scholarly journals Unveiling ‘European’ and ‘International’ Researcher Identities: A Case Study with Doctoral Students in the Humanities and Social Sciences

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Lopes ◽  
Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
International Researcher ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Portuguese Higher Education

The significance of ‘identity’ in doctoral studies is widely acknowledged. Nevertheless, despite much research on what is involved in the process of identification with/as a researcher, very little attention has been devoted to understanding the effects of the internationalization of higher education in promoting feelings of belonging to a researcher community that goes beyond the national space. This qualitative case study aims to understand whether and how doctoral students in the Humanities and Social Sciences develop a ‘European’ or ‘international’ researcher identity during their doctoral studies. To address this aim, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve home and international doctoral students from a Portuguese higher education institution. Results from thematic analysis suggest that although the dichotomy ‘European’/‘international’ was not always clear in participants’ minds, those students who undertook mobility experiences or took part in international research networks or supervisory teams were more likely to regard themselves as ‘international’ or ‘European’ researchers. The implications of these findings for doctoral programs in an era of internationalization are highlighted.

Reasons, motives and motivations for completing a PhD: a typology of doctoral studies as a quest

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Skakni
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Context ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Theory Of Structuration

Purpose This study aims to examine how PhD students with diverse profiles, intentions and expectations manage to navigate their doctoral paths within the same academic context under similar institutional conditions. Drawing on Giddens’ theory of structuration, this study explores how their primary reasons, motives and motivations for engaging in doctoral studies influence what they perceive as facilitating or constraining to progress, their strategies to face the challenges they encounter and their expectations regarding supervision. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative design, the analysis was conducted on a data subset from an instrumental case study (Stake, 2013) about PhD students’ persistence and progression. The focus is placed on semi-structured interviews carried out with 36 PhD students from six faculties in humanities and social sciences fields at a large Canadian university. Findings The analysis reveals three distinct scenarios regarding how these PhD students navigate their doctoral paths: the quest for the self; the intellectual quest; and the professional quest. Depending on their quest type, the nature and intensity of PhD students’ concerns and challenges, as well as their strategies and the support they expected, differed. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion about PhD students’ challenges and persistence by offering a unique portrait of how diverse students’ profiles, intentions and expectations can concretely shape a doctoral experience.

scholarly journals Portuguese Higher Education Graduates’ Views on Academic Writing

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Maria L. Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Choices ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Portuguese Higher Education

This paper examines the language choices and the process of academic writing of a group of 35 Portuguese graduate students in the fields of humanities and social sciences with the aim of illustrating their language preferences, as well as the aspects they take into consideration while writing either in Portuguese or in English.Results of this study indicate that the participants prefer to write their papers in Portuguese, their first language, and that they use similar approaches when writing in both languages. However, findings also reveal they are concerned with slightly different process aspects when composing and revising their texts in Portuguese and in English. These differences seem to be associated with acquired discourse traditions in Portuguese language, as well as with the participants’ lower competence in English language writing.

Success factors in university sport partnerships: a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário Franco ◽  
Heiko Haase
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Portuguese Higher Education ◽  
The University

Purpose From a resource-based perspective, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the key success factors underlying inter-organisational partnerships in the university sport sector. Design/methodology/approach To attain this objective, the paper uses a qualitative approach, performing an exploratory case study in a Portuguese higher education institution. Four interviews with key informants and documentary analysis served for data collection. Findings Based on the case evidence, five generic success factors emerged: relationships, partner selection, complementarity, sporting performance and organisation, which are likely to determine the success of partnerships in the field of university sport. Practical implications University sport managers and other actors in the field should bear the major success factors in mind when taking strategic decisions. Specifically, relational capital and the complementarity of resources seem to be important in initiating and managing sport partnerships. Originality/value This exploratory study contributes to advancing knowledge of inter-organisational partnerships in a particular area: sport in higher education. More precisely, this research outlines which success factors are relevant in sport partnerships and deserve further investigation with other research designs.

scholarly journals Attracting new users or business as usual? A case study of converting academic subscription based journals to open access

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Lars Wenaas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Access Policies ◽  
Selection Of

This paper studies a selection of eleven Norwegian journals in the humanities and social sciences and their conversion from subscription to open access, a move heavily incentivized by governmental mandates and open access policies. By investigating the journals’ visiting logs in the period 2014-2019, the study finds that a conversion to open access induces higher visiting numbers; all journals in the study had a significant increase which can be attributed to the conversion. Converting a journal had no spillover in terms of increased visits to previously published articles still behind the paywall in the same journals. Visits from previously subscribing Norwegian higher education institutions did not account for the increase in visits, indicating that the increase must be accounted for by visitors from other sectors. The results could be relevant for policymakers concerning the effects of strict polices targeting economically vulnerable national journals, and could further inform journal owners and editors on the effects of converting to open access. Peer Review https://publons.com/publon/10.1162/qss_a_00126

scholarly journals THE LEADERSHIP OF EDUCATION RESEARCHERS IN LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 667-684
Author(s):  
Dalia Survutaitė
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Educational Sciences ◽  
Doctoral Dissertations

