Push and pull: The influence of race/ethnicity on agency in doctoral student career advancement.

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

doi:10.1037/dhe0000018

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…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%

“…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%

“…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

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“…Research demonstrates that doctoral students of Color are generally less likely to choose an academic career (Gibbs et al, 2014;Golde & Dore, 2004) because of negative climates for these students (Austin, 2002), the inability to enact shared and community values in a faculty role (Haley et al, 2014), or the lack of positive doctoral socialization experiences provided by institutions and faculty advisors (Barnes & Austin, 2009). For students of Color, especially those with more collectivist orientations, value incongruence between the independence of faculty career activities and those of their home communities can divert faculty career intentions (Gibbs & Griffin, 2013;Haley et al, 2014;Jaeger et al, 2016;Levin et al, 2013).…”

Section: Career Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, students may be deterred from a faculty career if they do not have a positive sense of belonging or interactions with their academic field or discipline (Ali & Kohun, 2006;Curtin et al, 2016;Etmanski, 2019;Fisher et al, 2019;Margolis & Romero, 1998;O'Meara et al, 2017). What does seem to have the most consistent influence on students' pursuit of a faculty career is the mentorship and advising they receive from a faculty mentor (Davidson & Foster-Johnson, 2001;Griffin et al, 2018;Jaeger et al, 2016;Margolis & Romero, 2001;Millett & Nettles, 2006;Posselt, 2018). States 2005(National Research Council, 2010.…”

Section: Career Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Socialization for Teaching: Factors Related to Teaching Career Aspirations for Doctoral Students of Color

Kim

Morton

DeMonbrun

2021

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: The purpose of our study was to gain a better understanding of the socialization factors that contribute to the aspirations of doctoral students of Color to pursue teaching careers. Background: Internationally, there has been a renewed call to diversify the professoriate. While the literature often examines early pathway issues and hiring bias, one efficient solution is to continue encouraging the socialization of those doctoral students of Color already interested in pursuing a teaching career. Methodology: We used a sample of 2,717 doctoral candidates of Color from over 221 doctoral-granting institutions in the USA who completed a survey about their graduate experiences. The sample of participants indicated they aspired to a teaching career at the beginning of their doctoral study, yet not all were interested in the same career choice by the end. To analyze our data we used Logistic Regression Modeling (LOGIT) to test which socialization factors (i.e., anticipatory, formal, informal, and personal) contribute to teaching career aspirations. Contribution: We found that factors associated with anticipatory and personal socialization contributed greatest to the continued aspiration of being a teaching faculty member, along with teaching experience. These results are somewhat different than previous literature and practice that places a greater emphasis on formal and informal socialization experiences as contributing to a future teaching faculty career. Findings: Anticipatory (publishing before the start of a PhD program), formal (teaching experience), and personal socialization (sense of belonging) were most related to aspirations to pursue a teaching faculty career, while more factors more traditional in the literature (e.g., relationship with advisor, career and research support, etc.) were not significantly correlated with the desire to pursue a teaching faculty career. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that faculty advisors, graduate education administrators, and academic leaders pay close attention to the personal and social development of doctoral students of Color in order to sustain their interest in teaching in higher education. In addition, it is important for academic leaders to recognize doctoral socialization begins before a student enters a PhD program, so more attention should be given to the opportunities for undergraduate students of Color to learn about the academy through research and publication. Recommendation for Researchers: Doctoral socialization as a topic of study has continued to be of interest to scholars, but there are more quantitative and mixed-method scholarship that could be used to influence academic leaders and policymakers. In addition, scholars should continue to complicate and refine graduate socialization theory in order to understand and represent racially diverse populations. Impact on Society: Multiple interventions will be needed in order to increase the amount of faculty of Color in the professoriate but improving pre-PhD experiences and sense of belonging for doctoral students of Color could be a targeted policy intervention for academic leaders. As researchers and practitioners in the field are looking for ways to better support doctoral students of Color, a nuanced understanding of developmental needs is essential not only for graduation but for intended career aspiration. Future Research: With these findings, we offer opportunities for future research to further our understanding of socialization for doctoral students of Color. Future studies should include more robust measures of socialization factors along with longitudinal research designs in order to understand the temporal developmental needs for students of Color along multiple pathways to the professoriate.

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