Graduate Student Perspectives Research Articles

Supporting a T-Shaped Identity through Professional Associations: A Graduate Student Perspective

Supporting a T-Shaped Identity through Professional Associations: A Graduate Student Perspective

Integrating peace and unification concepts in a Korean language class in the graduate school

Complex and diverse as it may seem, peace education in a nutshell can be viewed as an approach that embeds theory, practice, and research of numerous fields of study that serve as off-shot for interests on respect for tolerance, understanding diversity, and respect for human rights.With this research, it could be noted that the context could also be employed as a vehicle in advancing socio-cultural trends and issues regarding the country under study. It provides opportunities for meaningful interaction and discourse beyond language, grammar, and vocabulary. The main purpose of the study is to describe the experiences and perspectives of Filipino graduate students regarding learning Korean as a foreign language with emphasis on peace and unification concepts. The present study was conducted using qualitative research case study through content analysis. This case study involved Filipino graduate students in a Korean language class as the participants. The results showed that foreign, diplomatic, and political issues have reached the classrooms. The students did not just consume theories, but the practice of these concepts was highly sought. Topics focusing on peace and unification were seen to be critical and crucial for the contemporary era as well for the future of humanity. The present study concludes how peace and unification can be aimed at nurturing students that mindset that cultivate values and attitudes towards tolerance, understanding, and sensitivity.

Applying andragogy to service-learning in graduate education: An interpretive phenomenological analysis

Service-Learning is a form of experiential learning where faculty integrate a service or community engagement component into academic coursework. Supported by a growing body of literature documenting the impact of service-learning on undergraduate students as a high-impact practice in the United States, the scholarship and practice of service-learning frequently neglects graduate students as an important and unique demographic of learners. Graduate students pursue master’s degrees to achieve their career goals, but employers claim that students are graduating ill-prepared for the workforce. The disconnect between employers’ perspectives and students’ educational goals presented an opportunity to explore the relationship between service-learning and career preparation using Knowles’ andragogy as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological analysis study was to explore the relationship between service-learning and career preparation from the perspective of graduate students as adult learners. Findings suggest that (1) service-learning is both as a professional experience itself and is an opportunity to further prepare for their future careers and (2) service-learning is a genuine way for students to develop skills and self-efficacy important to their career trajectory. Recommendations are provided for educators who are considering integrating service-learning into their teaching to support the professional goals of graduate students.

Dimensional approach to assess the benefits of video lecture capturing in higher education: a case study of Qatar

Education sectors have undergone many dynamic changes surpassing the age-old methodologies with contemporary digitalised ones. This journey of a couple of decades could witness many state-of-the-art pedagogy-related technologies, but the methods to assess the benefits of such technologies like video lecture capturing (VLC) are not specific. Mostly, the causal factors that influence the opinion about the benefits of VLC being subjective, the present research paper aims to explore such factors and assess the benefits of the VLC from the perspective of graduate students in Qatar. Thus, three benefit dimensions – personality-related, course-related and learning-related – are considered, and the questionnaire is developed according to the students' opinions about these benefits gained from VLC. Due to the study constraints, only female students, spanning over two semesters (Sem1 and Sem2) and four courses (CC1, CC2, CC3 and CC4) of a reputed university in Qatar are considered for the study.

Graduate student perspectives on transforming academia

AbstractHigher education institutions have long played a key role in solving society's most pressing problems. However, as the scale and complexity of socio‐environmental problems has grown, there has been a renewed debate about the role that academic institutions should play in developing solutions and how institutional structures should be redesigned to encourage greater interdisciplinarity. In the following pages, we present a graduate student perspective on this debate. Specifically, we identify challenges facing interdisciplinary graduate student researchers and present a series of recommendations for how institutions can better prepare them to become the next generation of leaders in interdisciplinary, action‐oriented research focused on solving socio‐environmental problems.

Professional Ethics in Teaching from the Perspectives of Professors and Graduate Students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences: A Comparative Study

Background: Teaching and training require ethical considerations. Objectives: the present study aimed at evaluating teaching ethics from the perspectives of professors and postgraduate students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences based on a comparative approach. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on all postgraduate students and their professors in the academic year of 2019-2020. A total of 284 postgraduate students and 42 professors were selected using a stratified random sampling method, according to the size of each stratum. The data collection instrument was the standard teacher's professional ethics scale including six subscales and 48 items, scored based on a five-point Likert scale from 1 to 5. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. Results: The total mean score of professional ethics for professors was 3.67±0.63 and 4.29 ± 0.59 from the students' and professors’ perspectives, respectively. There was a significant difference between the students' and professors’ perspectives in each of the subscales (P <0.0001). There was a significant difference among schools in the teaching techniques mastery and observation of rules subscales. Conclusion: From the perspective of students, the status of teaching ethics is still far from the standard, and it needs more educational plans to improve.

