A Study of the Motives of Doctoral Students

Wiegerová, Adriana

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.02.043

Cited by 11 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Motivation refers to the reason people undertake the things they do, the process of eliciting behaviours that achieve certain objectives or a set of factors that influence behaviour or decisions (Deci & Ryan, 2000;Eccles and Wigfield 2002;Wiegerova, 2016, Zhou, 2015. Deci and Ryan (2000) theorise that people can be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extrinsically motivated students might be interested in furthering their teaching or research careers and increasing their job and physical mobility to fit among their peers or gain social status. http://dx.doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v38i1.9 motivation and Phd students' success To explain choice, persistence and success in PhD studies, scholars have investigated push and pull forces (Brailsford, 2010;Wao & Onwuegbuzie, 2011;Wiegerova, 2016). Motivation is especially important in predicting success in PhD studies, due to their nature.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Kenyan Doctoral Students’ Success: Roles of Motivation and Self-Efficacy

Matheka¹,

Jansen

Hofman

2020

PiE

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Doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree holders are highly regarded in Kenya, especially in academia, and the Kenyan economy needs them to undertake administrative, research and innovation roles in academia and industry. However, attaining this qualification is arduous and Kenyan PhD programmes are characterised by low enrolment numbers, long degree completion times and low graduation rates. In other countries, PhD students' success has been linked to motivation and self-efficacy. This cross-sectional study explores the extents to which motivation and self-efficacy relate to PhD student success in Kenya and to which this relationship differs across background and programme characteristics. Using multiple linear regression, the authors analyse data from an online questionnaire administered to 628 PhD students enrolled between 2010 and 2018. The findings indicate that extrinsic motivation does not predict PhD students' pace. Intrinsic motivation positively predicts students' pace in the Medical Sciences programme cluster and for those aged 51 years or older. Self-efficacy negatively predicts students' pace in the Medical Sciences programme cluster.

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Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kenyan Doctoral Students’ Success: Roles of Motivation and Self-Efficacy

Matheka¹,

Jansen

Hofman

2020

PiE

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“…The doctoral period could affect career intentions as a situational characteristic. Doctoral students start their qualification predominantly out of intrinsic motivation, such as the interest in scientific work or an academic career, among other factors (Brailsford, 2010;Grotheer et al, 2012;Wiegerová, 2016). This could explain a higher proportion of people striving for a scientific career in the early phase of their doctorate.…”

Section: Changes In Ecrs' Career Intentions In Th E Course Of Academic Qualificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that doctoral candidates predominantly start their qualification for intrinsic reasons, such as the interest in scientific work or an academic career (Brailsford, 2010;Grotheer et al, 2012;Wiegerová, 2016), the present study seeks to investigate possible changes in ECRs' career intentions in the course of academic qualification at a large German university. Moreover, I aim to identify factors that promote the stability of research career intentions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Keeps Them Interested? Influences on the Stability of Research Career Intentions in the Course of Academic Qualification

Forbrig

2020

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: While scientists play a crucial role within modern knowledge societies, the attractiveness of scientific careers in Germany is moderate due to career uncertainty and the limited perspectives of long-term retention in academia. This study identifies (intra-individual) changes in the career intentions of early career researchers. Furthermore, supporting factors for the stability of research career intentions are shown. Background: Recent studies investigated early career researchers’ career intentions and predictors for their development in cross-section. These studies determine influences of individual factors, such as interests or self-efficacy beliefs, and organizational aspects like working and doctoral training conditions. By contrast, there is little knowledge about intra-individual changes in career intentions in the course of academic qualification. Methodology: Longitudinal data of 101 research associates at a German university were collected via survey questionnaires in 2016 and 2018. Descriptive analysis was used to investigate changes in career intentions in consideration of doctoral phases. Logistic regression was applied to predict the stability of research career intentions over time. Contribution: So far, research investigated the career intentions of early career researchers in Germany solely in cross-section. The present paper contributes in two ways. Firstly, intra-individual changes in career intentions are identified from a longitudinal perspective. Secondly, the stability of research career intentions is explained, considering various individual and contextual factors based on the Social Cognitive Model of Career Choice. Findings: Descriptive analyses illustrate the tendency of declining interest in scientific careers in the course of academic qualification. The stability of research career intentions is predicted by changes in attractiveness ratings of a professorship and subjective assessments of research abilities relative to peers. Changes in academic self-efficacy beliefs have no significant effect. Recommendations for Practitioners: Firstly, the attraction of and the path to a professorship must be structurally strengthened. Secondly, early career researchers should be supported in developing realistic assessments of their subjective research skills relative to peers. Mentoring in addition to academic supervision, mental support, or opportunities for peer counseling are expected to be valuable offers. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers seeking to explain the career intentions of early career researchers should be aware of their changeability. Hence, they should be investigated in extended longitudinal studies. Furthermore, impostor feelings as influencing factors on career intentions need further research. Impact on Society: Research and knowledge are the basis for innovation and progress. In today’s knowledge society, research is in direct competition with both other countries and the private sector. In order to attract the “brightest minds” for academia, universities and research institutes must gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing the stability of research career intentions. Future Research: Future research should focus on specific instruments of promoting early career researchers and how they affect the development of realistic assessments of individual research skills. Moreover, international ECRs should be explicitly considered since a researchers’ visa status potentially affects career prospects and individual career intentions.

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“…Internal or intrinsic motivation is related to personal interests and goals with regard to doctoral studies and research, the impact of previous research experience, and the prospects for career development. External motivation comes from encouragement by friends and family, including peers, lecturers and supervisors (Guerin et al, 2015; Wiegerová, 2017)…”

Section: Using the Hermeneutical Cycle To Explore The Mentoring Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Mentoring PhD students working in industry: Using hermeneutics as a critical approach to the experience

Vauterin¹,

Virkki-Hatakka

2020

Industry and Higher Education

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While there is abundant research looking at the impact of mentoring in academic environments, inquiry into and the construction of knowledge from the experience of mentors has remained limited. This is mainly because of the methodological difficulty that is inherent in the study of mentoring experiences. The authors address this difficulty by using hermeneutics as a research method, and developing a learning framework based on the Laurillard conversational framework to reflect on a mentor’s journey throughout her experience of mentoring a group of PhD students working in industry. From this we learn that mentoring working PhDs is a common goal focused learning partnership between all actors involved. This partnership is defined by the actors and the forms of interaction within the partnership, and is enabled by the mentor’s availability and capabilities. The paper also demonstrates how hermeneutics can be used as a robust research method to study the many subjective meanings of professional mentoring – meanings that are challenging to translate into transferable knowledge for ourselves and others to learn from. In particular, the authors wish to encourage colleagues and readers to use hermeneutics as a critical approach to explore complex, human-made academic–industrial collaborative mentoring practices from different perspectives and to produce a new understanding of the potential of alternative academic–industrial collaboration links.

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A Study of the Motives of Doctoral Students

Cited by 11 publications

References 4 publications

Kenyan Doctoral Students’ Success: Roles of Motivation and Self-Efficacy

Kenyan Doctoral Students’ Success: Roles of Motivation and Self-Efficacy

What Keeps Them Interested? Influences on the Stability of Research Career Intentions in the Course of Academic Qualification

Mentoring PhD students working in industry: Using hermeneutics as a critical approach to the experience

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