scholarly journals Racism camouflaged as impostorism and the impact on black STEM doctoral students

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ebony O. McGee ◽  
Portia K. Botchway ◽  
Dara E. Naphan-Kingery ◽  
Amanda J. Brockman ◽  
Stacey Houston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
pp. 147332502097334
Author(s):  
Chinyere Y Eigege ◽  
Priscilla P Kennedy

This paper describes the reflections of two social work PhD students based on their personal and professional experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. The students describe their positionality and use that to expound on the impact of the pandemic on their lives. They reflect on the disruptions to their social work education and research priorities including transitioning to online learning and modifications to research agendas. They then discuss ongoing distractions such as worries about getting sick, mental health concerns, and financial constraints. They share their discoveries about glaring disparities in coronavirus infection and death rates, the need to adjust research agendas in response to current events, and the urgency for qualitative research strategies to add meaning to the numbers being reported. In addition, the authors describe shared experiences and intersections they discovered while writing this essay. Finally, recommendations for practice include recommitting to social work values to help surmount the ongoing waves of this pandemic; reimagining social work education so that disparities and injustice intersect with every subject taught and graduates become experts at leading social change; and harnessing the untapped potential of qualitative research to drive real, systemic change.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertrude Sachs ◽  
Terry Fisher ◽  
Joanna Cannon

Collaboration, Mentoring and Co-Teaching in Teacher EducationCollaboration at the university level is a fundamental element needed to enhance teaching (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2005) and reflection is a critical component of teacher education (Dewey, 1933, 1938). A case study is presented of one senior university faculty member's experiences co-teaching with two doctoral students seeking to understand the impact of shared decision-making and authentic collaboration on individuals entering the academy. An analysis of the authors' shared experiences indicated that, through this mentoring, collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships were built. An analysis of the authors' experiences also indicated that these collaborative relationships were built upon several key factors, specifically (a) a strong sense of individual accountability and professionalism; (b) the mutual creation and demonstration of respect; (c) affirmation and overt participation in reciprocal growth and development; (d) attention to issues of power and abeyance. The findings of the study highlight the need for further exploration into the role of mentorship of junior faculty and the efficacy of co-teaching processes in the development of professional identities of junior faculty entering the academy.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Miuccio ◽  
Ka-yuet Liu ◽  
Hakwan Lau ◽  
Megan A. K. Peters

AbstractTo get a faculty job, graduating doctoral students have to substantially outperform their peers, given the competitive nature of the academic job market. In an ideal, meritocratic world, factors such as prestige of degree-granting university ought not to play a substantial role. However, it has recently been reported that top-ranked universities produced about 2–6 times more faculty than did universities that were ranked lower (Clauset, Arbesman, and Larremore 2015), necessitating un-meritocratic factors: how could students from top-ranked universities be six times more productive than their peers from lower-ranked universities? Here we present a signal detection model to demonstrate that substantially higher rates of faculty production need not require substantially (and unrealistically) higher levels of student productivity. Instead, it is a high hiring threshold due to keen competition that causes small difference in average student productivity between universities to result in manifold differences in placement rates. Under this framework, the previously reported results are compatible with a purely meritocratic system. As a simple proof of concept, we examined the association between university ranking and the impact factors of students publications from a small selected sample of psychology departments in the U.S. The results are in agreement with our theoretical model. Whereas these results do not necessarily mean that the actual faculty hiring market is purely meritocratic, they highlight the difficulty in empirically demonstrating that it is not so.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Torkildson Perillo ◽  
Anthony Perillo ◽  
Nikoleta M Despodova ◽  
Margaret Bull Kovera

