By Design: How Departments Influence Graduate Student Agency in Career Advancement

O’Meara, KerryAnn; Jaeger, A.; Eliason, Jennifer; Grantham, Ashley; Cowdery, Kelly; Mitchall, Allison; Zhang, Kate Jingjing

doi:10.28945/2048

Cited by 63 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 688 publications

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“…Given most graduate education occurs in large universities and the primary organizational home for students will be their department, not the university, efforts should be made to help departments and colleges strengthen inclusion and support within academic programs (Jaeger et al, 2106;O'Meara et al, 2014). For example, departments can make efforts to support sense of belonging through creating community-oriented peer networks of students, transparent policies, and access to information about resources and opportunities (Jaeger et al, 2016;O'Meara et al, 2014).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is still important that she finds a space within her academic department and field where she feels supported and part of a community that sees her as belonging. This is why it is so important to integrate aspects of PROMISE into department structures of mentoring and graduate student support (Griffin et al, 2015;Jaeger et al, 2016;O'Meara et al, 2014;O'Meara, Knudsen, & Jones, 2013). Thus, those leading graduate education reform might invest in professional development for faculty and student leaders on strategies to enhance sense of belonging within graduate programs, even as they continue to foster networks and "homes away from home" for graduate students who find it harder to find sense of belonging navigating graduate education on their own.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much other research on graduate education also highlights the importance of professional networks and mentoring relationships with advisors. Professional interactions with colleagues in graduate departments have been found to shape graduate students' experiences and career advancement (Jaeger et al, 2016;O'Meara et al, 2014). Students' perceptions of networking within their graduate department are also positively connected to student success (Lovitts, 2001).…”

Section: Professional Network and Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sense of Belonging and Its Contributing Factors in Graduate Education

O’Meara

Griffin

Kuvaeva

et al. 2017

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The purpose of our study was to gain a better understanding of the factors that contribute to graduate student sense of belonging and gain insights into differences in sense of belonging for different groups of students. Background: Sense of belonging, or the feeling that a person is connected to and matters to others in an organization, has been found to influence college student retention and success. Literature on sense of belonging has, however, focused primarily on undergraduate students and little is known about graduate students’ sense of belonging. Methodology: We conducted an exploratory, cross-sectional survey study of graduate students at four public doctoral and comprehensive universities in Maryland, USA. All four institutions were participating in the NSF-funded PROMISE program, which strives to support the retention and academic success of women and underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students. A total of 1,533 graduate students from these four institutions completed the survey. To analyze our data, we used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test direct and indirect effects of multiple latent variables (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, STEM affiliation, critical mass of women, participation in the PROMISE program, sense of belonging) on each other. Contribution: Research found that sense of belonging influences graduate student retention and success. Thus, gaining a better understanding of the factors that influence graduate student sense of belonging can help improve retention and completion rates, an important issue as national seven-year completion rates have hovered around 44% in the United States. Completion rates have been even lower for women and URM students (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders) compared to White students, making sense of belonging an important topic to study for these populations. Findings: We found that professional relationships matter most to graduate student sense of belonging. Professional relationships influenced graduate student sense of belonging more than reported microaggressions and microaffirmations, though they also played a role. We also found differences based on students’ identity or group membership. Overall, microaffirmations played a bigger role in female graduate student sense of belonging and the eco-system of non-STEM programs seemed to have more facilitators of sense of belonging than the ecosystem of STEM programs. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that graduate programs think strategically about enhancing sense of belonging in ways appropriate to the distinct culture and nature of graduate education. For example, departments can make efforts to support sense of belonging through creating community-oriented peer networks of students, transparent policies, and access to information about resources and opportunities. Programs such as PROMISE can support the retention and success of women and URM graduate students, but aspects of these programs also need to be incorporated into graduate programs and departments. Impact on Society: Because graduate student sense of belonging has been found to impact stu-dents’ interest in careers in academia, fostering graduate student sense of be-longing could be a tool for improving pathways to the professoriate for groups that are typically underrepresented in academia such as women and racial or ethnic minorities. Increasing the number of women and URM faculty could, in turn, positively impact the support available to future URM students, which could positively influence future URM students’ sense of belonging. Future Research: Sense of belonging is an important area for future graduate education research and should be studied through survey research with a larger sample of U.S. students than the current study. Sense of belonging is relevant to graduate education worldwide. Future studies might explore graduate student sense of belonging in different national contexts and the role culture plays in shaping it. Moreover, changes in graduate student sense of belonging over the course of their program should be assessed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Professional Network and Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sense of Belonging and Its Contributing Factors in Graduate Education

