Background: Gaps and Growth Potential
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024), postsecondary teachers held about 1.4 million jobs in 2023. The projected outlook for 2023-33 is double (8%) that of the growth rate for all occupations (4%). Nearly 119,000 job openings are projected each year, on average, over the decade. For most institutions, a terminal degree is required, in addition to teaching experience and a record of scholarship. Despite the field's growth in the labor sector, student attrition rates, retention, and lack of postgraduate academic career paths remain prevalent. For example,
- Attrition: 33-70% of PhD students never finish their doctorate (Jones, 2013).
- Retention: Half of PhD students consider dropping out during their studies, also known as “quitting intention” (Castello et al., 2017).
- Postgraduate Academic Career: Less than half of PhD graduates work in higher education (ACOLA, 2016; Guthrie & Bryant, 2015; McGagh et al., 2016; Neumann & Tan, 2011)
There is further concern whether doctoral programs prepare graduates for academic careers (Barcan, 2018; Frick et al., 2016; Sutherland, 2016). Sharmini & Spronken- Smith (2020) explained,
The explicit development of teaching competency does not necessarily occur, nor does the ability to author research grants, collaborate in research, and manage research budgets. However, doctoral study may implicitly develop some aspects (p. 824).
Early literature notes the contextual factors of gender and social class impacting students’ choice in an academic career path (Barley & Tolbert, 1997). More recent research notes the interpersonal dimensions of educational integration, social integration, research collaborations, and mentors influencing academic career paths. What follows is a brief description of these influencing factors.
What is Missing: Factors Underlying Problem
- Faculty Mentors significantly impact student satisfaction and completion time (Baker et al., 2020; Skakni, 2018; Stubb et al., 2011; Woolderink et al., 2015).
- Academic Integration entails students’ involvement in professional scholarly opportunities, collaboration with researchers, frequent contact with colleagues, integration in the department community, and receiving and providing academic help from other doctoral students (Lovitts, 2001; van Rooij et al., 2021).
- Social or Informal Integration involves creating social and informal contexts where students increase a sense of belonging (O’Meara et al., 2017) and an increased sense of connectedness and purpose to the organization, such as student study groups and collaborative interdisciplinary projects (Golde, 2000; Meeuwisse et al., 2010).
- Research Collaborations—Research collaboration with mentors and peers contributes to a social environment that supports the academic and professional development of PhD students (e.g., Ryazanova & McNamara, 2016; Sargent & Waters, 2004). These collaborations also facilitate the PhD student's integration into the broader research community (Belkhir et al., 2019).
What Works: Factors Underlying Solutions
Importantly, successful mentors are not peers but faculty with established research success. Further, researchers have determined that successful faculty mentors meet specific student needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy.
- Competence - Students feel competent in their scholarship when mentors can provide academic and research-related support (Overall et al., 2011; Ryan & Deci, 2017). This kind of academic support decreases the time it takes to complete the work (Devos et al., 2017; Johnston et al., 2016).
- Relatedness – this factor includes mentor friendliness, understanding of personal or private situations, interest in student research and development, the ability to guide students during stress, and creating the personal and social support associated with student completion and academic career choice (Ali et al., 2016; Barnes et al., 2010; Basturkmen et al., 2014). Conversely, a mentor’s lack of interest in student research and success leads to quit intention and attrition (Bair et al., 2004)
- Autonomy - Perceived autonomy, or a student’s sense of volition and freedom, is established by the successful mentor and related to PhD student continuation, sense of satisfaction, and research self-efficacy (Devos et al., 2015; Mason, 2012; Ryan & Deci, 2017).