This paper explores issues relating to programmes for doctoral students wishing to gain experience of, and develop skills in, teaching. The focus is on "Developing Learning and Teaching"--a new provision at the University of Oxford. The purpose is to exemplify how activity theory can be used to situate particular programmes and individual…

Students learn their chosen profession's abstract body of professional knowledge and its associated skills during lengthy degree programs and apprenticeships. In the process, each student is crafting a sense of identity as a particular type of professional. The period of doctoral preparation is particularly important because although identity is…

The concern that doctoral programs in the arts and sciences do not adequately prepare students for careers as faculty members is hardly a new one, but it has become urgent. Colleges and universities in United States are facing the impending retirement of large numbers of faculty members and need to replace them with qualified professionals, on or…

Women are not tenured at the same rate they are receiving PhDs, and less likely to be tenured when compared to their male counterparts. Reasons women have difficulty achieving tenure include not discussing important information about an academic appointment with colleagues, working part time or as adjunct faculty, being involved in "pastoral or…

The high attrition rate from doctoral programs has been called a "hidden crisis" in graduate education (Lovitts & Nelson, 2000). Previous research has identified a constellation of factors that may contribute to doctoral attrition. However, the literature suggests that one of the most powerful influences on doctoral persistence is the relationship…

This purpose of the present study was to estimate minimum admission requirements using cognitive measures that will maximize candidate success on the doctoral comprehensive examination. Moreover, the present study established minimum scores on the Graduate Record Examinations (verbal and quantitative components) that will maximize doctoral student…

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is the primary source of federal support for preparing researchers and teacher educators whose focus is students with disabilities. The OSEP Leadership Training Grant Program awards projects to more universities than any other federal agency, but to do so it provides smaller awards to universities…

In light of today's explosion of knowledge and the complexity of American culture, Pentecostal church leaders face the daunting challenge of effecting biblical change in their communities. Biblical truth reveals that true, lasting change begins by the power of God activated in a believer through faith and perseverance in Christ. To assure the…

The quality of PhD training can be conceived of as being dependent on the learning environment provided by the scholarly community. Our paper explores PhD students' ideas about themselves as a part of this community, and their perceptions of their learning environment in the context of the University of Helsinki, Finland. The study is a part of a…

Achieving a doctorate presents candidates with certain challenges--undertaking the research, writing the thesis and defending both at their viva. Throughout that doctoral journey, candidates are expected to display doctorateness in their thesis via the characteristics of high-quality scholarly research. The blockages that occur and prevent…

This article examines the potential contradictions of conducting a collaborative self-study research project within a poststructural framework. It is a discussion about the use of theory in self-study research, rather than a report of research findings. The discussion is shaped through (re)consideration of a collaborative self-study doctoral…

In our increasingly complex society, research and research training in master's institutions is just as critical as in doctoral programs, but with a different emphasis and purpose. In PhD institutions, research programs are generally considered to be for the purpose of advancing knowledge in the discipline and helping to prepare the next…

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) supervisees were interviewed regarding their experiences of LGB-affirmative and nonaffirmative supervision. Supervisees were asked to describe one of each type of event (i.e., affirmative, nonaffirmative) from their past supervision. In LGB-affirmative supervision, all supervisees felt supported in their…

This article proposes preliminary models for doctoral student professional identity development. It explores the question, What role do relationships play in doctoral students' professional identity development? In the first section, the author provides an overview of the prior research that informed this study with an emphasis on two previously…

This study used a mixed-method approach to examine students' experiences in multicultural training and their opinions about various aspects of their course(s). A developmental model of learning was employed to analyze results. More specifically, this study explored the relationship between clinical psychology doctoral students' self-reported…