Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Historically, doctoral attrition rate across the globe remains high between 40% and 50%. Prior studies on this topic have focused on practices of supervisors or on the intentions of non-completers, whilst missing the perspectives of successful PhD completers. Little research has been devoted to exploring what makes some doctoral students remain resilient and complete the degree. Resilience refers to an ability to withstand or overcome adversity and unpleasant events and successfully adapt to change and uncertainty. What personal strategies and institutional inputs, if any, may have helped them develop the grit – an ability to overcome obstacles with perseverance during challenging times, in order to reach a long-term goal? Understanding factors that develop resilience and grit, may be important to devise institutional strategies that help promote doctoral persistence and completions. We aimed to answer two research questions: What makes a doctoral student resilient during their period of study? What supervision pedagogies can be developed to help promote grit among doctoral students? Through 12 semi-structured interviews, we explored personal strategies, and identified institutional inputs that helped PhD students develop resilience. Narrative inquiry analysis revealed a range of individual and institutional factors, including those that are less explored in current studies (e.g. having a strong ‘why’ of PhD, passion for topic, financial pressures, influence of a supervisory team). In this presentation, we share the co-created pedagogies and institutional strategies based on the findings, which will be of interest to doctoral supervisors and other staff members seeking to develop resilience in their students.