Doctoral students’ learning experiences: a study on Mainland students studying PhD program in Hong Kong

• In Event: Faculty members and doctoral students abroad

Proposal

Doctoral education has moved to be one of the focuses of national development. Over the past decades, scholars have produced a body of work focused on doctoral education. Various aspects of doctoral education were studied, including departmental culture (Golde, 2004; Gardner, 2010), personal attrition (Glode 2005; Gardner, 2008, Haynes, 2008), management (Pearson, 1999), doctoral mentorship (Paglis, Green, and Bauer, 2006; Lee, 2008; Barnes and Austin, 2009). Socialization theories remain the most frequently used orientation (Sweitzer, 2009) to understand doctoral students’ learning process. Weidman, Twale, and Stein (2001) consider graduate student socialization as ‘‘the processes through which individuals gain the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for successful entry into a professional career requiring an advanced level of specialized knowledge and skills’’. They identified four stages of the socialization process: anticipatory socialization, formal stage, informal stage, and personal stage . Literatures also indicate that the processes or the core elements of socialization are knowledge acquisition, investment, and involvement related to the development of role identity and commitment (Stein, 1992). Futhermore, Antony (2002) viewed the process of socialization as a five-stage continuum: observation, imitation, feedback, modification, and adoption. In recent years, more mainland Chinese students studying doctoral program education in Hong Kong. In this study, we will employ Antony (2002)’s continuum to help investigating how Mainland doctoral students perceive their learning experience in Hong Kong.

This study will employ a qualitative approach to explore the learning experiences Mainland Chinese doctoral students studying Ph.D. programs in Hong Kong. The research questions are as follows:
1) How department affects Mainland students’ learning in their doctoral programs? 2) How thesis supervisor and fellow students affect their learning experiences in the doctoral programs? 3)How Mainland doctoral students deal with challenges that they encounter during their doctoral programs? We will conduct semi-structured interviews with 16 mainland Chinese doctoral students majoring in four academic areas (Social Science, Business, Arts, and Engineering) from one top university in Hong Kong.

There are several preliminary observations. First, the history, and mission of the department has affected Chinese doctoral students’ learning experience. Variations in disciplines influence doctoral students’ engagement and development of learning communities. Second, supervisors and fellow students play critical roles in the academic experiences of Mainland students. Students learnt the informal and hidden role expectations through observation, interactions with peer. Third, it is significant for mainland Chinese doctoral students to establish supportive learning communities and develop their independence. Mainland students meet with frustrations when they have no access to understand what is expected of them in a new environment. Supportive learning communities serve as prominent sites for their academic learning.



A paper presented at The Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society 2019 (CIES) April 14-18, 2019, San Francisco

Authors

• Jiahui Lyu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Lai Manhong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong