Writing, Academic Publishing, Academic Performance, Scholarly Publishing, Higher Education Development, Academic Staff Development, Geographical, and Academic Identity and Practice
ABSTRACT How can universities ensure that strategic aims to integrate research and teaching through engaging students in research-based experiences be effectively realised within institutions? This paper reports on the findings of a... more
ABSTRACT How can universities ensure that strategic aims to integrate research and teaching through engaging students in research-based experiences be effectively realised within institutions? This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study exploring academics’ perceptions of the challenges and barriers to implementing undergraduate research. Academics were asked about perceived constraints and enablements, how they defined undergraduate research, the forms of undergraduate research used, and they were encouraged to provide examples. Perceived constraints included particular institutional policies and structures, academics’ mindsets and lack of skills and questions of time and money. It was found that different definitions of undergraduate research lead to different practices and varying opportunities for further development. This paper presents different forms of engagement in undergraduate research allied to these different definitions and it draws on interviewees’ ideas about what has been enabling in their context to suggest possible strategies for institutions to move forward.
Research Interests:
Many science students engage in a variety of research-based learning experiences both within their courses and outside the curriculum in special research experience programs. In the context of a project to develop students’ awareness and... more
Many science students engage in a variety of research-based learning experiences both within their courses and outside the curriculum in special research experience programs. In the context of a project to develop students’ awareness and experiences of research we were recently involved in writing a response to a document prepared by the American Council on undergraduate research “Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research”. Our response demonstrated the extent to which undergraduate research and inquiry-based learning were being encouraged across our campus. This work provided an opportunity to critically reflect on standards of undergraduate research implementation. It led to a consideration of a set of standards for judging the quality of undergraduates’ engagement in research-based activities. In this paper we will outline the characteristics of excellence and then discuss the set of standards we have developed. These are written in the form of levels of achievement that can be applied in a variety of situations within the curriculum and at a range of different levels and subjects.
Research Interests:
Calls for stronger engagement of students in university research and inquiry require shifts in values and relationships, and pose challenges for educational development at all levels. This chapter examines how a model of universities as... more
Calls for stronger engagement of students in university research and inquiry require shifts in values and relationships, and pose challenges for educational development at all levels. This chapter examines how a model of universities as inclusive scholarly knowledge-building communities has been used in implementing a seven-year programme of academic development designed to promote undergraduate research and research-based learning in Australasia. It outlines the model and demonstrates how the programme addresses each of its facets. Finally, it discusses the applicability of the model to educational development practice more widely and how it can be used to foster students’ development of scientific thinking.
Research Interests:
https://www.informingscience.org/Publications/4275 Aim/Purpose This paper investigates the role of social support in the PhD. Despite universities’ efforts to provide a collegial PhD experience, candidates report isolation and... more
https://www.informingscience.org/Publications/4275
Aim/Purpose
This paper investigates the role of social support in the PhD. Despite universities’ efforts to provide a collegial PhD experience, candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education – a factor contributing to attrition.
Background
Previous research (Mantai & Dowling, 2015) defined social support in four categories: moral, emotional, guiding and mentoring, companionship, and collegiality. Social support is facilitated in various formal and informal groupings. Socialisation into scholarly communities promotes researcher identities through a sense of belonging. Developing a strong researcher identity through social connections benefits a student’s physical and emotional well-being, PhD progress, and investment in researcher careers.
Methodology
This paper is based on thematic analysis of focus groups and one-on-one interviews with 64 PhD candidates from two Australian metropolitan universities.
Contribution
Students’ perspectives on social support during PhD study are largely missing in the literature, as more importance is placed on academic support. This paper provides rich empirical evidence to show that support afforded by candidates’ personal, social, and professional relationships is critical in doctoral candidates’ identity development.
Findings
First, investigating social support from the student perspective shows that it promotes students’ researcher identity development, sense of belonging, and community. Second, the paper extends our understanding of what social support means as it examines this concept in the context of student diversity. This paper confirms social support in the PhD extends beyond the institutional higher degree research environment and includes outside support by family, friends as well as online communities.
