Agency and career indecision among biological science graduate students
Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education
ISSN: 2398-4686
Article publication date: 24 October 2022
Issue publication date: 2 January 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how student agency influences career decision-making for doctoral students in biological sciences. The authors address the following questions: How do biological science graduate students navigate career indecision? And how does agency relate to their experiences with career indecision?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed interview data collected from 84 PhD biology graduate students. Researchers used a grounded theory approach. After open codes were developed and data were coded, code reports were generated, which were used to determine themes.
Findings
More than half of the sample had not committed to a career path, and undecided students were bifurcated into two categories: Uncommitted and Uncertain. Uncommitted graduate students demonstrated agency in their approach and were focused on exploration and development. Uncertain students demonstrated less agency, were more fearful and perceived less control and clarity about their options and strategies to pursue career goals.
Practical implications
Findings suggest some forms of indecision can be productive and offer institutional leaders guidance for increasing the efficacy of career development and exploration programming.
Originality/value
Research on doctoral student career decision-making is often quantitative and rarely explores the role of agency. This qualitative study focuses on the relationship between student agency and career indecision, which is an understudied aspect of career development.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation. This article is based upon work supported under award 1760894. The views in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agency.
Citation
Griffin, K.A., Miller, C. and Roksa, J. (2023), "Agency and career indecision among biological science graduate students", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-02-2022-0014
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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