Objective: The present research examined whether concurrent expert testimony, or hot tubbing, is able to reduce adversarial allegiance compared to traditional adversarial expert testimony. Hypotheses: We expected concurrent experts would display less adversarial allegiance over the course of a mock criminal responsibility evaluation, with case opinions converging between prosecution and defense witnesses. We expected adversarial experts would display escalating adversarial allegiance with increasingly divergent case opinions and that court-appointed experts’ opinions would remain stable over the evaluation. We also expected concurrent expert witnesses would produce more balanced expert reports and testimony than would adversarial experts. Method: Clinicians and advanced clinical doctoral students (N = 103) completed criminal responsibility evaluation training before conducting a mock criminal responsibility evaluation for the prosecution, defense, or the court. Half of the partisan experts followed traditional adversarial procedures and half followed a concurrent testimony process. Participants provided case perceptions at three time points: after initial evidence review, after completing expert report(s), and after testifying. Case perceptions included a dichotomous responsibility judgment, strength of responsibility ratings, and a cognitive dissonance measure. Results: Concurrent testimony did not eliminate adversarial allegiance. For perceptions of responsibility, there was no significant difference between adversarial and concurrent experts (ηp2 = .001), nor any change in participants’ ratings over time (ηp2 = .03); however, prosecution experts – across testimony types – rated the defendant as significantly more responsible compared to defense experts (ηp2 = .80). Concurrent and adversarial experts did not differ in the information provided in their expert reports and minimally differed in testimony content.Conclusions: Partisan experts showed adversarial allegiance regardless of expert testimony method, and we observed no attenuation of this bias over the course of the evaluation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felice Levine ◽  
◽  
Na'ilah Suad Nasir ◽  
Cecilia Rios-Aguilar ◽  
Ryan Gildersleeve ◽  
...  

This joint report from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Spencer Foundation explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early career scholars and doctoral students in education research. The report presents findings and recommendations based on a focus group study held in May and June of 2020. The purpose of the study was to listen to and learn from the experiences of education researchers. The study included separate groups of scholars of color, women of color, and doctoral students of color, given that the COVID-19 crisis was highly racialized and having a disproportionate impact on communities of color. The aim of the report is to provide information that higher education institutions, agencies funding research, professional associations, and other research organizations can use to support the next generation of researchers and help buffer or contain adverse impacts to them. The report offers seven recommendations that could help to foster institutional and organizational responses to COVID-19 that are equitable and enriching. It is part of an ongoing initiative by AERA and Spencer to survey and assess the pressing needs of early career scholars and doctoral students at this pernicious time of a national pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-33
Author(s):  
Debra Bukko ◽  
Jaskaran Dhesi

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of COVID-19 on doctoral students’ personal, professional, and academic roles and factors contributing to their persistence during the pandemic.Research Methods: The researchers engaged in qualitative research at a California State University CPED-inspired Ed.D. program, using semi-structured interviews, document analysis and a focus group. Data were analyzed through the CPED mentoring and advising framework, transformative learning theory, and self-authorship theory.Results: Three themes emerged: a convergence of roles within home and virtual spaces, leading in a complex and uncertain time, and caring relationships encourage persistence.Implications: Participants experienced increased self-awareness and development of cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal dimensions of self. Relationships between cohort members and with faculty were integral to student persistence during a time of significant change and uncertainty. Recommendations for practice within Ed.D. programs and for future research are offered.


10.28945/4174 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 033-067
Author(s):  
Mohammed S Alkathiri ◽  
Myrna R Olson

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to investigate doctoral student preparation for the professoriate through a formal course entitled “The Professoriate.” Background: Many studies addressed the need for improved graduate preparation, however, the study of doctoral student experiences in preparation courses, designed as part of the doctoral academic programs, has received less attention. Methodology: Eleven doctoral students (one withdrew from the study) were enrolled in a formal course that was designed to prepare them for the professoriate. The study was conducted using an ethnographic case study approach with multiple data collection methods that included observation, interviews, member checking, and examination of related documents. Contribution: Acquainted with critical realist ontology, the researchers argued that it was necessary to investigate the concerns and preparation of doctoral students in order to better clarify the complex experiences that underlie their practices of making meaning and maintaining balance and well-being in the professoriate. Findings: Three prominent themes emerged that pointed out the experience of doctoral students with regard to their preparation for the professoriate: (1) Perceived concerns with regard to working in the professoriate; (2) Students’ preparatory practices and preparatory opportunities available to them; and (3) Students’ perspectives about “The Professoriate” course and its value. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings highlighted that educators in doctoral programs need to address and evaluate students’ concerns and preparatory activities in order to make adjustments for students that enhance their success in the program as well as in the professoriate in future. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings suggest further research into the formal preparatory opportunities available for students within doctoral programs and the barriers affecting students’ ability to participate in informal preparatory activities. Impact on Society: The findings supported the importance of providing formal preparatory courses as part of doctoral programs. Formal courses within doctoral programs allow students to devote their time for preparation which will help them to better understand the professoriate and plan for their careers. Future Research: Future research may continue the study of formal opportunities to prepare for the professoriate that are available for doctoral students from different disciplines, the experiences of doctoral students taking part in such opportunities, and the impact on doctoral student readiness for the professoriate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-279
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Blaney ◽  
Jina Kang ◽  
Annie M. Wofford ◽  
David F. Feldon