Recommendations for Practitioners
Promote and improve support services, networking opportunities, and social connections within academia and beyond. Invest in understanding students’ diverse backgrounds and individual circumstances as well as goals.
Recommendation for Researchers
Evaluate existing social support structures in place and identify social support needs of doctoral candidates at your particular institution.
Impact on Society
Institutions, governments, and individuals heavily invest in PhD degrees financially and psychologically. This research aims to improve outcomes for society by developing skilled and confident graduates.
Future Research
Future research ought to focus on the issues experienced by students of particular demographic backgrounds and on how to best support them.
Aim/Purpose
This paper investigates the role of social support in the PhD. Despite universities’ efforts to provide a collegial PhD experience, candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education – a factor contributing to attrition.
Background
Previous research (Mantai & Dowling, 2015) defined social support in four categories: moral, emotional, guiding and mentoring, companionship, and collegiality. Social support is facilitated in various formal and informal groupings. Socialisation into scholarly communities promotes researcher identities through a sense of belonging. Developing a strong researcher identity through social connections benefits a student’s physical and emotional well-being, PhD progress, and investment in researcher careers.
Methodology
This paper is based on thematic analysis of focus groups and one-on-one interviews with 64 PhD candidates from two Australian metropolitan universities.
Contribution
Students’ perspectives on social support during PhD study are largely missing in the literature, as more importance is placed on academic support. This paper provides rich empirical evidence to show that support afforded by candidates’ personal, social, and professional relationships is critical in doctoral candidates’ identity development.
Findings
First, investigating social support from the student perspective shows that it promotes students’ researcher identity development, sense of belonging, and community. Second, the paper extends our understanding of what social support means as it examines this concept in the context of student diversity. This paper confirms social support in the PhD extends beyond the institutional higher degree research environment and includes outside support by family, friends as well as online communities.
Recommendations for Practitioners
Promote and improve support services, networking opportunities, and social connections within academia and beyond. Invest in understanding students’ diverse backgrounds and individual circumstances as well as goals.
Recommendation for Researchers
Evaluate existing social support structures in place and identify social support needs of doctoral candidates at your particular institution.
Impact on Society
Institutions, governments, and individuals heavily invest in PhD degrees financially and psychologically. This research aims to improve outcomes for society by developing skilled and confident graduates.
Future Research
Future research ought to focus on the issues experienced by students of particular demographic backgrounds and on how to best support them.
Research Interests:
Recent and ongoing changes in university structures and desires, as well as alterations in doctoral education, are shaping new spatialities and temporalities of academic work and identities. This paper considers the spatialities of one... more
Recent and ongoing changes in university structures and desires, as well as alterations in doctoral
education, are shaping new spatialities and temporalities of academic work and identities. This paper
considers the spatialities of one set of researcher identities – those undertaking PhD degrees – and
specifically explores the material and socio-cultural affordances of the sites in which research is
practised. Based on a qualitative study (interviews with 30 PhD students and focus groups with 34
students) at two Australian metropolitan and research-intensive universities, we find students associate
different forms of researcher identities with the different spaces of research work. In particular, the
university campus and specifically the office and/or laboratory are sites where research is approached
as a form of work, and identification as both worker and researcher. Notably, social connections and
the power relations of the campus are woven through these identifications. Home, in contrast, can
serve as a place of respite or a quiet space to think, but more often disrupts identifications as
researcher or emergent academic. This research suggests the need first, to recognise the significance of
a physical workspace on campus for developing researchers and second, for a more nuanced
consideration of the notion of a neoliberalised university.
education, are shaping new spatialities and temporalities of academic work and identities. This paper
considers the spatialities of one set of researcher identities – those undertaking PhD degrees – and
specifically explores the material and socio-cultural affordances of the sites in which research is
practised. Based on a qualitative study (interviews with 30 PhD students and focus groups with 34
students) at two Australian metropolitan and research-intensive universities, we find students associate
different forms of researcher identities with the different spaces of research work. In particular, the
university campus and specifically the office and/or laboratory are sites where research is approached
as a form of work, and identification as both worker and researcher. Notably, social connections and
the power relations of the campus are woven through these identifications. Home, in contrast, can
serve as a place of respite or a quiet space to think, but more often disrupts identifications as
researcher or emergent academic. This research suggests the need first, to recognise the significance of
a physical workspace on campus for developing researchers and second, for a more nuanced
consideration of the notion of a neoliberalised university.
