Doctoral Supervision in the Light of the  Three Types of Support Promoted in  Self-Determination Theory

Devos, Christelle; Linden, Nicolas Van der; Boudrenghien, Gentiane; Azzi, Assaad Elia; Frenay, Mariane; Galand, Benoît; Klein, Olivier

doi:10.28945/2308

Cited by 39 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In past research, much attention has been given to the relationship between the PhD student and the supervisor (discussed in Juniper et al, 2012). Indeed, supervision style, supervisor experience, and frequency of supervision affect emotional exhaustion, burnout, PhD thesis completion, and intention to leave academia and are all potential areas of interest (Cornér, Löfström, & Pyhältö, 2017;Devos et al, 2015;Hunter & Devine, 2016). However, when other environmental/organizational factors were included in the studies, the relationship between the PhD student and the supervisor did not come out as the significant factor affecting PhD students' well-being (Juniper et al, 2012).…”

Section: Phd Students' Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey and a Positive Psychology Intervention on French PhD Student Well-being

Marais

Shankland

Haag

et al. 2018

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The present work focuses on French PhD students’ well-being: an understudied working population thus far, which impedes the development of evidence-based policies on this issue in France.The focus of this work is the well-being of French PhD students, on which almost nothing has been published thus far, impeding any evidence-based policy on this issue to be carried out in France. Background: Research studies from several countries have shown that carrying out a PhD can be a difficult experience resulting in high attrition rates with significant financial and human costs. Methodology: The two studies presented in this article focus on biology PhD students from University Lyon 1, a very large French university (~40,000 students). A first study aimed at measuring the mental health and well-being of PhD students using generalist and PhD-specific tools. In a second study, we carried out and assessed a positive psychology intervention (PPI) aimed at improving PhD students’ well-being. Contribution: Our work is one of the first characterizations of French PhD students’ mental health and well-being. As with other recent studies conducted in Western coun-tries, we found a high level of mental distress among PhD students. Our work also underlines the importance of taking many dimensions of the PhD (not only supervisor behaviour) in order to understand PhD student well-being. Cultural specificities are highlighted and can help inform the design of interventions adapted to each situation. The PPI showed pre-to-post positive changes on PhD students’ well-being. Further research is needed on a larger sample size in order to detect more subtle effects. However, these results are promising in terms of interventions that help reduce PhD student distress. Findings: Study 1 involved 136 participants and showed that a large fraction of the PhD students experiences abnormal levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. We found that career training and prospects, research experience, and the impact of carrying out a thesis on health and private life have more impact on PhD students’ mental health than the supervisors’ behaviour. French PhD students’ well-being is specifically affected by career uncertainty, perceived lack of progress in the PhD, and perceived lack of competence compared to UK PhD students well-being, which suggests cultural differences about the PhD experi-ence in France compared to other countries. In study 2, the scores of the test and control groups (N = 10 and N = 13, respectively) showed a clear effect of the intervention on reducing anxiety. Impact on Society: The high levels of mental health issues and reduced well-being in French PhD students reported in this study underline the importance of developing interventions in this field. Improving the supervisor-student relationship is one possibility but is not the only one. Interventions aimed at learning how to cope with the research experience and with the uncertainty with career pathways, and a good balance between PhD work and personal life present other promising possibilities

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Section: Phd Students' Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey and a Positive Psychology Intervention on French PhD Student Well-being

Marais

Shankland

Haag

et al. 2018

IJDS

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“…Numerous studies have showed the critical influence of advisors' supporting style on various PhD students' motivation and achievement (Bair & Haworth, 2004;Devos et al, 2015;Hollingsworth & Fassinger, 2002;Jairam & Kahl, 2012;Jones, 2013;Martinsuo & Turkulainen, 2011;Paglis, Green, & Bauer, 2006;Sambrook, Stewart, & Roberts, 2008;Wao & Onwuegbuzie, 2011). In a longitudinal study over five years, Paglis et al (2006) found that the quality of advisors' supervision had an impact on PhD students' research productivity, career commitment, and self-efficacy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Misfits Between Doctoral Students and Their Supervisors: (How) Are They Regulated?

Devos

Boudrenghien

Linden

et al. 2016

IJDS

Self Cite

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The purpose of the present study is to explore the “misfits” occurring between doctoral students and their supervisors. More precisely, we investigate the types of incongruences that occur, whether and how they are regulated and their consequences on students’ outcomes. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 former PhD students (8 completers and 13 non-completers). Results show that, when facing a misfit, PhD students either (1) learn to live with it and/or turn to alternate resources, (2) suffer from it without being able to address the problem with their supervisor, (3) address the issue with their supervisor and try to solve it in various ways, or (4) are unable to address the issue because it reached a point of no return. Further, types of misfit regulation are likely to have an influence on students’ motivation and engagement. These results are discussed in the light of person-environment fit, coping, emotional regulation, and conflict management frameworks.

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“…Research indicates that the mentor-doctoral student interpersonal relationship is associated with good progress of the work and its completion [5] [6], and with positive psychosocial outcomes, such as student satisfaction, sense of competence [2], identification with the field, confidence about being able to make a contribution [7] and with production of more publications [8]. In spite of this, we know very little about how to reach these kinds of outcomes.…”

Section: Phd Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Mentoring Types by Doctoral Students and Mentors in Economy and Business Administration

Arzenšek¹

2016

JSS

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A preliminary study has been conducted in order to assess doctoral student-faculty mentorship relations in the fields of Economy and Business administration. The overarching aim was to explore expectations and critical issues in the experiences of mentoring types by doctoral students and mentors. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted in two Slovenian public universities. The results show to some extent opposing expectations of PhD students and mentors regarding instrumental mentoring and psychosocial mentoring in practices. Implications are discussed and implications for further studies are provided.

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Doctoral Supervision in the Light of the Three Types of Support Promoted in Self-Determination Theory

Cited by 39 publications

References 59 publications

A Survey and a Positive Psychology Intervention on French PhD Student Well-being

A Survey and a Positive Psychology Intervention on French PhD Student Well-being

Misfits Between Doctoral Students and Their Supervisors: (How) Are They Regulated?

Perceptions of Mentoring Types by Doctoral Students and Mentors in Economy and Business Administration

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