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Item Open Access Editorial: what could second-generation research on the doctorate be like?(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Jansen, Jonathan D.Abstract not availableItem Open Access Editorial introduction: doctoral research in South Africa - research and policy(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Herman, ChayaAbstract not availableItem Open Access Doctoral discourses in South Africa(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Backhouse, JudyIn the South African context, three doctoral discourses are heard, each with their own assumptions about the purpose of doctoral education and the kinds of people who undertake doctoral study, and with their own implications for the practice of doctoral education. Two of the three discourses are familiar and well documented in the local and international literature. The third is an emerging discourse identified in the course of a qualitative study of four doctoral programmes at three South African universities. This paper unpacks these discourses, examining tensions that arise between them. I argue that all three discourses contribute useful perspectives to our national understanding of doctoral education, and I discuss some implications for the practice and research of doctoral education.Item Open Access Emergent frameworks of research teaching and learning in a cohort-based doctoral programme(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Samuel, Michael; Vithal, RenukaThis article argues that alternate models of doctoral research teaching and learning pedagogy could address the challenge of under-productivity of doctoral graduands in the South African higher education system. Present literature tends not to focus on the models of research teaching and learning as a form of pedagogy. The article presents a case study of a doctoral cohort model programme where attention to both quantity and quality of doctoral “production” are engaged in the curriculum design and methodological approaches employed. In this alternate to the traditional “master-apprenticeship”, epistemologies that the programme creates are influenced by its pedagogical methodologies. This reflective theoretical exploration draws on the experiences of supervisors, staff and students as co-producers of knowledge involved in the research pedagogical process. The doctoral graduands that emerge are able to embrace the roles and responsibilities as researchers and knowledge makers. Rather than the PhD being about individualistic learning, the programme attempts to infuse multi- and interdisciplinary notions of responsiveness to knowledge production in community. It concludes with emergent frameworks for doctoral pedagogies –“democratic teaching/learning participation”, “structured scaffolding”, “Ubuntu” and “serendipity”– as useful explanatory shaping influences which underpin and frame the model promoting a contextually relevant and appropriate doctoral research teaching and learning pedagogy.Item Open Access Research on doctoral education in South Africa against the silhouette of its meteoric rise in international higher education research(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Wolhuter, CharlThe aim of this article is to survey the international literature on doctoral education from a South African perspective. A colossal amount of published research on doctoral education abroad has accumulated in recent years, dwarfing the minuscule number of publications on doctoral education in South Africa. Three major deficiencies in the corpus of literature internationally on doctoral education are the lack of any empirical validation of the claimed social rates of return to doctoral education, an absence of empirical research on the scholarly contribution/impact of doctoral education, and the inadequacies of the paradigms employed to research doctoral education. This means that the body of literature on doctoral education does not take into account power relations in society and embedded knowledge, as well as the demonstrated stranglehold of these on scholarship. The first two imply that there is a lack of empirical substantiation for claims regarding the indispensable role of doctoral education in accomplishing a knowledge society and the role of doctoral studies in pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. In conclusion recommendations are made as to how South Africa could, given its infancy in this field, seek to build a literature base that consciously addresses the perceived gaps in the international literature in this field.Item Open Access A networked pathway to the PhD: the African-Norwegian case of Productive Learning Cultures(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Hattingh, Annemarie; Lillejord, SølviHow do PhD students become socialised into the professional world of academic work? This article pays attention to a ‘networked’ support pathway towards a PhD. The network constitutes an international research collaboration through a programme called Productive Learning Cultures (PLC) (2002-2011) between Norway and seven countries, developing or in transition, in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this article is to describe how researchers within PLC have over the years developed a support structure for PhD students. PLC has had intended and unintended outcomes. While the education of PhD students was an intended outcome, unintended outcomes include the establishment of a peer-reviewed journal, and the development of a networked doctoral school. Special attention will also be paid to the programme design structures that assist female PhD students from partner universities and promote sustainability once PLC donor funding terminates.Item Open Access Pipelines or pipe dreams? PhD production and other matters in a South African Dental Research Institute 1954-2006(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Grossman, Elly S.; Cleaton-Jones, Peter E.This retrospective study documents the Masters and PhD training of 131 Dental Research Institute (DRI) postgraduates (1954-2006) to establish demographics, throughput and research outcomes for future PhD pipeline strategies using the DRI database. Descriptive statistics show four degree-based groups of postgraduates: 18 PhDs; 55 MScs; 42 MDents and 16 dropouts. Postgraduate activity peaked in1981. Pipeline conversion from Masters to PhD was below 20% with MScs more likely to embark on a PhD than MDents. Nearly half of all postgraduates had prior published research experience before embarking on the degree. Acquired skills were predominantly thesis publication, teaching and conference presentation. Higher degrees were done for personal betterment (40%), specialist training (34%) or academic betterment (20%). The DRI intellectual climate and 50-hour research techniques course contributed to the 87% postgraduate completion rate. There is no incentive for DRI clinical researchers to complete a PhD unless on an academic career path.Item Open Access The quality of doctoral education in South Africa: a question of significance(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Jansen, Jonathan D.One of the underlying concerns in the Study Panel on the South African PhD, a large-scale, overview investigation of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), was the negative consequences of signalling the need for more doctoral graduates to boost the presumed link to national competitiveness within a global knowledge economy. There was evidence that institutional behaviour in response to increased incentives for more accredited publications led to increased quantity at the cost of quality. Understandably, therefore, the panel feared that policy signals and incentives to produce more doctorates would compromise quality PhDs from the 23 universities. At the heart of this concern was the significance of doctoral research and not simply more PhDs. This article seeks to advance thinking about how significance in doctoral research can be attained against the background of this national study, and its concerns, about quality PhDs.Item Open Access Student experiences of the PhD cohort model: working within or outside communities of practice?