Research Interests:
It is commonly believed that the doctorate prepares students for academic careers. While there is wide ranging literature about the development of doctoral students as researchers, preparation for the other aspects of academic careers,... more
It is commonly believed that the doctorate prepares students for academic careers. While there is wide ranging literature about the development of doctoral students as researchers, preparation for the other aspects of academic careers, e.g. teaching, is mostly absent from the discussion. This qualitative longitudinal study investigated the shift from doctoral identities to academic identities using narrative inquiry. It examined the narratives of 15 doctoral students from two large Australian universities, who were approaching thesis submission and who aspired to academic employment. Two contrasting stories illuminated in-depth accounts of how academic identities were developed and experienced. Students defined their identities and assessed their academic development in relation to their perceived ‘market value’ in academia. To increase their employability, they engaged in university teaching and focused on strategic networking. Students regarded researcher development as the main focus of the doctorate as being insufficient for an academic career. This paper argues that doctoral education needs to facilitate student agency, encourage synergies between teaching and research, and support non-academic work experiences to strengthen researcher identity development.
Research Interests: Social Research Methods and Methodology, Educational Research, Doctoral Supervision, Qualitative Research, Doctoral education, and 6 moreDoctorat, Research Capability of Graduate Students, DOCTORAL STUDENT, Doctorado, Accounting Doctoral Program Faculty of Economic and Business, and International Doctoral Students
Doctoral experience and researcher development in different PhD workspaces Lilia Mantai Macquarie University Robyn Dowling Macquarie University Abstract In the rich vein of emerging research on doctoral learning and researcher... more
Doctoral experience and researcher development in different PhD workspaces
Lilia Mantai
Macquarie University
Robyn Dowling
Macquarie University
Abstract
In the rich vein of emerging research on doctoral learning and researcher development, an understanding of space is comparatively absent. Yet both learning and development occur in and through space: the materiality of spaces such as the lab as well as the imaginings and social aspects of spaces have affordances that facilitate the PhD. Our purpose in this paper is to explore the form and function of these spaces, based on a qualitative study of PhD experiences, specifically narratives of 30 PhD students at two Australian metropolitan universities, and focus groups with 34 students. Students are actively making use of diverse workspaces to improve their progress and study experience. In this context we identify four spaces important to doctoral learning and researcher development: university campus, laboratory/office, home, and virtual/online spaces. More importantly, we illustrate the doctoral practices and researcher identities that occur within, and are constituted through, each of these spaces. These include making connections with various others to prevent social isolation, researcher professionalisation, space of respite. This research suggests the need to reconceptualise PhD work within the dynamic and fluid landscape created by the various workspaces across which doctoral practices are distributed.
Keywords: doctoral practice; PhD students; workspace; researcher development; PhD experience
Lilia Mantai
Macquarie University
Robyn Dowling
Macquarie University
Abstract
In the rich vein of emerging research on doctoral learning and researcher development, an understanding of space is comparatively absent. Yet both learning and development occur in and through space: the materiality of spaces such as the lab as well as the imaginings and social aspects of spaces have affordances that facilitate the PhD. Our purpose in this paper is to explore the form and function of these spaces, based on a qualitative study of PhD experiences, specifically narratives of 30 PhD students at two Australian metropolitan universities, and focus groups with 34 students. Students are actively making use of diverse workspaces to improve their progress and study experience. In this context we identify four spaces important to doctoral learning and researcher development: university campus, laboratory/office, home, and virtual/online spaces. More importantly, we illustrate the doctoral practices and researcher identities that occur within, and are constituted through, each of these spaces. These include making connections with various others to prevent social isolation, researcher professionalisation, space of respite. This research suggests the need to reconceptualise PhD work within the dynamic and fluid landscape created by the various workspaces across which doctoral practices are distributed.