The article gives overview and analyses the changes and development of scientific research on educational sciences in Lithuanian universities in the period of 1990–2004. The prepared and successfully defended dissertations show positioning of the research field of educational sciences: the leadership of education researchers is reflected by the diplomas of habilitated doctors and certificates of pedagogical title of professor. The statistical overview and evaluation of doctoral dissertations in the research field of educational sciences (social sciences) in the period of 1990–2004 reveal that training of education researchers occurred both in separate universities and in the networks of universities. The distribution of researchers in Lithuanian higher education is also discussed. The statistical data on habilitated doctors in social sciences and doctoral dissertations in education defended in the period of 1990–2004 illustrate the need to develop researchers of highest qualification in Lithuanian universities. The case study of Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences allows revealing the leadership of education researchers in training of doctoral students. 

scholarly journals A Qualitative Understanding of Doctoral Students’ Experience of Embodiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Abdul Waheed ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
University Environment ◽  
Qualitative Understanding ◽  
The World ◽  
International Doctoral Students ◽  
Emerging Themes

Human beings exist in the world ‘bodily’ and their existence is inexorable. International doctoral students’ understanding of themselves and their perspectives of the learning environment is through their embodiment. The purpose of the present research was to understand doctoral students’ embodiment experiences in relation to a culturally and academically diverse university environment. This understanding was gained through the phenomenological lense of qualitative research. For this purpose, thirteen doctoral students were selected through maximum variation sampling from the Austrian public sector universities located in different states. They were doing doctoral studies in various physical and social sciences at different stages of their dissertation. The understanding of the phenomenon was sought through semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed by coding the text and categorizing it into themes that emerged while frequently reading the transcripts. The emerging themes include ‘stress and anxiety, ‘confidence and motivation’ and ‘physical fatigue and exertion’. Most of the students experienced ‘confidence’, ‘encouragement’, ‘depression’, ‘nervousness’, ‘homesickness’, ‘stress’ and ‘frustration’ when asked about ‘lived body’ or corporeality. The study has implications in understanding doctoral students’ ‘bodily’ existence in the universities.

scholarly journals Higher education and sustainability: understanding of the managers of a higher education institution

2018 ◽  
pp. 42-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Santos Machado ◽  
Josiane Weber ◽  
Amélia Silveira ◽  
Leandro Petarnella
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Case Study Design

This article is part of a research in progress which aims at defining a set of sustainability indicators that meets the specificities of a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The objective was to identify what is the responsibility of the HEIs before sustainability and the sustainable development from the managers' insights. This is a qualitative research with case study design. The collection techniques used were bibliographical and documentary research and semi-structured interviews with ten managers of the institution. It was determined that managers understand sustainability broadly. The managers mention the importance of applying the concepts to management practices in order to be an example to other institutions and to contribute to the sustainable development of the region where it operates. The respondents cited several actions developed in the HEIs. These results provide subsidies for the construction of a sustainability indicator system for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the actions developed.

Framing the role of higher education in sustainable development: a case study analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanna Elmassah ◽  
Marwa Biltagy ◽  
Doaa Gamal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Study Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Analysis

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should play a fundamental role in achieving the international 2030 sustainable development (SD) agenda. Quality education is the fourth of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and one of the targets related to this is to ensure that by 2030 all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote SD. Therefore, the SDGs provide a motive for HEIs to integrate SD concepts into their day-to-day practices. This study aims to introduce a framework for HEIs’ sustainable development assessment. Such a framework guides HEIs and educational leaders to support their countries’ commitments to achieving the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of a case study analysis of the role and successful techniques of HEIs in achieving SD in three countries, namely, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Primary data was collected by semi-structured interviews with three Cairo University officials, while secondary data was collected by reviewing the universities' official websites, reports, publications and related papers. This study introduces a novel framework for HEIs' SD analysis and assessment, which guides HEIs and educational leaders to support SD to fulfill their countries' commitments to achieving the SDGs. This framework is based on the following five categories: strategic direction and institutional working practices, supporting students, supporting university staff competencies, supporting society's stakeholders and networking and sustainable campus. Consideration is given to the potential role of HEIs to support SD in each of these areas. Findings Cairo University could learn from the novel and pioneer practices of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and the University of Tokyo to fill in the gaps it has in different roles. It can also put more effort into adopting the suggested higher education programs of Egypt's Vision 2030. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to a case analysis comparing three countries, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Second, this study has not considered school education, which is equally essential in countries' SD. Practical implications HEIs can use the framework and the findings in this paper to evaluate their current roles in supporting SD, identify the gaps and take actions accordingly to address their weaknesses. Originality/value The paper compares three universities, one in each of the case study countries. It draws conclusions that identify ways in which the paper's framework and findings can guide SD practice in HEIs internationally, especially those in the developing world.

Leaving Academia: The Shifting Terrain of Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (102) ◽  
pp. 92-107
Author(s):  
Lynne Segal
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Life ◽  
Student Debt ◽  
Intellectual Life ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Teaching Research ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Fault Lines

Leaving academia, this essay joins a steady chorus of reflection now thinking backwards over the last half century of extraordinary transformations in higher education. The industry is booming, more students than ever are entering universities, yet the academy is seen as increasingly in crisis. Staff workloads keep mounting, student debt soaring, and staff and student anxieties alike are multiplying, even as government underfunding, imposed managerialism and commercialisation threaten to reduce the underlying logic of higher education to market principles. In this context it is more urgent than ever to record the half century of struggle that opened up and enriched academic life, gradually ensuring the entry of hitherto excluded voices and topics into research and scholarship, especially in the humanities and social sciences. Drawing on my own involvement, I recall some of these always-incomplete attempts to challenge the fault-lines of intellectual life in the academy, knowing that we need always to cherish the value of teaching, research and learning, simply for its own sake.

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