The Relationships Between International Doctoral Students and Major Advisors: Methodological and Theoretical Implications for Future Research

• In Event: Roundtable Group 8
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Equity, access, and diversity in the college student experience

Proposal

One of the most impactful decisions a doctoral student makes in a research-based academic degree program is the selection of a faculty advisor (Joy, 2015). Students consider multiple factors when selecting a faculty advisor, including transparent work expectations, intellectual compatibility, the advisor’s professional reputation, financial support, and the ability to communicate effectively (Boyce et al., 2019). International doctoral students face even greater challenges, including a lack of institutional support during the dissertation process (Young et al., 2019), inadequate faculty accessibility, insufficient financial aid, inconsistent immigration policies, and the perception of limited job prospects after graduation (Huang & Lanford, 2023; Park, 2022; Young et al., 2019). Nevertheless, the relationships of international doctoral students with their doctoral advisors have been understudied to date. This lack of understanding has a direct impact on the issue of doctoral student attrition, as it is known that international doctoral students are uniquely reliant on their advisors for funding, research opportunities, academic social capital, and other forms of personal and career-oriented support. Moreover, the power dynamics of such a relationship are unequal, due to the link between university enrollment and immigration status for many international doctoral students.


This presentation argues that a more relationship-oriented approach to research on international doctoral students is necessary for deeper understanding. Two possible solutions are proposed here - one methodological and one theoretical. From a methodological perspective, Matthew Desmond’s (2014) concept of relational ethnography - where a comprehensive field, processes, and cultural conflicts are each explored in lieu of a single site or a unified culture - could elicit meaningful and rich data. According to Desmond, relational ethnography involves the study of “at least two types of actors or agencies occupying different positions within the social space and bound together in a relationship of mutual dependence or struggle” (p. 554). As a result, researchers are less concerned with the “groups” or “places” studied in a traditional ethnography. Instead, researchers focus on the connections that bind actors together, the influence that actors have on each other, and the important networks that are constructed through these relationships.


From a theoretical perspective, Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory argues that the different social environments and social interactions with which individuals engage can have a significant impact on their development and success within a given field (Kezar et al., 2022). In higher education, international doctoral students’ environments and interactions are largely filtered through the microsystem work expectations and cultural competencies of their doctoral advisors. Hence, Bronfenbrenner’s theory invites researchers to better understand how these interactions in the microsystem impact the broader meso, exo, macro, and chronosystems.


To summarize, the identification of key interpersonal factors that present barriers to the retention of international doctoral students can be instrumental in determining how institutional resources can be deployed effectively to foster student success and disciplinary professional growth. This presentation accordingly argues that a deeper investigation of relationships between international doctoral students and their faculty advisors is imperative to mitigate unequal power dynamics and improve the problem of international doctoral student attrition.

Authors

• Emily Crider, Augusta University

• Michael Lanford, University of North Georgia