Keywords: doctoral practice; PhD students; workspace; researcher development; PhD experience
Research Interests:
Questions and Rationale: What does the future hold for our teaching, our learning and our students? Growing interest and practice internationally in engaging undergraduates in research addresses the need to prepare students for... more
Questions and Rationale: What does the future hold for our
teaching, our learning and our students? Growing interest and
practice internationally in engaging undergraduates in research
addresses the need to prepare students for professional life
when knowledge is uncertain and the future is unclear.
However, it challenges institutions to change how students,
teachers, and professional staff collaborate and presents
opportunities for academics to implement new forms of
student learning.
Benefits to students have been well documented in the
literature. They include personal and professional skills such as:
increased confidence; intellectual development; critical
thinking and problem solving skills (see eg, Laursen et al, 2010;
Lopatto, 2006). There is evidence that research experiences
have high impact in engaging students (Kuh 2008). However,
while there is considerable research on students’ responses,
research on institutional challenges is less well developed. Our
research therefore addresses:
* How academics work to implement research-based
undergraduate experiences?
* What are the challenges and barriers to doing so?
Theory and Methods: This paper reports on a study of
academics’ experiences of implementing research-based
experiences for undergraduates both within and outside the
curriculum. Academics work to implement new pedagogies
within particular institutional contexts. As such, they interpret
the situations they find themselves in as constraining or
enabling. Following Archer, this paper focuses on
understanding how, ‘in the light of their objective
circumstances’ (Archer, 2003: 5), individuals’ perceived
constraints and enablements affect their capacity to effect
change; specifically, how they implement research-based
experiences for students.
Semi-structured interviews with twenty academics from
different disciplines in a large research-intensive Australian
university explore academics’ experiences and perceived
challenges. Recognising that decisions are made at a number
of different levels, perceptions of senior and more junior
faculty have been sought. Interviews have been transcribed
and analysed thematically.
Outcomes: Findings demonstrate what facilitates change and
what constrains or discourages it, offering new insights about
the experiences, value, benefits and challenges of
implementing research-based experiences for students.
Specifically, how time is structured and workloads calculated
are important to how teachers respond and adapt to this
evolving learning paradigm. Also important is how physical
and virtual spaces are arranged. How academics define
undergraduate research and their attitudes to its benefits
appear to determine what they seek to do. Negative or
uninformed attitudes provide the greatest challenge to
implementation. Some practices have involved undergraduates
engaging in scholarship of teaching and learning projects. The
implications of this are also explored.
Reflective Critique: We ourselves have been working to
implement undergraduate research experiences. Our critical
reflections have played an important part in setting up the
study and in analysing the data. Our concern is to assist the
university to move forward so our reflective critique is
important.
Audience Engagement: We will invite participants to reflect on
and share their own experiences. These reflections will inform
the next stage of the study in interviewing academics in other
universities.
teaching, our learning and our students? Growing interest and
practice internationally in engaging undergraduates in research
addresses the need to prepare students for professional life
when knowledge is uncertain and the future is unclear.
However, it challenges institutions to change how students,
teachers, and professional staff collaborate and presents
opportunities for academics to implement new forms of
student learning.
Benefits to students have been well documented in the
literature. They include personal and professional skills such as:
increased confidence; intellectual development; critical
thinking and problem solving skills (see eg, Laursen et al, 2010;
Lopatto, 2006). There is evidence that research experiences
have high impact in engaging students (Kuh 2008). However,
while there is considerable research on students’ responses,
research on institutional challenges is less well developed. Our
research therefore addresses:
* How academics work to implement research-based
undergraduate experiences?
* What are the challenges and barriers to doing so?
