Commentary: Challenges for <scp>PhD</scp> students during <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 pandemic: Turning crisis into an opportunity

Aydemir, Duygu; Ulusu, Nuriye Nuray

doi:10.1002/bmb.21351

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…The necessity to move as well as a rapidly worsening economic situation led to job losses among students. Extra-curricular activities were postponed or cancelled, and practical teaching and internships were no longer possible [ 7 , 8 ], leaving students with aggravated psychosocial well-being [ 9 ]. What makes these changes even more pressing is that the time of studying is particularly important when taking into account the stage of life of young people, which has a great impact on shaping their future relationships, their sense of effectiveness, and consolidation of independence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Class of 2020 in Poland: Students’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Outbreak in an Academic Setting

Wieczorek

Kołodziejczyk

Ciułkowicz

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic had led universities to introduce lockdowns, which has led to significant shifts in students’ lives. Classes were moved online, students had to leave dorms and move; they had to forgo regular meetings with their peers. Subsequently, a vital demand for examining students’ mental health emerged. The data were collected at a time when universities in Poland were under lockdowns. Participants represented students of many different fields of study. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used. Student’s subjective evaluation of online learning and their adaptation to academic life shifts were reviewed. A total of 1123 participants took part in this study. Relationship analysis included tests, such as U Mann–Whitney, appropriate for specific variables. The impact of variables connected with the pandemic on the GHQ scores was tested using multivariate regression analysis. The results were considered significant at a p-value set at 0.05. Overall, 76.96% of the participants manifested psychopathological symptoms measured by the GHQ. Four demographical variables were possibly associated with the GHQ scores: female sex, living in a big city, necessity to move back home, and being in a relationship. Negative correlations between subjective evaluation of variables concerning e-learning, such as its efficiency or quality, and the GHQ scores were found. Some variables were found to be potential protective factors, whereas others could have contributed to worsened mental health. The study provides data on students’ worsened mental health due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shifts in academic life it caused. Therefore, recommendations for early psychosocial interventions among students are strongly advised.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Class of 2020 in Poland: Students’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Outbreak in an Academic Setting

Wieczorek

Kołodziejczyk

Ciułkowicz

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…Recent literature on the impacts of the pandemic on doctoral candidates have been discipline-specific or written from a wellbeing perspective. Aydemir and Ulusu (2020) offer a cursory glance at the challenges and opportunities facing doctoral candidates in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. In a survey of 79 doctoral candidates engaged in the field of oncology, Dhont et al (2020) demonstrate how working in isolation during the pandemic affects anxiety and depression among researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Doctoral Candidates’ Academic Writing Output and Strategies: Navigating the Challenges of Academic Writing During a Global Health Crisis

