Threshold concepts have been widely utilized to understand learning in academic disciplines and student experiences in a disciplinary curriculum. This study considered how threshold concepts might operate within an interdisciplinary setting. Data were collected through interviews with 40 doctoral students enrolled in an interdisciplinary program…

This article describes a phenomenological approach to doing educational inquiry and understanding learning. Working within the qualitative tradition, the research is conceived as 'narrow and deep', intimate research that focuses definitively on internality and on first-hand experiences of learning. The theoretical background for doing…

The purpose of this article is to examine student retention rates and graduation among a doctoral program at a Mid-Atlantic institution. This qualitative study found that faculty encouragement, self-motivation, the cohort model, and the structure of this program contributed to its success. The authors recommend a universal model of retention, as…

This paper reports the results of a study of engineering students' approaches to an open-ended design problem. To carry out this, sketches and interviews were collected from 9 freshmen (first year) and 10 doctoral engineering students, when they designed solutions for orange squeezers. Sketches and interviews were analysed and mapped with a…

Immersive 3D Multi User Learning Environments (MULE) have shown sufficient success to warrant their consideration as a mainstream educational paradigm. These are based on 3D Multi User Virtual Environment platforms (MUVE), and although they have been used for various innovative educational projects their complex permission systems and large…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of occupational socialization on the perspectives and practices of two female German sport pedagogy faculty members, Heidi and Lisa, regarding physical education (PE) and PE teacher education (PETE). Method: The main data sources were six formal interviews. Supplementary data were…

The purpose of this research was to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a Micronesian culture-based charter school or other educational program in the state of Hawai'i. Community partners representing four organizations came together with this common goal. There are a growing number of Micronesian families living abroad,…

The Professional Doctorate has become an increasingly popular doctoral route. Research has tended to focus on outcomes and "impact" or on the epistemological nature of programmes and resulting student identities compared to other routes. This paper takes a different focus, examining the "process" through which students come to…

Instructors play a role in helping online students develop a sense of community in virtual classrooms, but little is known about instructors' roles in online graduate programs. To explore the ways in which online instructors helped students create a learning community, defined as a space of connection, closeness and interactivity, the researcher…

Research suggests that doctoral students' learning and experiences are influenced by their relationships and predominant organizational norms and structures, create gender inequality and discourage or prevent alternative behaviors. However, there is very little empirical information on the nature of doctoral experiences and organizational…

The Investigator studied three Doctor of Philosophy program concentrations for a two year period, 2013-2015. The intent of the confidential study was to determine factors affecting program participants' perceptions most. A mixed methods embedded study was applied, with the quantitative portion representing the secondary data source and the…

The authors discuss Triple Helix collaborations in the context of regional competitiveness. Through an exploratory case study, they identify and analyse the impact of the establishment of industrial PhD schools for participating industry and universities. The study was conducted in Sweden in 2014 and focuses on three industry--university…

This study explores the narratives of eight students who served as journal reviewers on a non-course-related service activity. The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of their experiences. The review board was multi-disciplinary in composition; the majority of its student and faculty members were from communities historically…

While increasing attention is being placed on the crucial importance of a positive supervisor-student relationship, few studies have investigated how to enhance this. Our paper investigates the effect of gratitude practices, proposing it brings both focus and intentionality to the student-supervisor relationship resulting in better research…

The concept of Knowledge Triangle (KT) links together research, education and innovation and replaces the traditional "one way" flow of knowledge, essentially from research to education, by a "both ways" circular motion between all the corners of a triangle that, besides research and education, also includes innovation, the…