Increasing numbers of postdoctoral scholars are pursuing diverse career paths that require broad skill sets to ensure success. However, most postdoctoral professional learning and development initiatives are designed for academic careers and rarely include professional skills needed to flourish in nonacademic settings. The purpose of this systematic review was to comprehensively examine and synthesize evidence of professional learning and development pertaining to postdoctoral scholars. The systematic search resulted in 7,571 citations, of which 162 full-text papers were reviewed and 28 studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in this review. This paper synthesizes and classifies studies exploring professional learning and development of postdoctoral scholars. The findings may be used to inform the objectives of professional learning and development initiatives for postdoctoral scholars and contribute to a more rigorous approach to studying professional learning and development.

Purpose Postdoctoral scholars are increasingly pursuing diverse career paths requiring broad skill sets. This study aims to create a more comprehensive understanding of current approaches and strategies for postdoctoral scholars professional learning and development. Design/methodology/approach This literature review is a systematic examination and synthesis of the current literature describing professional learning and development pertaining to postdoctoral scholars. The objectives and components of initiatives were extracted and narratively synthesized to identity important patterns and themes across the literature. Findings Commonalities amongst professional learning and development initiatives for postdoctoral scholars included skills development in the following areas: teaching and learning, mentorship, academic careers, academic writing, industry careers, networking, career planning, project management, time management, communication, leadership and balancing work-life demands. Originality/value In synthesizing the literature that describes professional learning and development opportunities for postdoctoral scholars, it is apparent that opportunities look different in every setting with no empirical evidence that one strategy is more effective than another. Given the significant resources often required to support professional learning and development initiatives, a deeper understanding of the benefits and deficiencies of various components is needed to ensure scarce resources are invested in the most effective strategies.

Postdoctoral scholars pursue diverse career paths requiring broad skill sets; however, little is known about postdoctoral scholars’ perspectives about their professional learning, and development needs. The objective of this mixed-methods study was to identify current professional learning and development opportunities used by postdoctoral scholars to obtain the required broad skills sets of value for a changing career landscape. A concurrent mixed-methods design was utilized including a cross sectional survey and qualitative interviews. Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis; quantitative and qualitative findings were then triangulated for convergent themes. Key findings indicate that although postdoctoral scholars engage in a variety of professional learning, the perceived usefulness of these sessions varies widely, and the types of professional learning and development that they engage in, may not best support the realities of their future careers. Given the significant resources often required to support professional learning and development initiatives, a deeper understanding and alignment of postdoctoral scholars needs with provided opportunities may help to ensure scarce resources are invested in the most useful and effective strategies.

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