Theory and Methods: This paper reports on a study of
academics’ experiences of implementing research-based
experiences for undergraduates both within and outside the
curriculum. Academics work to implement new pedagogies
within particular institutional contexts. As such, they interpret
the situations they find themselves in as constraining or
enabling. Following Archer, this paper focuses on
understanding how, ‘in the light of their objective
circumstances’ (Archer, 2003: 5), individuals’ perceived
constraints and enablements affect their capacity to effect
change; specifically, how they implement research-based
experiences for students.
Semi-structured interviews with twenty academics from
different disciplines in a large research-intensive Australian
university explore academics’ experiences and perceived
challenges. Recognising that decisions are made at a number
of different levels, perceptions of senior and more junior
faculty have been sought. Interviews have been transcribed
and analysed thematically.
Outcomes: Findings demonstrate what facilitates change and
what constrains or discourages it, offering new insights about
the experiences, value, benefits and challenges of
implementing research-based experiences for students.
Specifically, how time is structured and workloads calculated
are important to how teachers respond and adapt to this
evolving learning paradigm. Also important is how physical
and virtual spaces are arranged. How academics define
undergraduate research and their attitudes to its benefits
appear to determine what they seek to do. Negative or
uninformed attitudes provide the greatest challenge to
implementation. Some practices have involved undergraduates
engaging in scholarship of teaching and learning projects. The
implications of this are also explored.
Reflective Critique: We ourselves have been working to
implement undergraduate research experiences. Our critical
reflections have played an important part in setting up the
study and in analysing the data. Our concern is to assist the
university to move forward so our reflective critique is
important.
Audience Engagement: We will invite participants to reflect on
and share their own experiences. These reflections will inform
the next stage of the study in interviewing academics in other
universities.
Research Interests:
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the types of social networks and relationships that PhD candidates identify as important in a successful PhD journey. Design/methodology/approach – We use an under-utilised yet rich data... more
Purpose
– The aim of this paper is to explore the types of social networks and relationships that PhD candidates identify as important in a successful PhD journey.
Design/methodology/approach
– We use an under-utilised yet rich data source: PhD thesis acknowledgements. The paper employs a sample of 79 PhD acknowledgements drawn from diverse disciplines across Australian universities to illustrate the types of social support provided, who and what is acknowledged as providing support and the intersections between the types and providers of support.
Findings
– Key findings of the paper are that three types of support are evident – emotional, academic and instrumental – and that families, colleagues and supervisors, as well as others, are acknowledged for providing all three forms of support. Further, acknowledgements give insights into students’ personal and professional development and identification as researchers.
Research limitations/implications
– This research helps higher degree research recognise the breadth of relationships in the PhD process to make provisions that encourage such network building. It delineates the meaning and value of social support in successful doctoral candidature. So far, little empirical research has outlined the types of support valued by students.
Originality/value
– The study confirms the critical place of candidates’ networks in the PhD journey, broadens the view of what constitutes support and identifies the range of individuals involved in the process. It identifies potential in acknowledgements as a source of evidence of social support and researcher development in the PhD experience.
– The aim of this paper is to explore the types of social networks and relationships that PhD candidates identify as important in a successful PhD journey.
Design/methodology/approach
– We use an under-utilised yet rich data source: PhD thesis acknowledgements. The paper employs a sample of 79 PhD acknowledgements drawn from diverse disciplines across Australian universities to illustrate the types of social support provided, who and what is acknowledged as providing support and the intersections between the types and providers of support.
Findings
– Key findings of the paper are that three types of support are evident – emotional, academic and instrumental – and that families, colleagues and supervisors, as well as others, are acknowledged for providing all three forms of support. Further, acknowledgements give insights into students’ personal and professional development and identification as researchers.
Research limitations/implications
– This research helps higher degree research recognise the breadth of relationships in the PhD process to make provisions that encourage such network building. It delineates the meaning and value of social support in successful doctoral candidature. So far, little empirical research has outlined the types of support valued by students.
