Cohort-Based Doctoral Programs: What We Have Learned Over the Last 18 Years

Bista, Krishna; Cox, David W.

doi:10.28945/1941

Cited by 37 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Their experience concurs with Fenge (2012) and Bista and Cox (2014) that 'cohortness' is key to a successful professional doctorate journey. We suggest that the support offered among the doctoral colleagues in this Facebook group has enhanced the cohort identity (Fenge, 2012): each knows what is happening in others' lives external to the doctoral process, and such knowledge allows the group to be caring on both an academic and a personal level.…”

Section: Reflection 1: Bonding Of the Group -The Value Of 'Cohortness'mentioning

confidence: 59%

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‘Our Breadcrumb Trail through the Woods’: Reflections on the Use of a Secret Facebook Group as a Strategy for Surviving and Thriving on the Doctoral Journey

Satchwell¹,

Partington²,

Barnes³

et al. 2015

IJDS

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This article explores the value of attending to the emotional side of the doctoral journey by focusing on the use of a ‘secret’ Facebook group amongst a cohort of EdD (Professional Doctorate in Education) students at one English university. Presented as a piece of action research in which the participants created an intervention to address a perceived problem and then reflected on its effectiveness, it is co-authored by the cohort of six students and their tutor. The stresses and loneliness of the doctoral journey have been well documented and constitute the ‘problem’ addressed by this cohort of students. Their inception and use of a Facebook group was a response to challenges experienced in their studies, with the expectation of facilitating peer support. As will be shown this aim was successfully met with enhancements in academic, social, and emotional support. However, unexpected benefits arose from the interactions within the group including a normalization of the challenges of the doctoral quest and the advantage of being able to follow the ‘breadcrumb trail’ found in the group postings as group journal and aid to reflection. Further, both tutors and students have noted the development of a strong sense of ‘cohortness’ and inclination to work collaboratively. Through a process of individual and group reflection on experiences of the intervention, combined with analysis of the content of the postings, this article examines the characteristics of the Facebook intervention and considers some ethical implications. We suggest that key characteristics that have contributed to its success include the student ownership, the protection of the secret format, and the combination of emotionally supportive, academic, and irreverent exchanges between group members. It is hoped that these insights may be useful to future doctoral candidates and their tutors as they negotiate their own way through the doctoral woods.

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Section: Reflection 1: Bonding Of the Group -The Value Of 'Cohortness'mentioning

confidence: 59%

“…The Doctorate in Education (EdD) at this university is a taught programme, using a closed-cohort model (Bista & Cox, 2014). There are currently around 40 students enrolled on the programme, with an intake of approximately eight students per year.…”

Section: Introduction and Review Of The Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

‘Our Breadcrumb Trail through the Woods’: Reflections on the Use of a Secret Facebook Group as a Strategy for Surviving and Thriving on the Doctoral Journey

Satchwell¹,

Partington²,

Barnes³

et al. 2015

IJDS

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show abstract

“…Participants reportedly obtained previously unobtainable forms of capital -cultural, social, and symbolic. Although the Forum does not accord with the conventional 'cohort-based model' (Bista & Cox, 2014;Lei, Gorelick, Short, Smallwood, & Wright-Porter, 2011) in definition, benefits emerging from the Forum strongly align with those produced through the cohort-based model. For example, learning within a cohort nurtures interpersonal development and personal attributes, fosters management and communication skills (S. Freeman & Kochan, 2012), offers an integral part of personal and professional support for academic interactions (Nimer, 2009), and develops a shared learning community through a strong social and professional network (Hyatt & Williams, 2011;Williams, Simpson, & Cunningham, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Generating Benefits and Negotiating Tensions through an International Doctoral Forum: A Sociological Analysis

Ning

et al. 2016

IJDS

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Workshops and seminars are widely-used forms of doctoral training. However, research with a particular focus on these forms of doctoral training is sporadic in the literature. There is little, if any, such research concerning the international context and participants’ own voices. Mindful of these lacunae in the literature, we write the current paper as a group of participants in one of a series of doctoral forums co-organised annually by Beijing Normal University, China and Queensland University of Technology, Australia. The paper voices our own experiences of participation in the doctoral forum. Data were drawn from reflections, journals, and group discussions of all 12 student and academic participants. These qualitative data were organised and analysed through Bourdieu’s notions of capital and field. Findings indicate that the doctoral forum created enabling and challenging social fields where participants accrued and exchanged various forms of capital and negotiated transient and complex power relations. In this respect, the sociological framework used provides a distinctive theoretical tool to conceptualise and analyse the benefits and tensions of participation in the doctoral forum. Knowledge built and lessons learned through our paper will provide implications and recommendations for future planning of, and participation in, the doctoral forum series and similar activities elsewhere.

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“…Among the positive consequences students experience are being able to share experiences with their fellow cohort members (Lei, Gorelick, Short, Smallwood, & WrightPorter, 2011) and having a supportive and shared environment in which to pursue their degree (Bista & Cox, 2014;Sax, 2008;Tokuno, 2008). In contrast, dominant and potentially negatively personalities may arise in the classroom as the same students, being in the cohort together, see one another in every class (McPhail, Robinson, & Scott, 2008), and while these students always see one another in class, limited additional time for collaborative research outside of the classroom exists given the nature of these students as professionals, family members, and working adults (Bernauer et al, 2013).…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have indicated that the support that cohort members received from their classmates have been beneficial for older, part-time students, married students, and students who are parents with home and childcare responsibilities (Sax, 2008;Tokuno, 2008). A study conducted by Bista and Cox (2014) cited the friendships and family-like atmosphere developed in one cohort model as assets to the approach. These social factors play an important role in student success as well as the overall success of cohort models.…”

Section: Doctoral Cohort Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Twitter Usage in One Cohort-Based Doctoral Program

Draper

Buzzelli

Holdan

2016

IJDS

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An Instructional Management and Leadership doctoral program (IML) incorporated the use of Twitter to examine what this looked like in practice. Did students actually use Twitter, and if so, how frequently, for what purpose(s), and were there differences between students on the pattern of use? Additionally, we sought to determine if Twitter is a legitimate instructional tool and if the use of Twitter can help mitigate feelings of isolation. Utilizing a descriptive case study design we implemented a survey methodology by distributing a modified version of the First Year Engagement Questionnaire to five IML cohorts. Active use of Twitter was infrequent. IML students used Twitter to gather news, follow experts, and find stimulating interactions. Active users and students who previously had a Twitter account were more positive about using Twitter. On average however, IML students were infrequent, passive Twitter users, aggregating information to supplement instruction. They did not use Twitter to reduce feelings of isolation. Female and male students used Twitter similarly. Younger students were more active than older students. Familiarity with the platform potentially moderates Twitter activity. Twitter has utility as a supplemental instructional tool but expanded use requires active student engagement.

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Cohort-Based Doctoral Programs: What We Have Learned Over the Last 18 Years

Cited by 37 publications

References 22 publications

‘Our Breadcrumb Trail through the Woods’: Reflections on the Use of a Secret Facebook Group as a Strategy for Surviving and Thriving on the Doctoral Journey

‘Our Breadcrumb Trail through the Woods’: Reflections on the Use of a Secret Facebook Group as a Strategy for Surviving and Thriving on the Doctoral Journey

Generating Benefits and Negotiating Tensions through an International Doctoral Forum: A Sociological Analysis

Patterns of Twitter Usage in One Cohort-Based Doctoral Program

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