The Stories We Tell Ourselves about the Doctorate, and their Consequences: Ageism and the PhD

Authors

  • Tara Brabazon Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Cultural Studies at Charles Darwin University / Professor of Cultural Studies at Flinders University
  • Eunice Gribbin Flinders University
  • Catherine Sharp Flinders University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23918/ijsses.v10i3p232

Keywords:

Doctor of Philosophy, Storying, Ageism, Homology, Professional Development

Abstract

PhD supervision is marinated in assumptions. These assumptions are fuelled by professional and personal stories of success and failure, and are edited for public presentation and dissemination. They hook deeply into the conversations we have with ourselves, to justify behaviour, prejudice, discrimination, decisions and the injustices. As PhD supervisors and advisors in higher education, we hold power. How we wrangle that power with PhD students has profound consequences. This article intervenes in one of the stories that academics tell ourselves, about age and the PhD. The moment we enter Google Images and type the phrase “PhD students” into the search engine, our assumptions spill onto the screen. We see young men, and some women, in the sciences, cloaked in a lab coat, staring earnestly at the camera. The truth is distinct. A large proportion of our students are already in professional jobs and completing a doctorate for professional and personal advancement. But the stories continue of higher degree programmes ‘training’ bright young men to be the scientists of tomorrow. This article disrupts such slick, marketable and simple stories about Graduate School. Our students are not like us. They are not us. They have and will experience a completely different university system.

References

Acker, S. and Haque, E. (2015). The struggle to make sense of doctoral study. Higher Education Research and Development. 34(2), pp. 229-241

Alber, T. (2013). Tools for teaching: ditching the deficit model. Edutopia, April 2: https://edutopia.org/blog/teaching-tool-ditching-deficit-model-rebecca-alber

Barakate MS, Yang YX, Foo SH, Vickery AM, Sharp CA, Fowler LD, Harris JP, West RH, Macleod C, Benn RA. (2000b). An epidemiological survey of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary referral hospital. Journal of Hospital Infection. 44(1):19-26.

Barakate MS, Harris JP, West RH, Vickery AM, Sharp CA, Macleod C, Benn RA. (1999) A prospective survey of current methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus control measures. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery. 69(10):712-6.

Barnes, C. (2007). Disability, higher education and the inclusive society. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(1): 135-145

Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society: Towards a new modernity. London: SAGE.

Beshyah, S., Ibrahim, W., Aburawi, E., & Elkhammas, E. (2018). The rules and realities of authorship in biomedical journals: A cautionary tale for aspiring researchers. Ibnosina Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 10(05), 149-157.

Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does. Higher Education Research & Development, 18(1): 57-75.

Bourke, S., Holbrook, A., Lovat, T. and Farley, P. (2004). Attrition, completion and completion times in PhD candidates. Paper presented at the AARE Annual Conference, Melbourne: https://aare.edu.au/data/publications/2004/bou04849.pdf

Brabazon, T. (2016a). Don’t fear the reaper? The Zombie University and eating braaaaains. KOME, 4(2): pp. 1-16, https://komejournal.com/files/KOME_TB%20ZombieU.pdf

Brabazon, T. (2016b). Winter is coming: doctoral supervision in the Neoliberal University. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies. 3(1): 14-34, https://ijsses.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Volume-3-Issue-1.pdf

Brabazon, T. (2022) PhD Set Up Document. Scribd: https://scribd.com/document/579764328/Tara-s-PhD-Set-Up-Document

Brabazon, T. (2023). Know what you do not know. Author’s Republic.

Brabazon, T, Redhead, S. (2017). The Rescue Doctorate. Liberated Syndication. December 30. https://tarabrabazon.libsyn.com/the-rescue-doctorate

Buchan, J. and Wilcox, T. (2012). Preparing doctoral students in social sciences for a future in academe: perspectives on publishing during candidature. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2402560 and https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2402560

Dumville JC, Walter CJ, Sharp CA, Page T. (2011). Dressings for the prevention of surgical site infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Issue 7. Art No CD003091. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003091.pub2. www.cochrane.org

Dumville JC, Gray TA, Walter CJ, Sharp CA, Page T, Macefield R, Blencowe N, Milne TKG, Reeves BC, Blazeby J. (2016). Dressings for the prevention of surgical site infection. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 12. Art. No.: CD003091. DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD003091: www.cochrane.org

Haven, K. (2007). Story proof: The science behind the startling power of story. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Harry, B. and Klingner, J. (2007). Discarding the deficit mode. Educational Leadership, 64(5): https://ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb07/vol64/num05/Discarding-the-Deficit-Model.aspx

Harzing, A. W., & Alakangas, S. (2016). Google Scholar, Scopus and the Web of Science: a longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison. Scientometrics, 106, 787-804.