Perceptions of animal welfare and animal welfare curricula offered for undergraduate and graduate students in animal science departments in the United States.

While perceptions of animal welfare have been assessed in veterinary students and students internationally, there remains a gap in research concerning undergraduate and graduate student perspectives of animal welfare in animal science programs at colleges and universities across the United States. A survey was developed to assess current animal science student perspectives of the importance of animal welfare as part of their education, their knowledge of available educational opportunities, and resources they think should be included in animal welfare curricula. An online survey was distributed to a national listserv of university administrators of animal science programs in the United States. A total of 624 survey responses were statistically summarized. Most respondents were undergraduate students (78.0%, n = 487), between the ages of 18 and 24 (85.9%, n = 536), and female (86.1%, n = 537). Results indicated that despite most respondents not taking an animal welfare course previously (60.7%, n = 379), most students strongly agreed that the inclusion of an animal welfare course is an important part of the animal science curriculum (72.0%, n = 449), that animal welfare is an important component of their education (63.1%, n = 394), and that animal welfare courses would be helpful for their future careers (70.0%, n = 437). When asked what attributes would be most important in an animal welfare class, students identified many different types of information and resources. The majority of respondents answered that discussing current hot topics in animal welfare (76.1%, n = 475), ethical discussions (76.0%, n = 474), and practical, applied questions (75.3%, n = 470) were important course components. Suggestions for future research include investigating how animal science student perceptions change before and after taking an animal welfare course and exploring opportunities to expand formal welfare education in animal science departments. Inclusion of animal welfare into the curriculum is critical as many of the students currently enrolled in animal science departments will become the future stakeholders in animal-focused industries.

The Effect of English Access Microscholarship Program on Developing Speaking Skill From Graduate Students’ Perspectives at the King Abdallah II for Excellence School in Zarqa-Jordan

The primary concern of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of English Access Microscholarship Program on developing the English Language Speaking Skill from the perspective of graduate students at the King Abdallah II for Excellence in Zarqa in the academic years from 2016 to 2020. The study also examined if Access Program encourages and motivates EFL learners to improve their speaking skills. In this study, the researcher designed a questionnaire consisting (40) items measuring students` perspectives towards the effect of Access program in improving their speaking ability. The subjects of the research were 60 homogenous students aged 14 to 19. Students consisting three classes; FY14, FY15 and FY16 respectively. Each class had 20 students studying at King Abdallah II for Excellence School in the Directorate of Education in Zarqa, Jordan. The results revealed that the overall degree of the students’ perspectives towards the effect of access program was high in improving their speaking skill and improved the participants` speaking skill. Moreover, the findings revealed that there were no statistically significant differences among students in their perspectives towards the effect of access program on developing their speaking skill. Finally, the researcher recommended that further studies should be conducted to measure the impact of access program in developing the four language skills (Listening, speaking, reading and writing).

“I felt like I was not just a student:” examining graduate student learning at academic and professional conferences

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore what new knowledge is gained at academic and professional conferences by describing how this knowledge complements or contradicts campus-based learning and previous experiences of graduate students. Through gaining insights into conference-based learning, researchers and policymakers can create more complex and dynamic graduate student learning experiences and design conferences that welcome and encourage graduate student perspectives and voices.Design/methodology/approachRooted in transformative learning theory, this qualitative study explores what and how master’s level graduate students learn at professional and academic conferences.FindingsFindings point to four categories of learning through conferences: students acquired empirical knowledge, gained insights into professional and scholarly trends and values, explored diversity of the conference body and their own belonging and benchmarked their knowledge in relationship to scholars and professionals. Interviewees gained this knowledge by linking conference-based learning to their graduate school curriculum and previous knowledge and experiences.Practical implicationsFindings suggest considerations for educators, policymakers and administrators to enhance learning in graduate programs through in-person and virtual conference attendance.Originality/valueThis study adds to minimal existing research on graduate student learning beyond the campus that contributes to holistic learning at the master’s level. The findings on conference-based learning for graduate students go beyond the common notion of conferences as places of socialization for graduate students. These findings are increasingly relevant as academic and professional conferences are being reconsidered in the shift to the virtual space.

