ReflectionThe current literaturefurther informs collective knowledge of the doctoral process doctoral students’experience from their transition from dependence to interdependence.
The studyused the interdisciplinary framework to get a better understanding ofdevelopmental theory and socio-cultural aspects of learning. Next, Gardner(2009) aimed to define success in doctoral education given the fact thatapproximately fifty percent of the students who join this education completethe degree. Smith and Hatmaker (2014) investigated the experience of doctoralstudents in the public field who were trained researchers. Colbeck (2008)believed individuals identities are often associated with labels for socialpositions or roles. Baker and Pifer (2010) rely on the role of student’srelationships in the identity development process.
Weidman and Stein (2003)studied the relationship between perceived characteristics of the faculty andpeer climate in doctoral students’ academic departments and their scholarlyorientations. The existing research concluded that the implementation of theprograms and faculty mentors is crucial to the overall growth of the students’professional identity process. Therefore, future research should look towardsanalyzing how peer relationships have an impact on professional identity growthand development.The paper intends todiscuss three main themes from the provided articles including academicsuccess, relationships, and socialization. These themes are significant todoctoral students as they help in enlightening them on the key issues thataffect their academic as well as professional image. Doctoral students’prolificacy in their education and careers is determined by their academicsuccess which in turn depends on their relationships and socialization withintheir faculties.
Theme 1: Academic SuccessAcademic success issignificant to doctoral students as it helps them attain professional identity.According to Gardner, the word success is utilized to explain various resultswhich include models to better understand how learners can succeed, theactivities needed to succeed, the impact of certain variables upon success overtime as well as the relationship that exists between such variables and success(Gardner, 2009). According to Gardner, only 50 percent of doctoral students whoenrolls in the program are able to complete the degree.
There are variousindicators of success used to measure the success of a student includingcoursework, assessments and into GPA which is used a mutual variable to examinelearner success, especially in undergraduate education. Developing asense of shared meanings across different identities whether those identitiesare invoked with a single group or within intersecting groups, may helpdoctoral students craft professional identities that integrate their identitiesas researcher, teacher, and service provider (Colbeck,2008). However, when it comes to doctoral education, standards are expected toremain high. The study found thatthree sectors had very high completion doctoral accomplishment rates:communication at 76.5%, oceanography at 72.7% and psychology at 70.7% and thatthese were reflected both countrywide and disciplinary values (Gardner, 2009).According to Baker and Pifer key relationships are significant in achievingacademic excellence and identity while negative relationships tend to impactacademic success in a negative way (Baker and Pifer, 2011).
On the other hand,Smith and Hatmaker (2014) explained the benefits of mentorship andrelationships to students who want to develop their identity by acquiringacademic success. Achieving academic success is necessary before one can becertified for beginning professional practice (Weidman & Stein, 2003). Therefore,academic success depends on students’ relationship and mentorship duringcoursework.
Theme 2: RelationshipsRelationships amongdoctoral students are vital in influencing academic success and professionalidentity. It is important to know that acquisition of doctoral degree it’s theinitial stage of a faculty career as well as the development of a professionalscholarly identity (Baker and Pifer, 2011). The course is comprised of variouseducational experiences like knowing the scope of academic occupation,understanding the semantic, investigation and teaching abilities related to acertain discipline.
Knowing the relationships between the educational experienceand expected outcomes is of great importance to academic institutions (Weidman& Stein, 2003). The course is comprised of three main stages in the U.S.
:admission, completion of coursework and dissertation proposal process. DuringStage 2, student experience high levels of segregation because they were nolonger in the classroom. This, in turn, reduces the interactions with communitymembers. Among other limitedprofessions, academic career has acquired the professional status linked tocomparatively high levels of prestige, fiscal rewards, security as well asautonomy. Many professions share traits including the specialized body ofknowledge that offers support to the skills required to exercise the career,principles which are sustained by a professional association and an ethicalcode for such professions. In addition, they share a well-known authority onthe basis of exclusive expertise as well as an authoritative to serve the publicsensibly (Colbeck, 2008).
The relationships whichare established in and out of the academic are vital for assisting students todeal with the segregation linked to Stage 2. The data found in this studyhelped profess the significance of relationships in the analogous process oflearning both the student task and the scholar role. Smith and Hatmaker (2015)found out that there are a lot of relationships between faculty members,mentors, and students that helps them achieve their professional identityadvancement. Additionally, Gardner (2009) in his article concluded thatcooperation between various disciplines (oceanography, communication, andpsychology would be key for students to achieve their professional identitydevelopment.
Students tend to learntheir selected career’s abstract of professional knowledge and its linkedskills in their lengthy period of degree programs as well as an internship. Thetime of doctoral groundwork it is vital since even if the identity isimpervious to change, alterations to one’s nous of personality are moreprobable to happen especially when the transitioning to a fresh task Colbeck,2008). Theme 3: SocializationSocialization isimportant in developing the skills and getting the knowledge related to beingan affiliate of a job. It also involves the adaptation of values, culture, andnorms of such profession or organization (Smith and Hatmaker, 2014). Whenundertaking doctoral education, students need to develop professionalsocializations since this will help them learn about and develop the identityin the profession. There are higher chances of learning factors like mentoring,training, apprenticeships, orientation and sessions all of which aidssocialization. In relation to doctoral students, the aspect of socializationinto the occupation encompasses the practice of scholarship to be a sovereignscholar (Smith and Hatmaker, 2014).
Also, this process ofcreating one’s identity includes the shift from being a consumer of awarenessto a maker of knowledge via production of original research papers and thisprocess is the most unsatisfying to any student. This journals strengths andadvantages could be attributed to the fact that the authors have criticallyanalyzed the perks of being an independent scholar and the role thatrelationships play in the identity development phases. Gardner (2009) explainsthe importance of individual and collaborative relations between disciplines askey to professional identity development. That student needs to engage inhealthy socialization to help them grow in their careers. On the other hand, Bakerand Pifer (2011) in their article explained the importance of understanding keyrelationships as well as their impact on the identity development process. Theyemphasize the importance of establishing key relations between students andfaculty members and themselves.
Socialization of studentsin the doctoral program with faculty members and peers and the time they taketo participate in scholarly activities are vital to their career development,identity creation, and academic success. Commitment, in turn, is shaped by theextensiveness or number of social connections or role partners one has inrelation to an identity and the intensiveness or depth of those relationshipswith role partners (Colbeck, 2008). Therefore, it is very important for thestudents to have productive social interaction with faculty members and fellowstudents who offer a supportive climate for doctoral study. This, in turn,provides a vibrant foundation for subsequent academic as well as researchprofessions through motivating learner’s research and scholarly productivity(Weidman & Stein, 2003).
Relationships between students and faculty membersshould, therefore, be encouraged in higher learning institution so as to ensurethat students get the appropriate support for their studies. The academicsuccess and identity of the students professionally depend on such factors asgood relations within the faculty and with fellow students. ConclusionThe studies have revealedthat successful students need to have more relationships that help socializethem to acquire academic success and develop a professional identity (Baker& Pifer, 2011). In addition, doctoral students need to acquire appropriatementorship which will help their identity through academic success (Smith , 2014). Finally, socialization is significant in the development ofappropriate skills and acquiring relevant knowledge as a member of aprofession.