Johnson, E., Green, K., and Kleuver, R. (2000). Psychometric characteristics of the revised procrastination inventory. Research in Higher Education, 41(2): 269-279

Kaplan B (2011) Evaluating treatments in health care: The instability of a one-legged stool. BMC Med Res Methodol 11(65)

Lantona, K. and Browne, M. (2001). Factors associated with completion of research higher degrees,” Higher Education Series, Report 37, Higher Education Division, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Canberra: https://dest.gov.au/archive/highered/hes/hes37/hes37.pdf

Lee, A. and Williams, C. (1999). Forged in Fire: Narratives of trauma in PhD supervision pedagogy. Southern Review, 32.1: 6-26

Lipka, O., Baruch, A. and Meer, Y. (2018). Academic support model for post-secondary school students with learning disabilities: student and instructor perceptions. International journal of inclusive education, DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2018.1427151

Lombardi, J. (2016). The deficit model is harming your students. Edutopia: https://edutopia.org/blog/deficit-model-is-harming-students-janice-lombardi

Lovitts, B. (2001). Leaving the ivory tower: the causes and consequences of departure from doctoral study. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

McCormack, C. (2005). Is non-completion a failure or a new beginning? Research non-completion from a student’s perspective. Higher Education Research and Development, 24(3): 233-247

Newman, J. H. C. (1992). Idea of a University, The. University of Notre Dame Press.

Norton, J. (2011). Getting to the end: Psychological factors influencing research higher degree completion. Journal of the Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association, 38 (October).

Phillips, L. G., & Bunda, T. (2018). Research through, with and as storying. Routledge.

Propp, V. I. (1968). Morphology of the Folktale (Vol. 9). University of Texas Press.

Sharp CA. (1993) The Diabetic Foot. Geriaction. 12(2): 12-14

Sharp CA. (1996a) Safety-Lok syringe put on trial. Australian Hospital;198: 29

Sharp CA. (1996b) Assessment of Pressure Ulcer Risk and Guidelines for Prevention. Master of Clinical Nursing Thesis. University of Sydney.

Sharp, CA (2022). Do clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of pressure ulcers really prevent pressure ulcers? An analysis of the guidelines. AJMS. 13.6: https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v13i6.43030

Sharp CA, Burr G, Broadbent M, Cummins M, Casey H & Merriman A. (2000a). Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Care: a survey of current practice. Journal of Quality in Clinical Practice. 20: 150-157

Sharp CA and Campbell J. (2022). Preventing pressure ulcers in aged care by auditing, and changing, work practices. AJMS. 13.4: https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v13i4.41855

Tennant, J. P. (2020). Web of Science and Scopus are not global databases of knowledge. European Science Editing, 46, e51987.

Todorov, T. (1971). The 2 principles of narrative. Diacritics, 37-44.

University of Melbourne. (2009). The PhD Handbook, Appendix A: Guidelines on PhD candidature for departments, supervisors and candidates. Melbourne: University of Melbourne: https://msgr.unimelb.edu.au/current/phdhbk/appendixa.html

Walter CJ, Dumville JC, Sharp CA, Page T. (2012) Systematic review and meta-analysis of wound dressings in the prevention of surgical-site infections in surgical wounds healing by primary intention. Br J Surg. 2012 Sep;99(9):1185-94. doi: 10.1002/bjs.8812. www.cochrane.org

Downloads

Published

19.06.2023

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Brabazon, T., Gribbin, E., & Sharp, C. (2023). The Stories We Tell Ourselves about the Doctorate, and their Consequences: Ageism and the PhD. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 10(3), 232-253. https://doi.org/10.23918/ijsses.v10i3p232

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >> 

Similar Articles

1-10 of 194

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.