Changes in Undergraduate and Graduate Student Perspectives of Online versus Face-to-Face Education

Changes in Undergraduate and Graduate Student Perspectives of Online versus Face-to-Face Education

Changes in Undergraduate and Graduate Student Perspectives of Online versus Face-to-Face Education - Web Appendix

Changes in Undergraduate and Graduate Student Perspectives of Online versus Face-to-Face Education - Web Appendix

Food, Our Common Ground: A Photovoice Study

Research shows that factors like campus food environment, food accessibility, and acculturation may shape students' eating patterns and influence their physical and emotional well-being. Although research has investigated factors that contribute to student food choices, few, if any, prior studies have examined this topic from the perspective of graduate students' own experiences. By utilizing Photovoice methodology, the current study aims to fill the research gap as well as supplement the current literature, providing insights from graduate students' everyday realities and feedback from policymakers. Three overlapping themes emerged across all images: (1) unhealthiness becomes the norm, (2) the convenience of food influences decisions, and (3) healthy food consumption a symbol of cultural identity. The feedback from University policymakers in relation to identified themes revealed two key issues. First, the information about dining options on campus is not visibly present anywhere on campus. Second, much of dining services is designed with undergraduate students in mind. The findings of this study suggested that universities should provide a better environment to promote healthy food consumption, improve students' awareness of healthy options, make healthy options convenient enough to consume, limit students' access to unhealthy food, and consider the needs of international students.

COVID-19 Campus Closures in the United States: American Student Perceptions of Forced Transition to Remote Learning

As colleges and universities rapidly closed due to COVID-19, students and faculty were faced with unique challenges. The pandemic forced the cancellation of all campus activities, both extra-curricular and program-focused, such as student teaching experiences and nursing clinical rotations. Additionally, instructors were forced to rethink content delivery as coursework was quickly moved online and administered remotely via virtual platforms. Students were impacted as university level programs underwent a major paradigm shift within a matter of days or weeks. This study examined perspectives of undergraduate and graduate students regarding their experiences with rapid conversion from on-ground, in-person courses to remote instruction during the spring 2020 semester. The researchers employed a QUAN-QUAL descriptive mixed methods design. Using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, the researchers examined general perspectives on in-person learning before the pandemic; initial perceptions about remote learning; and perceptions of the students about effort, engagement, needs, and ethical behavior as they engaged in totally remote learning. Results, analyzed using SPSS (QUAN) and inter-coder agreement (QUAL), indicated that initially students were engaged and satisfied with their in-person instruction, but became less satisfied and engaged during remote instruction. Undergraduate students experienced feelings of increased frustration, decreased accountability and engagement during remote learning, and turned to collaboration to earn points as they finished the semester.

Reading routines: strategies of recall in graduate education

Purpose This study aims to explore how graduate students in the social sciences develop reading and note-taking routines. Design/methodology/approach Using a professional socialization framework drawing on grounded theory, this study draws on a snowball sample of 36 graduate students in the social sciences at US universities. Qualitative interviews were conducted to learn about graduate students’ reading and note-taking techniques. Findings This study uncovered how doctoral students experienced the shift from undergraduate to graduate training. Graduate school requires students to adopt new modes of reading and note-taking. However, students lacked explicit mentorship in these skills. Once they realized that the goal was to enter an academic conversation to produce knowledge, they developed new reading and note-taking routines by soliciting and implementing suggestions from advanced doctoral students and faculty mentors. Research limitations/implications The specific requirements of the individual graduate program shape students’ goals for reading and note-taking. Further examination of the relationship between graduate students’ reading and note-taking and institutional requirements is warranted with a larger sample of universities, including non-American institutions. Practical implications Graduate students benefit from explicit mentoring in reading and note-taking skills from doctoral faculty and advanced graduate students. Originality/value This study uncovers the perspectives of graduate students in the social sciences as they transition from undergraduate coursework in a doctoral program of study. This empirical, interview-based research highlights the centrality of reading and note-taking in doctoral studies.

Graduate Student Perspectives on Equitable Remote Learning

Remote learning can be a catalyst for instructors and institutions to invest in teaching practices that reinforce growth mindsets and that help students share responsibility for learning outcomes.