Originality/value
– The study confirms the critical place of candidates’ networks in the PhD journey, broadens the view of what constitutes support and identifies the range of individuals involved in the process. It identifies potential in acknowledgements as a source of evidence of social support and researcher development in the PhD experience.
Research Interests:
Becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled in the emotional, social, and intellectual process of PhD journeys. As such, developing a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. This paper explores instances... more
Becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled in the emotional, social, and intellectual process of PhD journeys. As such, developing a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. This paper explores instances and practices where doctoral students identify as becoming researchers. Based on interviews with 30 PhD students from two Australian metropolitan universities, this paper presents students' experiences of moments when they feel like researchers. The paper finds identification as a researcher occurs early on in the PhD, and such instances are underpinned by external and internal validation of the student as a researcher. Validation is gained through research outputs (mainly publications), doing research, and talking about research. Such experiences are often mundane, occur daily, and constitute personal, social, informal, and formal learning opportunities for researcher development. Supervisors are largely absent as students draw on multiple individuals on and off campus in assuming a researcher identity.
Research Interests:
Many science students engage in a variety of research-based learning experiences both within their courses and outside the curriculum in special research experience programs. In the context of a project to develop students’ awareness and... more
Many science students engage in a variety of research-based learning experiences both within their courses and outside the curriculum in special research experience programs. In the context of a project to develop students’ awareness and experiences of research we were recently involved in writing a response to a document prepared by the American Council on undergraduate research “Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research”. Our response demonstrated the extent to which undergraduate research and inquiry-based learning were being encouraged across our campus. This work provided an opportunity to critically reflect on standards of undergraduate research implementation. It led to a consideration of a set of standards for judging the quality of undergraduates’ engagement in research-based activities. In this paper we will outline the characteristics of excellence and then discuss the set of standards we have developed. These are written in the form of levels of achievement that can be applied in a variety of situations within the curriculum and at a range of different levels and subjects.
As widely acknowledged, the PhD is a journey in which becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled (eg. Barnacle & Mewburn, 2010). The PhD journey is as much social as intellectual, and as such the formation of a researcher... more
As widely acknowledged, the PhD is a journey in which becoming a researcher is one of the roads travelled (eg. Barnacle & Mewburn, 2010). The PhD journey is as much social as intellectual, and as such the formation of a researcher identity during doctoral study is a social undertaking. Based on the theoretical concepts of identity by Adams and Marshall (1996), McAlpine, Jazvac-Martek, and Hopwood (2009) and Tonso (2006) this paper explores how the social contributes to the students' feeling of becoming a researcher and feeling of belonging to a researcher community. Based on focus groups with 30 PhD students from Macquarie University this paper presents instances of identity development in form of students' narratives, and analyses how these relate to the process of forming a researcher identity. The paper finds that social processes that candidates identify as playing a role in identity formation include informal social settings and extend beyond the HDR environment to include family and friends. The identified social connections cross geographic, cultural and linguistic borders and present valuable support networks in the PhD process. Therefore, we acknowledge doctoral education as preparation of today's graduates for a "globalized knowledge economy" (Nerad & Heggelund, 2011). In recognition of the diversity of HDR candidates, findings are presented in case studies of international/domestic, Sciences/Humanities, and full-time/part-time student groupings. The paper concludes with critical reflections on the notion of the doctoral journey and how institutions and research groups may support the development of researcher identities.
Research Interests:
My research aims to investigate the role of social support in Australian doctoral journeys. PhD candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education despite opportunities to interact with peers. Evidence suggests that... more
My research aims to investigate the role of social support in Australian doctoral
journeys. PhD candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education despite
opportunities to interact with peers. Evidence suggests that doctoral candidates make
use of different forms of social support on their doctoral journey, which extends beyond
the immediate higher degree research environment. Further, doctoral candidates
increasingly use technology as facilitators of social support. Firstly, my paper introduces
a new model of social support in the PhD journey. Secondly, I present a review of
Australian universities’ higher degree research department websites that shows how
different universities address doctoral student support needs. This systematic online
review answers questions, such as: how are HDR candidates addressed and portrayed,
what support services are linked from the website, what types of support and training
does the HDR department offer to its candidates, whether any services are provided
for students by students, and how academic community is expressed via the websites.
