Students in the Mist: The Struggle to Make Sense of Doctoral Study

• In Event: Roundtable Session 104
  In Roundtable Session: Qualitative Studies of Doctoral Students’ Experiences

Abstract

This paper explores the doctoral student experience from an unusual vantage point, given that students were questioned by a fellow student, and that the group of doctoral students is highly diverse in ethnocultural terms. One to two-hour qualitative interviews were conducted with 31 students, unearthing a range of concerns, two of which are described in detail here: learning the rules and becoming an academic. While such topics are compatible with literature on doctoral student socialization, we draw on other frameworks, add a specifically Canadian focus, and consider how students are developing academic—or non-academic—subjectivities as they begin to see themselves as privileged (given access to information and faculty sponsorship) or not.

Authors

• Sandra S. Acker, University of Toronto - OISE

• Eve Haque, York University