Teaching Capabilities of Doctoral Graduates: PhD Learning Outcomes and Labor Market Expectations

Abstract

Teaching is at the center of an academic’s life. It is an important factor in the faculty recruitment and selection process for new graduates. Consistently, recruiters and new faculty reflect that doctoral programs do not equip graduates with sufficient teaching capabilities. Current conversations in the academic literature are calling attention to the difficulties graduates are facing with their teaching responsibilities due to a lack of skill and experience. This can lead to high levels of teaching anxiety in new faculty and create a challenge for academic employers. Our research reviewed the literature to explore employers’ expectations when hiring new faculty members, with a specific focus on pedagogical capabilities. We then review the literature seeking insights into approaches to structured teacher training within doctoral programs. While there exists a common expectation surrounding teacher training and capabilities among aspiring academics and faculty recruitment panels, many students and early career academics comment that they did not receive teacher training, leaving them to develop these skills through trial and error. Our paper presents some mechanisms which can be incorporated into teacher training to develop teaching capabilities in students and early career academics by doctoral-granting and hiring institutions.