Editorial - Academic Practice - how is it changing?

This special issue grew out of a Government-funded initiative in the UK, the formation of a number of five-year Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. One of these, focused on Preparation for Academic Practice, is directed at better understanding and supporting the development of doctoral students and contract research staff for academic careers . This Centre, located at the University of Oxford, held its first conference in April 2007, and this special issue consists of papers contributed by conference participants

Miks kasutada narratiivi? Lugu narratiivist

Narrative is one of many qualitative methodologies that can be brought to bear in collecting and analysing data and reporting results, though it is not as frequently used as say in case studies. This article provides a window into its use, from the perspective of a researcher who has used it consistently over the past decade to examine early career researcher experience – doctoral students, and those who have completed their degrees and are advancing their careers. This experience has contributed to a robust understanding of the potential of narrative, as well as its limitations. This paper first lays out the broad landscape of narrative research and then makes transparent the thinking, processes and procedures involved in the ten-year narrative study including the potential for creativity that narrative invites. The goal is to engage other researchers to consider exploring the use of narrative – if it aligns with their epistemological stance

Doctoral student experience in Education:Activities and difficulties influencing identity development

This paper explores variation in the events or activities Education doctoral students describe as contributing to their feeling of being an academic or belonging to an academic community as well as difficulties they experience. The results (drawing principally on students in a Canadian research-intensive university though with some in a UK university) demonstrate a rich variation in multiple formative activities that are experienced as contributing to a developing identity as an academic, with many lying outside formal and semi-formal aspects of the doctorate. Yet, at the same time students report tensions in the very sorts of activities they often find significant and positive in the development of their identity. We see this analysis as offering much-needed insights into the formative role of cumulative day-to-day activities in the development of academic identity

Mostly True Confessions: Joint Meaning-Making about the Thesis Journey

The thesis supervisory role is perhaps the most prominent, yet least understood, of a faculty member's teaching responsibilities. We retrospectively explore the doctoral supervisory experiences of a doctoral student and her thesis supervisor through the process of co-constructing a personal narrative of the journey. Our story addresses several assumptions of the thesis process: the dissertation is an original piece of research by the student; the supervisors in an arms-length relationship because the thesis is the intellectual property of the student; the supervisor and committee are experts while the student is a novice being introduced into the culture; the thesis process is the same regardless of the program and the goals of student and supervisor. We invite others to join our conversation by sharing stories of their experiences. By accumulating knowledge in an under-researched area, it is possible that higher education can improve its record of successfully completed doctoral dissertations.La direction de thèse est peut-être la fonction la plus importante et la moins bien comprise des membres du personnel enseignant. Cet article examine rétrospectivement les expériences vécues par une étudiante de doctorat et son directeur de thèse par le biais de la reconstitution conjointe d'un récit personnel décrivant ce cheminement. Ce récit soulève plusieurs hypothèses quant au processus de préparation de la thèse: la thèse est un travail de recherche original de l'étudiant; la relation avec le directeur de thèse est fondée sur le principe d'autonomie, car la thèse est la propriété intellectuelle de l'étudiant; le directeur de thèse et le comité font figure d'experts, tandis que l'étudiant est un novice que l'on initie à la culture; le processus de préparation de la thèse est le même quel que soit le programme et les objectifs de l'étudiant et du directeur. Nous invitons les intéressés à se joindre au débat en nous faisant part de leurs expériences. L'avancement des connaissances dans ce domaine négligé par les chercheurs pourrait permettre d'accroître le nombre de thèses de doctorat menées à bien par les candidats

Schooling as a Vehicle for Aboriginal Language Maintenance: Implementing Cree as the Language of Instruction in Northern Quebec

(Cree translation by Ethel Blackned) Aboriginal languages in Canada are at risk. Aboriginal communities that control their own schools often perceive schooling as a means of halting the erosion of language and restor- ing the viability of their culture. This is the story of such a process. The James Bay Cree live in nine communities, mostly along the east coast of James Bay. In December 1988, the Cree School Board commissioners decided to introduce a program of Cree as the lan- guage of instruction in elementary schools. We describe the development of the project (now in the initial stage of implementation) and analyze its strengths and weaknesses. Al- though this program’s ultimate impact on the preservation of Cree language (and culture) cannot yet be known, it is clear that the community plays an important role in creating and sustaining the motivation for the change. Les langues autochtones au Canada sont en péril. Les communautés autochtones qui gèrent leurs propres écoles voient dans celles-ci un moyen de mettre fin à l’érosion de leur langue et de restaurer la viabilité de leur culture. L’article illustre ce processus. Les Cris de la Baie James vivent dans neuf villages situés pour la plupart le long de la côte est de la Baie James. En décembre 1988, les commissaires de la Commission scolaire crie ont décidé de mettre en oeuvre un programme axé sur le cri comme langue d’enseigne- ment dans les écoles primaires. Les auteures décrivent le processus d’élaboration de ce projet (actuellement à la phase initiale de son implantation) et analysent ses forces et ses faiblesses. Bien que l’impact final de ce programme du point de vue de la préservation de la langue et de la culture cries ne soit pas encore connu, il est clair que la communauté joue un rôle important dans la volonté de créer et de maintenir ce changement.

