Teaching and Learning in Doctoral Programs: An Introduction to the Themed Section

Abstract

What should doctoral education look like? Prior research has tended to focus on the broad curriculum, especially as it relates to the development of researchers, but with a (mostly) brief nod to the teaching role of future professors. Even if the traditional preparation of PhDs in management was appropriate before and may have even reflected engaged practice through involvement in research and teaching apprenticeships, that configuration no longer seems appropriate to changes we will continue to see in higher education. Doctoral instruction will need to rise to the challenge by creating approaches that engage these new learners while we capitalize on new platforms and environments. The possibilities for research in doctoral education have never been more promising, and the use of new approaches for engagement never more critical. In this themed section, we offer three articles that capture the excitement, tensions, and promise of engaged learning in doctoral education. Perhaps not surprisingly, each recognizes doctoral education as an often emotionally charged, and even difficult, experience. These reactions are likely intrinsic to the process of learning and the work of “becoming.”