‘Tough love and tears’: learning doctoral writing in the sciences

Aitchison, Claire; Catterall, Janice; Ross, Philip E.; Burgin, Shelley

doi:10.1080/07294360.2011.559195

Cited by 152 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The widespread recognition among students of their need to manage both body and mind was most likely due to the emotional highs and lows associated with doctoral training (Aitchison, Catterall, Ross, & Burgin, 2012;Hunter & Devine, 2016). As one student stated:…”

Section: Figure 5 Participant 117 Photo Of Dancers' Legsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focusing the Lens to Share the Story: Using Photographs and Interviews to Explore Doctoral Students’ Sense of Well-being

Benjamin

Williams

2017

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: This study explores PhD students’ transition into graduate school, which can be a challenging experience for many. Background: Using photographs and in-depth interviews, this study provides nuanced insight into influences on first-year PhD students’ lived experiences, with a specific focus on these students’ perceptions of doctoral student well-being. Methodology: Twenty-nine first-year biomedical science PhD students from 15 research institutions were asked to take photographs (Participant Produced Images) to illuminate significant influences on their research skill acquisition. The participant-produced photographs were discussed within in-depth phone interviews allowing for a deeper understanding of their lived experiences. Contribution: While students were asked to identify factors influencing their research skill acquisition, unexpectedly, what emerged from these data was students’ clear focus on their concern for their physical and mental well-being. The researchers posit that students’ ability to create a “work-life balance” is the foundation of doctoral student success, especially in the early years of doctoral training. Findings: Findings suggest that it is essential to create a PhD culture in which students feel valued, supported, and nourished, both physically and mentally, for them to develop into successful researchers, teachers, and mentors. Recommendations for Practitioners: Findings suggest that doctoral programs must support a more collaborative work environment for students and help novice students create a work life balance, perhaps by encouraging them to pursue stimulating or fun activities outside their school environment. It is imperative for doctoral students to be confident during their doctoral studies, as a lack of confidence tends to breathe life into poor work habits that stymie well-being and happiness. Recommendation for Researchers: If doctoral programs support a culture that facilitates student well-being, those programs will likely produce happier researchers and teachers who see scholarship and learning as fun. This positive mindset is likely to cascade down within their learning environments and foster positive and productive scholarship and instruction. This mindset and paradigm shift will set a significant precedence for future doctoral learners. Impact on Society: This study encourages and advances timely and “actionable” dialogue around how to better support doctoral students’ sense of well-being, especially in science disciplines. Future Research: Given study results, exploring mental health and well-being issues with faculty can help elevate mental health awareness in academia.

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Section: Figure 5 Participant 117 Photo Of Dancers' Legsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focusing the Lens to Share the Story: Using Photographs and Interviews to Explore Doctoral Students’ Sense of Well-being

Benjamin

Williams

2017

IJDS

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“…Five years ago the Programme Committee minuted the perception that the students' writing of assignments in English requires attention. This perception is related to a broader set of challenges facing postgraduate education, which is receiving much attention in South Africa of late (see for example Fataar 2012) and internationally (see Aitchison et al 2012, andMcAlpine et al 2012). This attention is due to a variety of trends: the pressure to increase numbers of postgraduate students, and the transition to postgraduate study that students experience.…”

Section: Research Setting: Postgraduate Health Science Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attention to Student Writing in Postgraduate Health Science Education: Whose Task is It – or Rather, How?

Leibowitz

2013

JOAW

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This article reports on an action research study designed to stimulate the metacognitive awareness of the writing of assignments in English of a group of students from diverse language and educational backgrounds, studying health science education at masters level. In the study, students were required to give and receive feedback on a marked written assignment to a peer, and receive feedback from a consultant working at the Writing Lab. They were then required to submit a reflective report, which constitutes the key data source for this study. An analysis of the reflective reports revealed that the students claimed that they learnt about their writing habits, about good academic writing, and about the experience of giving and receiving feedback. The study suggests that although an intervention making extensive use of a variety of sources of feedback appears to be able to stimulate students' metacognitive functioning in relation to their writing of assignments, a number of issues require concerted attention. These issues include: power relations and emotion, perceptions of legitimate authority, and the central role of the lecturer as disciplinary expert and guide. The article concludes with a recommendation for enhanced attention to intersubjective relations of power, language and identity in relation to feedback on writing, especially when peer feedback is involved.

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“…The studies in a second category of doctoral education knowledge have less of a pathologising focus and are more concerned with understanding the emotional subjectivities of higher education's inhabitants (Aitchison et al, 2012). For example, A.…”

Section: Exploring Doctoral Emotion Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Herman, 2008) and Global North (e.g., Aitchison & Mowbray, 2013;Aitchison, Catterall, Ross, & Burgin, 2012;Bosanquet & Cahir, 2015;Cameron, Nairn & Higgins, 2009;Cotterall, 2013;A. Lee & Williams, 1999;K.…”

Section: Exploring Doctoral Emotion Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptualising Doctoral Writing as an Affective-political Practice

Burford

2017

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: This article offers a conceptual summary and critique of existing literature on doctoral writing and emotion. The article seeks to intervene in current debates about doctoral writing by re-positioning it as an affective-political practice Background: Over recent decades public interest in the doctorate has expanded as it has become re-framed as a key component of national success in the global knowledge economy. It is within this context that the practice of doctoral writing has crystallised as an object of interest. While researchers have examined the increased regulation, surveillance, and intensification of doctoral writing, often this work is motivated to develop pedagogies that support students to meet these new expectations. At this point, there has been limited attention to what broad changes to the meanings and practices of doctoral writing feel like for students. Methodology: The paper offers a conceptual review that examines the ways in which doctoral writing tends to be understood. A review of literature in the areas of doctoral writing, doctoral emotion, and critical studies of academic labour was undertaken in order to produce a more comprehensive understanding of the political and emotional dynamics of doctoral writing. Contribution: It is intended that this conceptual research paper help researchers attend to the emotional context of doctoral writing in the current university context. Critical studies of academic work and life are identified as a possible platform for the development of future doctoral education research, and the conceptual tool of “affective-politics” is advanced as a novel frame for approaching doctoral writing research.

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‘Tough love and tears’: learning doctoral writing in the sciences

Cited by 152 publications

References 15 publications

Focusing the Lens to Share the Story: Using Photographs and Interviews to Explore Doctoral Students’ Sense of Well-being

Focusing the Lens to Share the Story: Using Photographs and Interviews to Explore Doctoral Students’ Sense of Well-being

Attention to Student Writing in Postgraduate Health Science Education: Whose Task is It – or Rather, How?

Conceptualising Doctoral Writing as an Affective-political Practice

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