Change in changing times: doctoral reflection from a Spanish program

Author(s):

Ana Mª Bordallo JaénJosé Luis González GeraldoIsabel Mª Ferrándiz Vindel Matilde de la Banda Aroca

Conference:

ECER 2010

Network:

11. Educational Effectiveness and Quality Assurance

Format:

Poster

Session Information

MC_Poster, Poster Session Main Conference

Main Conference Poster Session

Time:

2010-08-27

12:15-13:15

Room:

2nd Floor Hall (M.B)/ II KRS AULA, Päärakennus / Main Building,

Chair:

Contribution

The purpose of our proposal is to show how a doctoral program, a formative process so clearly aimed at the scientific production, influences in the perception of what academic identity means to PhD students with two specific characteristics: a clear teacher vocation and the explicit aim of working within the university.

In our case, a Spanish doctoral program named "Social Change and Education", it takes place over two academic years after which students receive a certificate allowing them to start, and subsequently defend, the PhD dissertation in order to get the doctor degree.

As sample, we have selected three students who are in different stages of the doctoral process; one is finishing the second year while other is at the beginning of the thesis and the last one is at the end of it. In addition, we also include in the sample the coordinator of the doctoral program who, at the same time, is also working as a professor.

As literature suggest, it seems that, within the academic practice, the teaching function does not have a great weight to contribute to the sense of belonging to the academic community (McAlpine, Jazvac-Martek, Hopwood, 2007) which, for us, it is quite paradoxical.

Method

Having said that, we chose the theoretical framework of the activity theory expanded by Engeström et al (1999) because it is considered as a good starting point to understand and improve doctoral education from a heuristic perspective (Hopwood and McAlpine, 2007). To focus the task, we have followed the three steps outlined by Mwanza (2001) which conclude with a joint session in which the sample interpret and discuss the results obtained by each participant.

Expected Outcomes

The results show different profiles and levels of abstraction that make us to think, among other things; about the crucial importance of the immediate context, the influence of rules, both explicit and implicit, the tensions and contradictions that arise between those involved and the feelings, both positive and negative, that our PhD students experience during their learning throughout the doctoral process. This has been studied through a pedagogic perspective that helps us to reflect on the influence of the third cycle in vocational teachers in relation with academic practice and, therefore, in subsequent courses, improve teaching and the structure of the doctorate and the information and strategies given to Ph.D. first year students with a double meaning: to improve the formation they receive, and facilitate the transition process into academic practice, the aim to which they aspire. We hope this proposal could benefit PhD students, professors and academic developers. They may reflect on an overall picture of the doctoral process in Spain, an initiation into academic practice, helping to improve those internal artefacts mentioned in the activity theory.

References

Engestrom et al (1999). Perspectives on Activity Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hopwood, N. and McAlpine, L. (2007) Exploring a theoretical framework for understanding doctoral education. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australia, Adelaide, 8-11 July. McAlpine, L. Jazvac-Martek, M. Hopwood, N. (2007). Doctoral student experience: Events that contribute to feeling like an academic/ belonging to an academic community. Paper presented at the Society for Research into Higher Education Annual Conference, Brighton, 11-13 December. Mwanza, D. (2001). Where Theory Meets Practice: a case for an activity theory based methodology to guide computer system design. Proceedings of INTERACT 2001 Eighth IFIP TC 13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, Tokyo, 9-13 July.

Author Information

Ana Mª Bordallo Jaén

Castilla- La Mancha University

Pedagogy

Cuenca

José Luis González Geraldo

University of Castilla-La Mancha

Pedagogy

Cuenca

Isabel Mª Ferrándiz Vindel

Castilla- La Mancha University, Spain

Matilde de la Banda Aroca