“I had no idea until now”: preparing doctoral students in education for the professoriate

Abstract

Purpose

With the number of doctoral degrees awarded increasing and full-time and tenure-track jobs decreasing, doctoral graduates are entering a fierce job market. Lack of knowledge and support about navigating the job market can impact graduates' mental health and chances of securing long-term employment, but many graduates claim their programs provide little professional development in this area. The purpose of this study is to understand doctoral students' job preparation after participating in a departmental seminar.

Design/methodology/approach

The current explanatory sequential mixed methods, single case study investigated students' perceptions following a year-long seminar in job market navigation.

Findings

Students attending the seminar did not differ from those who did not attend on feelings of preparedness, number of application documents completed, or curriculum vita quality scores.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers may have limited ability to implement graduate student interventions given the power structures of faculty life and the lack of graduate student time.

Practical implications

The results suggest informal seminars may not be enough to support doctoral students' job market skills.

Social implications

This has implications for department chairs and deans to create faculty development opportunities to pivot to a student-centered culture rather than relying on faculty or external support to help graduate students prepare for the job market.

Originality/value

This case study provides insight as to how graduate students' job market anxieties are at odds with the current demands and structure of educational doctoral programs.

Citation

Renbarger, R.L., Rehfeld, D.M. and Sulak, T. (2022), "“I had no idea until now”: preparing doctoral students in education for the professoriate", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 1686-1703. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-06-2021-0198