Abstract
Background and aimsIn this paper, we report on research conducted as a project, which was part of a PhD course on research methodology. The aim of the course was to develop participants’ practical researcher competence and to enhance their critical thinking skills. To meet these aims, the group collectively engaged in an empirical study into the shifting and potentially conflicting identities of teachers choosing to engage in occupation-based PhD studies (i.e., PhD studies with a professional focus, undertaken additionally to full- or part-time teaching jobs) at a university in Austria.MethodsThe study was based on a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with eight PhD candidates, who are all studying toward a PhD in “Fachdidaktik” (“subject-specific teaching and learning”) in different disciplines. To better understand the multiple identities, perceived dynamics, and role of diverse social settings, we took an ecological perspective.Results and conclusionThe findings revealed how the pa...
Highlights
In this paper, we report on research conducted as a project, which was part of a PhD course on research methodology
This study has shown the competing tensions in the different ecologies that occupation-based PhD students, such as these “Fachdidaktik” students, have to balance
Sometimes these multiple roles and systems can function in synergistic ways mutually supporting and enhancing each other, as is often the intention of such degree programs. In reality, it was frequently a case of competing demands for time and attention with sometimes a lack of understanding or support from the respective domains. These teacher PhD candidates found themselves having to choose between domains and roles by placing one with priority over the other
Summary
We report on research conducted as a project, which was part of a PhD course on research methodology. The focus of the study conducted within this course was on the shifting and potentially conflicting identities of teachers choosing to engage in occupation-based PhD studies (i.e., PhD studies with a professional focus, typically undertaken alongside full- or part-time teaching jobs) at a university in Austria. The aim of the course was to develop participants’ practical researcher competence and to enhance their critical thinking skills To meet these aims, the group collectively engaged in an empirical study into the shifting and potentially conflicting identities of teachers choosing to engage in occupation-based PhD studies (i.e., PhD studies with a professional focus, undertaken to full- or part-time teaching jobs) at a university in Austria. The participants’ multiple identities and roles can function in synergistic ways, the data suggest that more often they experienced competing demands for time and attention with sometimes a lack of understanding or support from the respective professional or academic domains
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