Doctoral Study in Contemporary Higher Education

by Green, Howard; Powell, Stuart

• ISBN13: 9780335214730
• ISBN10: 0335214738
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-01
• Publisher: Open University Press

Summary

How can the full range of doctoral study in the UK be best described? What are the key features that are driving change to the system? What are the implications of current initiatives and the increasingly international context of research degree study? This book covers the differing kinds of doctorate award that exist currently and discusses critically issues that arise from the ways in which related forms of doctoral study are organized and assessed. It focuses on doctoral study, in all its forms, in the higher education sector in the United Kingdom, while being contextualised within an international dimension.Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, the book focuses on the diversity in doctoral study. It examines the current state of the full range of doctoral awards, describes them, and then critically analyses tensions that exist. For example, it assesses the definitions and relations between different kinds of doctoral award, the pedagogy that surrounds them and the examination phases of each. The book also offers suggestions of ways to resolve the tensions associated with different forms of study and indicates possible future directions.Doctoral Study in Contemporary Higher Educationis an essential text for those who manage, fund and deliver education at doctoral level.

Author Biography

Howard Green is Chair of the UK Council for Graduate Education and the Modern Universities Research group. Formerly Dean of the Research and Graduate School, he is now Pro Vice Chancellor with responsibility for planning and innovation at Staffordshire University. He is Professor of Urban Planning at Staffordshire and Visiting Professor of Urban Planning at both Leeds Metropolitan University and Lille 1 University.

Stuart Powell is Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of Research Degrees at the University of Hertfordshire. He is also Honorary Secretary of the UK Council for Graduate Education. His original research interests were in the understanding and education of individuals with special needs – in particular those with autism. More recently, his research has focused on doctoral study.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations

Part 1: Context
The origins, issues and recent development of doctoral study in the UK
Doctoral study, Government and the workplace

Part 2: Range of doctoral awards in the UK
The PhD and the diversity of doctoral study
The PhD by published work
Professional doctorates
Practice-based doctorates

Part 3: Issues surrounding the development of doctoral study
Funding of doctoral programmes
Length of doctoral training programmes

Part 4: Managing doctoral study
The nature of doctoral supervision
Monitoring and assessment
Principles and purposes of doctoral examination
Processes of examining the doctorate

Part 5: The future of the doctorate
Future directions

References
Index