Caux

2021

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: To date, few studies have investigated the impact of global health crises on the academic writing of doctoral candidates. This paper seeks to start a conversation about the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral candidates’ academic writing output and strategies. Background: This paper employs and analyses data elicited from surveys and interviews involving doctoral candidates from around the world. Data were collected during April 2020, at a time when government-mandated lockdowns and restrictions on movement were in full force in many countries around the world. Methodology: Surveys were conducted with 118 doctoral candidates from over 40 institutions based in four continents. Follow-up interviews were carried out with four doctoral candidates enrolled in an Australian institution. A qualitative descriptive design, employing thematic analysis, is used to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral candidates’ writing output and strategies. The data analysis includes statistical descriptions of the surveys. Contribution: This paper provides insights into the myriad challenges and obstacles facing doctoral candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the writing strategies adopted by doctoral candidates during a period of significant societal disruption, and illustrates how thematic analysis can be employed in research involving global health crises. Findings: Despite the adoption of novel approaches to academic writing, which appear in an insignificant minority of respondents, doctoral candidates’ overall commitment to academic writing has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Similarly, delays to academic research activities caused by the pandemic have resulted in a significant decline in commitment (motivation) to academic writing and a substantial impact on doctoral candidates’ ability to write about their research. Recommendations for Practitioners: Supervisors and mentors should strive to provide doctoral candidates with timely feedback during the pandemic. Given the impact of the pandemic on doctoral candidates’ mental health and motivation to write, increased institutional and peer support is required to help doctoral candidates overcome academic issues during the pandemic and future health crises. This researcher recommends consulting regularly with and offering individually tailored solutions to doctoral candidates who are struggling to work on their theses during the pandemic. Similarly, institutions should empower supervisors in ways that allow them to provide greater levels of support to doctoral candidates. Recommendation for Researchers: Further research on the impacts of the pandemic on various academic cohorts, such as early career researchers (doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and assistant professors) and student cohorts (e.g., undergraduate and postgraduate), will clarify the extent to which the pandemic is impacting the academic writing of doctoral candidates. Impact on Society: The pressure placed on doctoral candidates to produce quality academic writing seems to have been heightened by the pandemic. This has a range of adverse effects for the higher education sector, particularly administrators responsible for managing doctoral candidate success and the academe, which recruits many of its faculty from holders of doctorate degrees. Future Research: Additional focus on academic writing of doctoral candidates during the pandemic is needed. Research should include randomised samples and represent a range of academic disciplines.

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“…As the virus began to spread across the world and people around the world slowly began realising the unprecedented effects that this would have on their work, scholarly research on its effects correspondingly saw a sharp rise, especially on use of technology and best practices in running online classrooms. While a lot of these were based on personal experiences and anecdotal evidence (for example, Aydemir & Ulusu, 2020), a number of empirical studies have also been done (for example, Byrom, 2020;Murphy, 2020). What is clearly lacking is research on educators themselves, and the challenges they were facing in their own learning.…”

Section: Introduction*mentioning

confidence: 99%

Problem as Opportunity: Metacognitive Learning for Doctoral Students During the Pandemic

Chowdhury

2021

JFS

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Our pre-pandemic hubris of touting our times as an advanced digital age has given way to misgivings and scepticism as we slowly realise the limits of technological advances and how our teaching and learning practices have not been able to completely sever from age-old traditions. With unprecedented changes triggered by the global pandemic which saw schools close and move on to online spaces within the span of a few weeks all the world over, there has been a flurry of academic research into student disengagement, better integration of technology and best practices in adaptation of teaching and learning. However, much less attention has been paid to the needs of educators themselves as learners, such as those engaged in the essentially solitary experience of doctoral studies, often characterised by writer’s block, procrastination or lack of motivation. Yet the COVID-19 scenario has opened up splendid and unprecedented opportunities for reflection into our own practices. This paper critically considers the value of metacognition and self-regulated learning which current circumstances can nurture in unique ways. Studies have shown that the use of metacognitive strategies - which help learners understand their own learning - can amount to several months of progress. Much more than just learning to learn, such strategies also activate prior knowledge and make learners become higher-order agents overlooking their own learning while also being part of it, thereby leading to independent and transferrable practice. Drawing on anecdotal case studies of the presenter’s doctoral students, the paper will offer insights into ways in which early-career researchers can become effective and self-regulated learners who can take control of their own cognitive and motivational processes in planning, monitoring and evaluating skills and practices. In particular, the paper will propose guidelines through which a “securitization” can be achieved for a “post-pandemic pedagogy” (Murphy, 2020) for doctoral studies.

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Commentary: Challenges for PhD students during COVID‐19 pandemic: Turning crisis into an opportunity

Cited by 34 publications

References 5 publications

Class of 2020 in Poland: Students’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Outbreak in an Academic Setting

Class of 2020 in Poland: Students’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Outbreak in an Academic Setting

Doctoral Candidates’ Academic Writing Output and Strategies: Navigating the Challenges of Academic Writing During a Global Health Crisis

Problem as Opportunity: Metacognitive Learning for Doctoral Students During the Pandemic

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