Participation as a form of socialization: how a research team can support PhD students in their academic path

Abstract

The education of doctoral students is rarely studied as it unfolds in real settings of everyday academic life. This contribution is based on an ethnography that aims to understand how PhD students’ socialization is accomplished in the daily life of a specific academic research team and which practices can be particularly relevant for supporting this process. Situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger 1989) and the concept of PhD students’ socialization by Golde (1998) serve as theoretical background. Findings underline the importance of the type of team leadership, of the role of peers, and of full and active participation to the life of the team