Abstract
Doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree holders are highly regarded in Kenya, especially in academia, and the Kenyan economy needs them to undertake administrative, research and innovation roles in both academia and industry. However, attaining this qualification is arduous, and Kenyan PhD programmes are characterized by low enrolment numbers, long degree completion times and low graduation rates. In other countries, PhD students’ success has been linked to motivation and self-efficacy. This cross-sectional study explores the extents to which motivation and self-efficacy relate to PhD student success in Kenya and to which this relationship differs across background and program characteristics. Using multiple linear regression, the authors analyse data from an online questionnaire administered to 628 PhD students enrolled between 2010 and 2018. The findings indicate that extrinsic motivation does not predict PhD students’ pace. Intrinsic motivation positively predicts students’ pace in the Medical Sciences program cluster and for those aged 51 years or older. Self-efficacy negatively predicts students’ pace in the Medical Sciences program cluster.
Highlights
Attaining a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is regarded as a huge achievement in Kenya, the number of students enrolled and who graduate are lower than expected
To address the extent to which motivation and self-efficacy factors influence PhD students’ success in Kenyan universities, we undertook multiple linear regression starting with the core model predictor variables and students’ pace as the dependent variable
We explore the extent to which the relationship of motivation and self-efficacy with PhD students’ success differs across background and programme characteristics
Summary
Attaining a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is regarded as a huge achievement in Kenya, the number of students enrolled and who graduate are lower than expected. Kenyan universities instead enrolled 7,146 and 9,577 PhD students in 2015 and 2016, respectively; with a 13% graduation rate reported in Kenya. These numbers yield about half of the PhD graduates required (Commission for University Education [CUE], 2018; Matheka, Jansen & Hofman, 2020). Some research reports that age does not predict success (Watthanapradith, Choonpradub, & Lim , 2016: 880; Wright & Cochrane, 2000), whereas other studies indicate that younger PhD students achieve better progression than older ones (Groenvynck et al, 2013; Johnson-Motoyama, Petr & Mitchell, 2014). When PhD students experience a major life event, they are more likely to delay or drop out of a programme (Schoot, Yerkes, Mouw & Sonneveld, 2013)
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