What shapes doctoral students' experiences of competence, autonomy and relatedness? A longitudinal study
(2014) 29th International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP) — Location: Paris (8.July.2014)
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- Doctoral education has been repeatedly associated with high dropout rates (Golde, 2000). At first neglected, this phenomenon has received increased scholarly interest in recent years (for a review, see Bair & Haworth, 2004). However, very little research has been comprehensive in terms of the number of programs included. Moreover, most studies lack an integrative theoretical framework that would allow making sense of the findings. These limitations are addressed in a longitudinal survey study we are presently conducting as part of a larger research program on PhD drop-out and persistence. Our theoretical framework draws from Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000). According to SDT, three kinds of support contribute to higher levels of wellbeing and intrinsic motivation, which, in turn, lead to persistence: Support for competence, support for autonomy and support for relatedness. SDT has proven useful in furthering our understanding of persistence in the context of secondary and higher education but has yet to be applied to doctoral education; a context that poses unique challenges. For instance, is support for competence more important in predicting persistence at early stages of the PhD, whereas support for autonomy and support for relatedness are more important at later stages (temporal effects)? And how are different sources of support (advisor, peers …) related to one another? Does peers support matter only when advisor support is lacking (moderation effect)? To answer these questions, we have surveyed doctoral students from two Belgian universities and from all sectors (social sciences and humanities, sciences and technologies, and health sciences). The data consists of measures collected on four occasions, each six months apart, through an on-line questionnaire. In this communication, we present the results from the first two waves of data collection. Beside their theoretical contribution, the practical implications of the results will also be discussed.
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Nicolas, V. d. L., Boudrenghien, G., Devos, C., Klein, O., Frenay, M., Azzi, A., & Galand, B. (2014). What shapes doctoral students’ experiences of competence, autonomy and relatedness? A longitudinal study. 29th International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP), Paris. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/185294