Thirdly, I discuss PhD candidates’ perspectives on the types of social support available
at their university and the types of social support that they use and value as discussed
in focus groups with PhD candidates. The website review and the focus group findings
are compared and discussed against the presented model of social support resulting in
implications for further research.
journeys. PhD candidates report isolation and loneliness in doctoral education despite
opportunities to interact with peers. Evidence suggests that doctoral candidates make
use of different forms of social support on their doctoral journey, which extends beyond
the immediate higher degree research environment. Further, doctoral candidates
increasingly use technology as facilitators of social support. Firstly, my paper introduces
a new model of social support in the PhD journey. Secondly, I present a review of
Australian universities’ higher degree research department websites that shows how
different universities address doctoral student support needs. This systematic online
review answers questions, such as: how are HDR candidates addressed and portrayed,
what support services are linked from the website, what types of support and training
does the HDR department offer to its candidates, whether any services are provided
for students by students, and how academic community is expressed via the websites.
Thirdly, I discuss PhD candidates’ perspectives on the types of social support available
at their university and the types of social support that they use and value as discussed
in focus groups with PhD candidates. The website review and the focus group findings
are compared and discussed against the presented model of social support resulting in
implications for further research.
The quality of the PhD experience is of intense interest to researchers and universities alike, and both identify the role of support networks as crucial to PhD experience and PhD completion. Our aim in this paper is to explore the... more
The quality of the PhD experience is of intense interest to researchers and universities
alike, and both identify the role of support networks as crucial to PhD experience and
PhD completion. Our aim in this paper is to explore the types of interdependencies
that PhD candidates identify as important in a successful PhD journey. To do so we
use an under utilised yet rich data source: PhD thesis acknowledgements. The paper
employs a sample of 79 PhD acknowledgements drawn from diverse disciplines within
Australian universities. We illustrate the forms of social support provided, who and
what is acknowledged as providing support, and the intersections between the forms
and providers of support. Key findings of the paper are that three types of support are
evident – academic, technical, and emotional – and that supervisors, families, friends
and colleagues are acknowledged for providing all three forms of support. The study
confirms the critical place of candidates’ networks in the PhD journey, broadens the
view of what constitutes support and identifies the range of individuals involved in the
process. Further, it identifies potential in acknowledgements as a source of evidence of
social support.
alike, and both identify the role of support networks as crucial to PhD experience and
PhD completion. Our aim in this paper is to explore the types of interdependencies
that PhD candidates identify as important in a successful PhD journey. To do so we
use an under utilised yet rich data source: PhD thesis acknowledgements. The paper
employs a sample of 79 PhD acknowledgements drawn from diverse disciplines within
Australian universities. We illustrate the forms of social support provided, who and
what is acknowledged as providing support, and the intersections between the forms
and providers of support. Key findings of the paper are that three types of support are
evident – academic, technical, and emotional – and that supervisors, families, friends
and colleagues are acknowledged for providing all three forms of support. The study
confirms the critical place of candidates’ networks in the PhD journey, broadens the
view of what constitutes support and identifies the range of individuals involved in the
process. Further, it identifies potential in acknowledgements as a source of evidence of
social support.
Engaging students when learning new vocabulary, building an environment that allows for collaboration and teamwork and providing approaches towards learning via problem solving is not an easy feat in teaching a second language. To have an... more
Engaging students when learning new vocabulary, building an environment that allows for collaboration and teamwork and providing approaches towards learning via problem solving is not an easy feat in teaching a second language. To have an activity that incorporates these three strategies in one for both face-to-face and geographically dispersed students can be challenging. This paper describes how an online activity in Moodle linked to the glossary module allows students to possibly learn vocabulary more efficiently, quicker and in a more engaging way.