Trends influencing researcher education and careers: What do we know, need to know and do in looking forward?

Over the past twenty years, there has been a growing international focus on doctoral education. While this investment has definitely advanced our knowledge, we argue the need to expand our conceptualization of the preparation of researchers to include individuals with up to 10 years’ experience in universities and beyond. Such early career researchers (ECRs) find themselves caught up in changes brought about by national and international policies and strategies, e.g., reduced public funding of universities, changes in funding council policies, more quality assurance, etc. These issues led to the creation of EARLI SIG 24, Researcher Education and Careers, and this special issue brings together the outcome of our first scholarly discussion at the SIG 24 inaugural meeting in September 2014 in Barcelona. It consists of five co-authored papers that address multiple levels and issues of researcher education: establishing the multifaceted phenomenon researcher education and careers is and providing key concepts that others might take up, e.g., informal/invisible curriculum; the personal as a sphere of activity that may collide with the sphere of work; drivers of education that can provide cross-national points of comparison. Further, by identifying gaps in the literature, these papers together lay out an ambitious research agenda in a number of areas related to researcher education. In the process, they provide an extensive list of references well worth exploring since they represent the knowledge networks of over thirty researchers. 

What influences PhD graduate trajectories during the degree : a research-based policy agenda

During the past two decades, PhD graduate numbers have increased dramatically with graduates viewed by governments as a means to advance the knowledge economy and international competitiveness. Concurrently, universities have also invested in policies to monitor satisfaction, retention, and timely completion-and researchers have expanded the study of PhD experience. We, as such researchers, have increasingly received invitations from university decision-makers to present research evidence which might guide their doctoral programs. Their interest provoked us to do a qualitative systematized review of research on doctoral experience-seeking evidence of practices that influenced retention, satisfaction, and completion. The result contributes a synthesis of the critical research evidence that could be used to inform doctoral education policy. We also demonstrate the possibilities of such evidence by suggesting some potential recommendations, while recognizing that there is no direct relationship between research results and their transformation into particular institutional contexts in ways that enhance doctoral experience. We hope our initiative will be taken up and extended by other researchers, particularly the research gaps we note, so we can collectively support the use of research evidence to influence both doctoral policies and practices-with the goal to better prepare PhD researchers for their futures and better support their supervisors.Peer reviewe

CONCEPTUALISING THE PHD AS PREPARING FOR ACADEMIC PRACTICE IN GEOGRAPHY

Abstract This paper situates the geography PhD within the broader context of doctoral education. It addresses questions relating to the PhD as preparation for future academic work. Theoretical and practical ideas are woven through a discussion of the work of the Centre for Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice, at the University of Oxford (UK). The Centre initiated wide-ranging reforms and has had lasting impacts, with a philosophy of remaining sensitive to disciplinary context. The paper argues that Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is a useful lens for understanding challenges in contemporary doctoral education, and responses to them. Key concepts are outlined, and a worked example provided, drawing from the Centre's work. Connections are made with relevant initiatives specific to geography

How does social support contribute to engaging Post-PhD experience?

Social support from the supervisor and the researcher community has been identified as one of the determinants for successful completion of doctoral studies. Still surprisingly little is known about the function of social support for early career Post-PhD researchers. Even less is known about the individual variation in experienced social support among Post-PhD researchers. This study explores the function of social support in terms of experienced research engagement, burnout and abandonment intentions among Post-PhD researchers. Altogether, 282 Post-PhD researchers from UK and Spanish universities completed the survey. The cluster analysis was applied. Results show that the majority of participants experienced high levels of supervisory and researcher community support. Researchers representing an Adequate Support profile were less likely to experience burnout or to consider abandonment; they also experienced a higher degree of research engagement than their less fortunate counterparts. Further, Post-PhD researchers working in research groups were more likely to display the Adequate Support profile than those working primarily on their own. Strikingly, scientists were more likely than social scientists to be represented in the Reduced Support profile. Interestingly, there were no statistically significant differences between the UK and Spanish Post-PhD or female and male researchers in support profiles.Peer reviewe