Challenges and Strategies in Social Work and Social Welfare PhD Education: Helping Candidates Jump Through the Dissertation Hoops

Berger, Roni

doi:10.1080/08841233.2014.973548

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Doctoral students may experience several types of mentoring in their program. For example, an academic advisor may oversee the completion of academic tasks as they progress through program requirements (Baker & Griffin, 2010), while, for many students in the dissertation phase, their committee chair manages all aspects of their research project (Berger, 2015). Lee (2008) functional, enculturation, critical thinking, emancipation, and relationship development.…”

Section: Mentorship For Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning Doctoral Students into Faculty in Gerontological Social Work: The AGESWExperience

Kusmaul

Wladkowski

Hageman

et al. 2019

Journal of Gerontological Social Work

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Developing faculty interested in aging may help social work meet the needs of our growing aging population. However, doctoral students need a variety of supports to complete PhDs and become gerontological social work faculty. This study explored one program's role in supporting the development of social work doctoral students to faculty in gerontology. An email invitation was sent to all former participants (2010-2016 cohorts) of the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW) Pre-Dissertation Fellows Program (PDFP). The 38-question online survey consisted of Likert-type scales, multiple answers, and one openended question per section about the program's impacts on their academic career development in teaching, research, mentoring, and support. Forty-five respondents, representing all six cohorts, completed the survey. More than half reported that the PDFP contributed to their ability to publish their research (64.4%, n=29), grow their professional network (86.7%, n=39, and teach (55.5%, n=25). Doctoral programs provided different experiences than the PDFP, including mentoring, methodological training, professional development, networking, and peer support. Results suggest the PDFP provides content recipients value that supplements instruction received in their institutions. The program's ability to connect students to each other and to national leaders enhances their career development and socialization into academic roles.

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Section: Mentorship For Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning Doctoral Students into Faculty in Gerontological Social Work: The AGESWExperience

Kusmaul

Wladkowski

Hageman

et al. 2019

Journal of Gerontological Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Interest in why and how doctoral students use social media for communication or to complete dissertations has not been a frequently researched topic. The limited body of research is in need of supplementation, and researchers propose that online social media communities need to be analyzed for why some students complete coursework but are not completing dissertations, despite the multiple resources that are available (Andrews, 2016;Berger, 2015;Hilscher, 2013;Kaufhold, 2017;Lindsay, 2015;Satariyan et al, 2015). Therefore, conducting an exploratory, qualitative content analysis research study to discover how and why doctoral students are reaching out on social media to enhance learning experiences is useful.…”

Section: What Educational Leaders Should Know About Social Media Colmentioning

confidence: 99%

What educational leaders should know about social media, collaboration and doctoral learning

Johnson

Roberts

Stout

et al. 2017

Research on Education and Media

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In a global society where knowledge, degrees, and credentials cross international borders, understanding what and how doctoral students think and communicate about learning is relevant to educational leadership. An implication could be in creating new solutions to the age-old problem of students completing coursework but not a dissertation, and therefore, not graduating. United States doctoral students are taking advantage of social media platforms to create, develop, or enhance Personal Learning Networks (PLN). A team of researchers using a qualitative research methodology studied both the views and experiences of nine doctoral students, who were members of a closed Facebook group created specifically as a PLN. The results of the research study confirmed that the students use social media for academic and personal communication, emotional support, and direction through the dissertation stage of doctoral studies. Thematic results concluded that the participants sought help with questions and answers about research, guidance on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process, and celebrating achievements. Trust was also a significant factor in ensuring the completion of dissertations. The results provide educational leaders useful information and insight into the impact of social media on teaching, research, culture, and learning environmental designs.

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“…In this regard, there has been a great stride made to increase throughput of PhD graduates in some faculties in South African universities. This is seen through the numerous supervisory workshops organized by the university research unit within different faculties to improve research skills Postgraduate qualifications are increasingly valued in the workplace as knowledge is regarded as a resource for organisations to gain a competitive advantage (Berger 2015) particularly in knowledge-driven economies (Department of Science and Technology (DST) 2008). This perception of intellectual capital currency has brought about credential inflation through the increase in students who enrol for postgraduate studies (Engebretson et al 2008).…”

Section: Background and Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for the faculty differentials in the production of PhD graduates in a South African university

Tanga

Kemi

Nkonki

et al. 2021

sajhe

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The ability of an institution to graduate students, also known as the throughput rate, is one of the most important means of an institution receiving a grant/ subsidy from the government. This article sought to interrogate the differentials in throughput rates of PhD graduates per faculty in a selected institution over a period of five years. Framed within the interpretive paradigm, a qualitative approach and a case study design were adopted. A non-probability purposive sample of 30 participants was selected the academic staff within the six faculties that make up the university under investigation. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically and using the constant comparison technique. The major findings pointed to differentials in PhD production across faculties as emanating from variations in supervision approaches as reflected in the recruitment and selection of candidates, students’ composition, allocation of supervision load, preparation and orientation of candidates, mentoring of both students and junior staff members, as well as monitoring and evaluation of students’ progress. The findings also revealed challenges like lack of financial support for students, poor structural set-up of some faculties as well as “positive” discrimination in some faculties. These factors constrained the throughput rates in different faculties differently, resulting to a difference in PhD graduate production. It is concluded that there are some quality concerns resulting from the poor processes and procedures as well as the number of graduates from some staff members. It is recommended that the university harmonise its diverse PhD processes and procedures, and enlarge some faculties by creating distinct departments to provide requisite support and interventions to narrow the differentials and improve quality.

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Challenges and Strategies in Social Work and Social Welfare PhD Education: Helping Candidates Jump Through the Dissertation Hoops

Cited by 11 publications

References 19 publications

Turning Doctoral Students into Faculty in Gerontological Social Work: The AGESWExperience

Turning Doctoral Students into Faculty in Gerontological Social Work: The AGESWExperience

What educational leaders should know about social media, collaboration and doctoral learning

Accounting for the faculty differentials in the production of PhD graduates in a South African university

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