Purpose This study aims to examine how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics doctoral students interact with postdocs within the research laboratory, identifying the nature and potential impacts of student–postdoc mentoring relationships. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of 53 doctoral students in the biological sciences, this study uses a sequential mixed-methods design. More specifically, a phenomenological approach enabled the authors to identify how doctoral students make meaning of their interactions with postdocs and other research staff. Descriptive statistics are used to examine how emergent themes might differ as a product of gender and race/ethnicity and the extent to which emergent themes may relate to key doctoral student socialization outcomes. Findings This study reveals six emergent themes, which primarily focus on how doctoral students receive instrumental and psychosocial support from postdocs in their labs. The most frequent emergent theme captures the unique ways in which postdocs provide ongoing, hands-on support and troubleshooting at the lab bench. When examining how this theme plays a role in socialization outcomes, the results suggest that doctoral students who described this type of support from postdocs had more positive mental health outcomes than those who did not describe this type of hands-on support. Originality/value Literature on graduate student mentorship has focused primarily on the impact of advisors, despite recent empirical evidence of a “cascading mentorship” model, in which senior students and staff also play a key mentoring role. This study provides new insights into the unique mentoring role of postdocs, focusing on the nature and potential impacts of student–postdoc interactions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Thamrini Fadzlin Syed Mohamed ◽  
Ahmad Fahimi Amir ◽  
Nur Khadirah Ab. Rahman ◽  
Emily Abd Rahman ◽  
Afifah Quraishah Abdul Nasir

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to give insight on the important preparation task needed to be considered by prospective PhD candidates prior to the start of their study. As pursuing and obtaining a higher degree qualification is becoming more eminent for those who want to advance their academic career, crucial preparation is needed before embarking on the doctoral quest. Design/methodology/approach A small-scale study of the PhD experience was carried out in a public university in Malaysia using semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight successful doctoral students representing three different faculties to assess respondents’ experiences concerning the preparation aspect, challenges faced and strategies used to overcome the problem. Findings From the interview data, three overarching themes emerged: motives, task and financial and health as important dominators that could influence a successful venture of a PhD journey. Research limitations/implications As the present research respondents were few, further research with bigger number of respondents may shed better light in identifying other important aspect in preparation for PhD. The authors are unable, in the space of this paper, to fully explore the implications of the data, and the work of others that it builds on, for the future of professional doctorates or other types of PhD awards. As professional doctorates are fully concentrated on their professional endeavour, i.e. nursing and education, the preparation needed may include different groundwork. In addition, this study was carried out in Malaysia, where the system may not necessarily share the same characteristics to other doctoral systems in other countries. Cultural differences, the impact of age, gender and race, were other variables that could be weighed by future research in the same area. Practical implications The university’s graduate office should line-up courses to inform future doctoral candidates on the aspect of preparation at personal level that the students need to carry out. Social implications The study provides new views where potential doctoral students should be helped and guided to become more consciously aware of their decision in pursuing a higher degree. This paper provides suggestions on the guidelines of the initial preparation needed before embarking on a PhD journey and managing their own learning. Originality/value The paper establishes the important aspect of the preparation phase needed to be considered by future doctoral students before pursuing their doctoral quest.


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