Faculty Perspectives on Doctoral Student Socialization in Five Disciplines

Abstract

Socialization has become a common framework through which to view the doctoral student experience. A growing body of literature has examined the student perspective of this socialization experience but the perspective of the faculty member has been relatively absent in these discussions, despite the vital role they play in the process. Sixteen doctoral faculty members in the disciplines of engineering, oceanography, psychology, history, and a self-designed interdisciplinary program at one institution were interviewed to determine their perspectives on the doctoral student socialization process and their role in it. Using Bragg's (1976) and Weidman, Twale, and Stein's ( 2001) framework of socialization to analyze these interviews, findings emerged regarding faculty perspectives often on programmatic and structural components but rarely on the role of peers or their own informal role in the socialization process. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are included.

Exploring the Psychological Benefits of Using an Emerging Video Technology to Coach and Retain Doctoral Learners

“…First, although there were no interview questions on retention as part of the interview, half of the students indicated that the nature of the relationships developed with their dissertation chair using Zoom contributed to their decision to remain in the program when they were considering leaving the program. This finding corresponds to previous research demonstrating that social integration propels doctoral students to persist (Gardner, 2010;Tinto, 1993;Zahl, 2015). Second, students identified that using video conferencing felt similar to having a meeting in a café.…”

“…Isolation is common among doctoral students and feelings of isolation can result in attrition (Ali & Kohun, 2007;Gardner, 2010;Rovai, 2002). Most communication between the student, dissertation chair, and dissertation committee occurs online (Kumar et al, 2013;Terrell et al, 2012), resulting in feelings of student isolation (Lovitts, 2001;Radda, 2012), which may lead to lack of persistence (Rovai, 2002).…”

“…Common in doctoral students are feelings of isolation during the dissertation process (Ali & Kohun, 2007;Gardner, 2010;Rovai, 2002), which can decrease retention. Cultivating professional chair and student relationships using video may provide a means to mitigate feelings of isolation, generating greater student satisfaction, which may increase intrinsic motivation.…”

“…The psychological factors are social presence, research self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and isolation. Social presence (Borup et al, 2012;Sivunen & Nordbäck, 2015), research skills (Bennett & Folley, 2014;Martinsuo & Turkulainen, 2011;Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012), intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000;Gardner & Gopaul, 2012;Lovitts, 2001), and feelings of isolation (Ali & Kohun, 2007;Gardner, 2010;Lovitts, 2001;Radda, 2012;Rovai, 2002), may affect the doctoral student's ability to succeed. Cultivating the students' psychological needs using video technology to support coaching may enhance the online doctoral students' ability to persevere, particularly during the dissertation stage.…”

“…Psychological factors such as lack of social presence, research self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation, coupled with a sense of isolation, can hinder or, if remedied, support doctoral students. There is no lack of research indicating the importance of psychological factors such as social presence (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997;Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976), research self-efficacy (Coryell & Murray, 2014;Wei, Barnard-Brak, & Wang, 2015), isolation (Golde & Dore, 2001;Hawlery, 2003;Lovitts, 2001), and intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000;Gardner, 2010). Thus, academic knowledge is not the only indicator of doctoral success; psychological factors can also propel doctoral students to complete a doctoral degree.…”