Doctoral education in a successful ecological niche: A qualitative exploratory case study of the relationship between the microclimate and doctoral students' learning to become a researcher

TY - JOUR

T1 - Doctoral education in a successful ecological niche

T2 - A qualitative exploratory case study of the relationship between the microclimate and doctoral students' learning to become a researcher

AU - Christensen, Mette Krogh

AU - Lund, Ole

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Scholarly communities are dependent on and often measured by their ability to attract and develop doctoral students. Recent literature suggests that most scholarly communities entail ecological niches in which the doctoral studentslearn the codes and practices of research. In this article, we explore the microclimate in an ecological niche of doctoral education. Based on a theoretical definition of microclimate as the emotional atmosphere that ties groupmembers together and affects their actions, we conducted a case study that aimed to describe the key features of the microclimate in a successful ecological niche of doctoral education, and the ways in which the microclimate supportthe doctoral students’ learning. The methods we applied in the case study were based on short-term ethnographic fieldwork. The results reveal four key features of the emotional atmosphere in the microclimate: mutual appreciation, balancing seriousness and humor, desire, and ambition. These features constitute the shared emotionality that sets the scene for the microclimate, and affects and guides the doctoral students’ daily practices. Furthermore, the results indicate that the microclimate supports successful doctoral education because it: 1) fleshes out the professional attitude that is necessary for becoming a successful researcher in the department, 2) shapes and adapts the doctoral students’ desires to grasp and identify with the department’s practices, and 3) provides the doctoral students with access to flow zones that drive their education. These results may suggest practical implications for fostering and cultivating successful ecological niches in medical education at doctoral level.

AB - Scholarly communities are dependent on and often measured by their ability to attract and develop doctoral students. Recent literature suggests that most scholarly communities entail ecological niches in which the doctoral studentslearn the codes and practices of research. In this article, we explore the microclimate in an ecological niche of doctoral education. Based on a theoretical definition of microclimate as the emotional atmosphere that ties groupmembers together and affects their actions, we conducted a case study that aimed to describe the key features of the microclimate in a successful ecological niche of doctoral education, and the ways in which the microclimate supportthe doctoral students’ learning. The methods we applied in the case study were based on short-term ethnographic fieldwork. The results reveal four key features of the emotional atmosphere in the microclimate: mutual appreciation, balancing seriousness and humor, desire, and ambition. These features constitute the shared emotionality that sets the scene for the microclimate, and affects and guides the doctoral students’ daily practices. Furthermore, the results indicate that the microclimate supports successful doctoral education because it: 1) fleshes out the professional attitude that is necessary for becoming a successful researcher in the department, 2) shapes and adapts the doctoral students’ desires to grasp and identify with the department’s practices, and 3) provides the doctoral students with access to flow zones that drive their education. These results may suggest practical implications for fostering and cultivating successful ecological niches in medical education at doctoral level.

KW - Doctoral education

KW - Higher Education

KW - microclimate

KW - Workplace learning

KW - PhD education

KW - medical education

KW - Bourdieu

KW - Micro-climate

KW - Doctoral education

KW - Ecological niche

KW - Doctoral students

KW - Atmosphere

KW - Medical education

KW - Supervision

U2 - 10.5430/ijhe.v3n3p103

DO - 10.5430/ijhe.v3n3p103

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1927-6044

VL - 3

SP - 103

JO - International Journal of Higher Education

JF - International Journal of Higher Education

IS - 3

ER -