O’Meara

Griffin

Kuvaeva

et al. 2017

IJDS

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such efforts may include cultivating internship opportunities or clinical experiences for students who intend to pursue nonacademic careers, such as those described by Miller, Todahl, Platt, Lambert-Shute, and Eppler (2010). This is another way in which faculty members' networks become important resources for supporting and educating doctoral students (O'Meara et al, 2014).…”

Section: Stage 3 Strategies For Faculty Membersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stage-Based Challenges and Strategies for Support in Doctoral Education: A Practical Guide for Students, Faculty Members, and Program Administrators

Pifer

Baker

2016

IJDS

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Studies of doctoral education have included an interest not only in processes, structures, and outcomes, but also in students' experiences. There are often useful recommendations for practice within individual examinations of the doctoral experience, yet there remains a need to strengthen the application of lessons from research to the behaviors of students and others engaged in the doctoral process. This paper is the first to synthesize research about doctoral education with the particular aim of informing practical strategies for multiple stakeholders.In this article, we summarize findings from a literature review of the scholarship about doctoral education from the past 15 years in a stage-based overview of the challenges of doctoral education. Our aim is to apply theory to practice through the systematic consideration of how research about doctoral education can best inform students and those who support them in the doctoral journey. We first present an overview of the major stages of doctoral education and related challenges identified in the research. We then consider key findings of that research to offer recommendations for doctoral students, faculty members, and administrators within and across stages.

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“…Specific aspects of the doctoral RTE that may influence RSE are outlined by Gelso (1993) and include faculty modeling behaviors, early research experiences, connecting research to practice, and others. Both discipline (e.g., O'Meara et al, 2014) and field of study are likely to be highly relevant when studying the experiences of doctoral students, necessitating specific research on how doctoral students in varying fields and disciplines develop RSE. Additionally, the literature on RSE is primarily quantitative, relying on surveys and scales to measure doctoral students' efficacy and research experiences, limiting the depth of the analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Road to Researcher: The Development of Research Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Scholars

Niehaus

Garcia

Reading

2018

JSPTE

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Aim/Purpose: Understanding how students develop a sense of efficacy as researchers can provide faculty members in higher education doctoral programs insight into how to be more effective teachers and mentors, necessitating discipline-specific research on how graduate programs are and can be fostering students’ research self-efficacy (RSE). Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore how doctoral programs and early research experiences contribute to the development of RSE in higher education scholars. Background: Participants identified elements of the formal and “hidden” curriculum that promoted and inhibited RSE development. Methodology: We employed multiple case study analysis of 17 individual early career scholars in higher education and student affairs. Contribution: Findings indicate that the development of RSE is complex, but that Bandura’s four main sources of efficacy are a useful way to understand the types of experiences that students are and should be having to promote RSE. Our findings also highlight the importance of the research training environment in RSE development. Findings: We found that the formal curriculum of participants’ doctoral programs – their research methods coursework and the process of writing their dissertations – were important facilitators of their RSE development. However, we also found that the “hidden curriculum” – the availability of extracurricular research opportunities, faculty and peer mentoring, and the overall research culture of the doctoral programs – were influential in participants’ development. Recommendations for Practitioners: Our findings point to a number of implications for higher education graduate programs seeking to improve students’ RSE. First, with regard to coursework, our findings point to the importance of recognizing the negative experiences students may bring with them to their doctoral programs, particularly related to quantitative methods, and of finding ways to help them see quantitative methods in different ways than they have before. Second, our findings suggest important implications for how faculty members as teachers, advisors, and men-tors can think about providing feedback. Finally, our findings suggest the importance of understanding the “hidden curriculum,” and how faculty members can influence students’ experiences outside of coursework and dissertations.

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By Design: How Departments Influence Graduate Student Agency in Career Advancement

Cited by 63 publications

References 688 publications

Sense of Belonging and Its Contributing Factors in Graduate Education

Sense of Belonging and Its Contributing Factors in Graduate Education

Stage-Based Challenges and Strategies for Support in Doctoral Education: A Practical Guide for Students, Faculty Members, and Program Administrators

Road to Researcher: The Development of Research Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Scholars

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