‘You’re facing that machine but there’s a human being behind it’: students’ affective experiences on an online doctoral programme

Kennedy, Eileen; Gray, Morag

doi:10.1080/14681366.2016.1175498

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…Bolliger and Halupa (2012) report that online doctoral students experience a high level of anxiety for similar reasons-some students retain the anxiety and negative emotions throughout the programme. Kennedy and Gray (2016) also suggest community interactions as one of the key success factors in online doctoral study.…”

Section: Situating the Autoethnography In Published Literaturementioning

confidence: 95%

Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability in Online PhD Studies: The Self and a Community

Lee

2021

Online Postgraduate Education in a Postdigital World

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Section: Situating the Autoethnography In Published Literaturementioning

confidence: 95%

Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability in Online PhD Studies: The Self and a Community

Lee

2021

Online Postgraduate Education in a Postdigital World

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“…They are usually working professionals who must reconcile their studies with job and family responsibilities, thus having to juggle multiple roles and usually managing chronic time scarcity. Furthermore, many participants value joining a global community and the networking opportunities it entails (Kennedy & Gray, 2016), while ethnic minority students appreciate the "demographically blind" context (Berg, 2016) that erases perceptions of cultural differences and allows them to be just regular students (Natal et al, 2020).…”

Section: Analytical Theme 1: the Overall Online Phd Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intrinsic motivation in the form of self-direction, passion, and drive has a remarkable effect on students' persistence across studies, even outweighing external factors such as the characteristics of the program, the quality of the advisor's performance, or the students' work/life balance (Fiore et al, 2019;Ivankova & Stick, 2007). Emotion wise, Kennedy and Gray (2016) found that students felt the most positive about personal sense of progression and belonging to the community, while the absence of embodied communication, inflexible deadlines, and…”

Section: Analytical Theme 3: Personal Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Melián

Reyes

Meneses

2023

IRRODL

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The online doctoral population is growing steadily worldwide, yet its narratives have not been thoroughly reviewed so far. We conducted a systematic review summarizing online PhD students’ experiences. ERIC, WoS, Scopus, and PsycInfo databases were searched following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and limiting the results to peer-reviewed articles of the last 20 years, yielding 16 studies eligible. A thematic synthesis of the studies showed that online PhD students are generally satisfied with their programs, but isolation, juggling work and family roles, and financial pressures are the main obstacles. The supervisory relationship determines the quality of the experience, whereas a strong sense of community helps students get ahead. Personal factors such as motivation, personality, and skills modulate fit with the PhD. We conclude that pursuing a doctorate online is more isolating than face to face, and students might encounter additional challenges regarding the supervision process and study/life balance. Accordingly, this review might help faculty, program managers, and prospective students better understand online doctorates’ pressing concerns such as poor well-being and high dropout rates.

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“…Bolliger and Halupa (2012) discover that there is a significant negative correlation between student satisfaction and anxiety in online doctoral programmes; in particular, students who feel anxious at the beginning of their studies tend to retain a similar level of anxiety throughout the programme. Kennedy and Gray (2016) also report a complex interplay of three pedagogical and emotional factors (i.e., a sense of progression, community interaction, and assignment feedback) that influences students' experiences with doing a doctorate online.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Phenomenological Exploration of the Student Experience of Online PhD Studies

Lee

2020

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: This article investigates thirteen students’ lived experiences on an online PhD programme, aiming to develop a better understanding of the nature of doing a PhD online. Background: A large number of adult students with full-time professional roles and other social responsibilities have returned to universities to pursue their doctoral degree in order to advance their personal and professional lives. Online PhD programmes are now one of the viable choices for those who wish to combine their PhD study with other professional and personal roles. However, little has been known about students’ lived experiences of doing a PhD online, which are seemingly different from those of other doctoral students who are doing their studies in more conventional doctoral education settings. Methodology: The present qualitative study employs a phenomenological approach to develop an in-depth understanding of doctoral students’ lived experiences in doing their PhD studies online. The present study was conducted in an online PhD programme at a Department of Education in a research-intensive university based in the United Kingdom (UK). Thirteen students voluntarily participated in a semi-structured interview. The interview transcripts were analysed following Van Manen’s (2016) explanations for conducting a thematic analysis. Contribution: The paper presents seven themes that illustrate the essential nature of doing a PhD online, answering the two questions: (1)What are the lived experiences of online PhD students? and (2) What are the particular aspects of the programme that structure the experiences? Findings: The characteristics of online PhD studies are multifaceted, including different elements of PhD education, part-time education, and online education. Those aspects interact and create a unique mode of educational experiences. In a more specific sense, the journey of an online PhD – from the moment of choosing to do a PhD online to the moment of earning a PhD – is guided by multiple, often conflicting, aspects of different doctoral education models such as the professional doctorate, the research doctorate, and the taught doctorate. The present study demonstrates that experiential meanings of doing a PhD online are constructed by the dynamic interplay between the following six elements: PhDness, onlineness, part-timeness, cohortness, practice-orientedness, and independence. Throughout the long journey, students become better practitioners and more independent researchers, engaging in multiple scholarly activities. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is essential to understand the unique characteristics and experiences of PhD students who choose to pursue a PhD in online programmes. Based on the understanding, online doctoral educators can provide adequate academic supports suitable for this particular group. The study findings highlight the importance of supporting students’ adjustment to a new learning environment at the beginning of the programme and their transition from Part 1 to Part 2. Recommendation for Researchers: It is crucial to develop a separate set of narratives about online PhD education. Common assumptions drawn from our existing knowledge about more conventional doctoral education are not readily applicable in this newly emerging online education setting. Impact on Society: It is important for online PhD students and potential ones in the planning stage to better understand the nature of doing a PhD online. Given the growing popularity of doctoral education, our findings based on the reflective narratives of thirteen online PhD students in this paper can support their informed decision and successful learning experiences. Future Research: A comparative study can more closely examine similarities and differences among diverse models of doctoral education to capture the uniqueness of online PhD programmes. It is worthwhile to investigate students’ experiences in online PhD programmes in disciplines other than education. A more longitudinal approach to following an entire journey of PhD students can be useful to develop a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of an online PhD. Some critical questions about students’ scholarly identity that emerged from the present study remain unanswered. A follow-up phenomenological research can focus on the existential meanings of being a scholar to this group of students.

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‘You’re facing that machine but there’s a human being behind it’: students’ affective experiences on an online doctoral programme

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability in Online PhD Studies: The Self and a Community

Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability in Online PhD Studies: The Self and a Community

The Online PhD Experience: A Qualitative Systematic Review

A Phenomenological Exploration of the Student Experience of Online PhD Studies

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