Factors affecting international doctoral students' academic engagement, satisfaction with their studies, and dropping out

Abstract

Purpose -This article's purpose is to report the findings and implications of a study that explored factors promoting and hindering international doctoral students' academic engagement. Design/methodology/approach -An empirical study sought data through a questionnaire from international students registered for doctoral study at the University of Helsinki. Open-ended and Likert-scale survey data were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. Findings -The students commented most frequently (41 per cent) on the scholarly community as a factor in promoting their studies. Departmental issues had the largest proportion of hindering factors overall (34 per cent). Promoting factors related to the supervision they received and private domain factors were positively related to students' satisfaction with their studies. Considering dropping out was significantly associated with hindering factors related to their supervision and to departmental issues. Also, peers and colleagues were not significantly associated with students' satisfaction with their studies or with their contemplating dropping out. Practical implications -The article addresses key issues that will be of interest and benefit to universities who wish to retain and attract overseas research students. In particular, it discusses the importance of wider scholarly communities in providing international doctoral students with a favourable study experience which may be enhanced by performing departmental tasks as an important part of enculturation within supportive scholarly communities. Originality/value -This paper offers a novel way of understanding early career researcher development, as illustrated by doctoral students' academic experiences. It also taps into the underexamined area of international doctoral students' study experiences.

Sources of stress and scholarly identity: the case of international doctoral students of education in Finland

“…The desire to become a skilled scholar, time investment and positioning oneself as a doctoral student in relation to the local academic context were informed by participants' professional orientations, motivations, and self-monitoring. This supports the finding that emotional aspects, like self-discipline, motivation, and interest, promote, rather than hinder, international doctoral students' studies (Sakurai et al 2012). Contrary to Pyhältö et al (2012b), who identified motivation and selfregulation in doctoral students as problems in general work processes that are rather difficult to solve, the findings of the present study suggest that international doctoral students in Education were very determined, and the positive outlook on stress as a motivator helped orient themselves in terms of learning, role, interests.…”

“…The way participants understood themselves as professional subjects (Eteläpelto et al 2014) drew on professional aspirations and interests (Cotterall 2015) and used internal resources (Anderson 2017;Evans and Stevenson 2010;Pyhältö et al 2012b) helped regard stress as a motivational force in their studies. International doctoral students' high motivation, at least initially, has been seen in their proactive involvement in study abroad (Sakurai et al 2012;Zhao et al 2005), while active strategies on the part of doctoral students have been associated with reduced burn-out risk (Stubb et al 2012). Despite the optimistic view of stress participants seemed to share, the choice for it to be treated as a constructive element indicates the need to foster international doctoral students' persistence in the long run.…”

“…Practical aspects of doing research and financial and occupational insecurity were found to affect scholarly identity (see also Ortlieb and Weis 2018). While higher education in Finland is not subject to tuition, IDS have frequently reported problems with finances and lack of research funding, among other departmental issues, as a hindering factor to their studies (Pyhältö et al 2012b;Sakurai et al 2012). Financial support affects doctoral students' retention, persistence, and timely completion of their doctoral degree (Ehrenberg et al 2007;Zhou and Okahana 2019).…”

Searching for ‘a third space’: a creative pathway towards international PhD students’ academic acculturation

“…Needless to say, the doctoral study is a demanding, even nervewracking journey (Gardner, 2007;Walsh, 2010). At times, the attrition rate for doctoral students is a cause for concern demanding further attention (Sakurai, et al, 2012;Trafford & Leshem, 2009;Wright, 2003).…”

“…This existing dichotomy helps explain the reasoning behind the challenges related to linguistic and cultural adjustment and also for the reported sense of isolation, strangeness, loneliness, 'foreignness' and alienation customarily experienced by international students (Fischbacher-Smith et al, 2015;Fotovatian, 2012;He, 2002;Sakurai, Pyhältö, & Lindblom-Ylänne, 2012;Smith & Khawaja, 2011;Walsh, 2010). As a case in point, Sawir and her colleagues (2008, p. 148) undertook a major study of international student security and reported different facets of loneliness: personal, social and cultural.…”