(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Govender, Krish; Dhunpath, RubbyThe Collaborative Cohort Model (CCM) of higher degrees supervision is gaining increasing popularity internationally and, in some contexts, replacing the conventional Apprentice Master Model (AMM). Among the motivations advanced for this shift is that the CCM improves completion rates and enhances the quality of research supervision. This exploratory paper interrogates these claims through the eyes of students, by documenting and analysing their experiences of the CCM currently used by the Faculty of Education, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa. This form of supervision integrates the traditional master-apprentice supervision with cohort seminar sessions. The traditional supervision involves students working one-to-one with what is referred to, in this instance, as the appointed supervisor/s while the cohort seminars draw on the expertise of a team of experienced and novice supervisors referred to, in this instance, as the cohort supervisors. In addition, students benefit from contributions offered by peers within the cohort as they are guided through the various phases in the research process. This paper engages with the experiences of a small sample of students, appraising the key principles of collaboration and collegiality which are integral to the success of the cohort model. The study reveals abundant evidence of successful collaboration and collegiality among students and between the cohort and appointed supervisors. However, there are also instances of students in the cohort working in isolation and supervisors working counter to each other. Through engaging with student experiences of the cohort model, this study offers critical new insights into the strengths, limitations and challenges of using the model to address the unsatisfactory PhD productivity rate in South Africa.Item Open Access Evolution of doctoral education in Pakistan: challenges and successes of doctoral students of education in a public sector university of Pakistan(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Halai, NeloferThis paper presents a part of the findings from a larger study undertaken to explore the experience of graduate students in education in Pakistan. Analysis of a smaller slice of data collected from students who were enrolled in the PhD and MPhil programmes of the Department of Education in a large public sector university in Northern Pakistan was undertaken. The purpose was to develop understanding of their experience of the programme, with a specific focus on induction and coursework. The findings illustrate that students perceive and experience the PhD as a professional degree rather than a research degree. It also appears that the doctoral programme and policies are both in evolution and will require time and effort to mature. Sustained and continuous effort is required to develop among the students the identity of a doctoral student as someone who “creates” new knowledge.Item Open Access Student mobility and doctoral education in South Africa(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Sehoole, Chika TrevorThis article analyses doctoral education programmes in South Africa with a particular focus on student mobility. It investigates pull and push factors as a conceptual framework, arguing that the patterns of student mobility in doctoral education programmes in South Africa follow the patterns of international student mobility elsewhere, which are driven mainly by the quest for better opportunities. Contrary to previous studies, which do not focus on the role of the state, this article sees the state as playing a key role in facilitating such mobility. This article uses comparative education methods to compare the patterns of enrolment of doctoral education students in South Africa during 2005 and 2009. Statistical data from the Department of Higher Education and Training were used to analyse the enrolment patterns of doctoral students in South African universities. Secondary sources in the form of government documents, a literature review and internet sources were employed in contextualising the study.Item Open Access Obstacles to success – doctoral student attrition in South Africa(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Herman, ChayaThe article explores doctoral attrition in South Africa, investigating and comparing the attributions of attrition of doctoral students and PhD programme leaders. The article is based on secondary data analysis of two large studies on doctoral education in South Africa. The main point of the article is that the different understandings of the students and the PhD programme leaders, as well as the gaps in the narratives of both groups, are an indication of a lack of in-depth understanding of the actual causes of doctoral attrition. Using attribution theory, the article suggests that this lack of understanding may contribute to further attrition and calls for further research on the topic.Item Open Access Doctoral production in South Africa: statistics, challenges and responses(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Mouton, JohannThe past few years have witnessed new interest in doctoral production in South Africa. In the first section of the article, it is argued that this new interest has its roots in various higher education policy documents over the past decade. The second part of the article presents some of the most recent statistics on various aspects of doctoral production: trends in enrolments and graduations, completion and attrition rates as well as the supervisory capacity in the system. In the final section it is argued that the policy discourse, together with the analysis of the statistical data, gave rise to four challenges. These are the goals to expand the volume of doctoral graduates being produced as well as the supervisory capacity in the system and the demands to improve the efficiency and quality of doctoral production. In the ensuing discussion of these challenges, it is argued that various factors mitigate against the easy attainment of the first three goals. Although it remains important that these goals are pursued, it is argued that more emphasis should be afforded to considerations about the quality of doctoral training.Item Open Access What we know about the dramatic increase in PhD degrees and the reform of doctoral education worldwide: implications for South Africa(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2011) Nerad, MaresiTheories of the “knowledge economy” view knowledge, and particularly new knowledge, as a critical resource to enhance a nation’s economic growth. Governments around the world have invested in doctoral education expansion. Reforms in doctoral education are being shaped by the changing needs of society, of research modes, and of a changed labor markets for PhD holders. The reform elements strive for excellence, expansion, quality assurance, accountability, and international and inter-sector network building. The expansion in doctoral studies has gone hand in hand with an increased flow of international doctoral students, the wish to become a world-class university, and the adoption of more standardized structures and practices of doctoral education. This paper ends with a number of promising reform practices that may be useful for South Africa’s expanding doctoral systems, such as the introduction of postgraduate schools that help implement and initiate innovations in doctoral education on a campus with an eye to high quality.