Why Do Students Consider Dropping out of Doctoral Degrees? Institutional and Personal Factors

Autor/inn/en	Castelló, Montserrat; Pardo, Marta; Sala-Bubaré, Anna; Suñe-Soler, Núria
Titel	Why Do Students Consider Dropping out of Doctoral Degrees? Institutional and Personal Factors
Quelle	In: Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, 74 (2017) 6, S.1053-1068 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0018-1560
DOI	10.1007/s10734-016-0106-9
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Graduate Students; Doctoral Programs; Dropouts; Dropout Characteristics; Student Motivation; Student Attitudes; Social Sciences; Education Work Relationship; Socialization; Dropout Prevention; Spain + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Doktorandenprogramm; Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Schulische Motivation; Schülerverhalten; Social science; Sozialwissenschaften; Gesellschaftswissenschaften; Socialisation; Sozialisation; Spanien
Abstract	Despite the increasing popularity of doctoral education, many students do not complete their studies, and very little information is available about them. Understanding why some students consider that they do not want to, or cannot, continue with their studies is essential to reduce dropout rates and to improve the overall quality of doctoral programmes. This study focuses on the motives students give for considering dropping out of their doctoral degree. Participants were 724 social sciences doctoral students from 56 Spanish universities, who responded to a questionnaire containing doctoral degree conditions questions and an open-ended question on motives for dropping out. Results showed that a third of the sample, mainly the youngest, female and part time students, stated that they had intended to drop out. The most frequent motives for considering dropping out were difficulties in achieving a balance between work, personal life and doctoral studies and problems with socialization. Overall, results offer a complex picture that has implications for the design of doctoral programmes, such as the conditions and demands of part-time doctoral studies or the implementation of educational proposals that facilitate students' academic and personal integration into the scientific community in order to prevent the development of a "culture of institutional neglect." (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01