An Unstable Bridge: A REEES Graduate Student Perspective on Contemporary Academia

Our aim in this article is to foreground the specific role that graduate students play in academia today and some structural issues that are connected with it. As both workers and students, graduate students occupy a unique position within the larger academic system. They work at what for the majority is the beginning of a continuum of casualization, precarity, and adjunctification. Meanwhile, graduate students are educated following an older, apprenticeship-based model proper to a time when a PhD was a more likely bridge to secure employment. To articulate a REEES graduate student perspective, we interviewed eighteen REEES graduate students and recent grads from across the US focusing on these structural problems. At a moment when almost 75% of contemporary academic labor is carried out by graduate students and non-tenure track faculty, we hope to open up a conversation about contingent labor in REEES and to spotlight potential for practical changes.

Graduate students’ mental health: Exploring experiences of isolation and loneliness

Abstract Background A student psychological health survey, conducted in 2015-2016 among over 10,000 students at the University of Montreal (UdeM), gives an alarming picture of psychological distress associated to feelings of loneliness. The objective of this phenomenological study is to better understand the experience of isolation from the perspective of UdeM graduate students. Methods As part of a qualitative methods course, five semi-directed interviews and a focus group (n = 8) were conducted with graduate students and a psychologist from UdeM. Hybrid thematic analysis of verbatim and inter-rater debriefing were conducted using NVivo 11 software. Results Thematic analysis illustrates that most graduate students feel isolated at some point during their studies, but also that the impact and the meaning of this loneliness feeling is variable. It can be perceived positively when it is sought, temporary and/or allows one to be more productive. It can be perceived negatively when it is involuntary, constant over time and/or does not improve academic effectiveness. Personality, academic and social contexts, as well as support by peers and supervisors appear to modify feelings of isolation. Conclusions This study demonstrates the importance of context for graduate students' feelings of isolation. Further research is needed to move towards saturation of perspectives around this phenomenon. Key messages Graduate students reported that the experience and the repercussions of isolation may differ in whether it is sought or involuntary. Factors that seem to influence the feeling of loneliness include academic context and supervisor support. Further research is needed to discriminate the impact of these different contextual factors.

The Balance of Roles: Graduate Student Perspectives during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted personal and professional lives. Graduate students juggle a variety of roles and had to quickly adjust. In this article, six graduate students share their reflections regarding the influence of the pandemic on respective stages in their doctoral program. They provide unique personal and professional perspectives that depict their abrupt shift to remote working and remote learning. The intention of this article is to garner an understanding of graduate students’ challenges during the pandemic, capture their strategies for success, and provide a space for further conversation and support about how the pandemic has impacted graduate students.

Supervision of Graduate Studies: A Case Study of Postgraduate and Academic Satff

Although the success of graduate students is heavily influenced by their supervisors, there is a lack of documented graduate student insight into their learning experience in countries with recent expansions of graduate programs. To provide rich, in-depth qualitative data on graduate student and faculty supervisor perspectives on students’ learning experiences, we conducted in-depth individual interviews with final-year graduate students and their supervisors at Najran University in Saudi Arabia. We asked participants two open-ended questions about the quality of teaching and learning in their program and how this quality could be improved. Interview transcripts were coded to identify and categorize recurring themes. We found that graduate students and their supervisors had differing perceptions of students’ learning experiences. Students indicated that the organization and development of learning experiences needed to be guided by their supervisors. Additionally, students expressed concernsregarding the main concern expressed by students as will be described in the results section with more details and more accurate reflection with the need for high-quality learning experiences. On the other hand, supervisors gave examples of effective teaching practices, including building self-confidence in student decision making. These findings could be used to develop curriculum content, support faculty use of effective teaching strategies, and improve practices in graduate programs and could further stimulate broad discussions of shared decision-making and evaluations of student and teacher performance.

Aporia

ABSTRACT Adopting a researcher-poet stance, this prose poem is a reflection on the consumption and marketing of French theory within American academia seen through a graduate student perspective. Following Cusset’s argument that French theory was essentially created and marketed in the United States ‘by American modes of reading French authors’ (35), this text represents the overlooked, minority voices of humanities students as ambivalent ‘theory-consumers’ and ‘critical academic spectators’. The Derridean concepts deployed in the poem, aporia/aporie, hauntology/hantologie, respectively characterised by uncertainty, doubt and temporal disjunction, are ironically mapped out against contemporary graduate student lives marked by poor employment prospects, vulnerability, performance anxiety, private consternation and mental illness. This contribution advances the role of prose poems in consumer research by underlining the innovative possibilities they allow for alternative, subversive, deeply ambivalent and ironic representations of consumer experiences in academia. This prose poem also offers novel conceptualisation on contemporary academic theory.