Motivation and STEM PhD identity development: Supervisor perspectives on the changing nature of science disciplines and science acculturation

Abstract

The nature of the PhD has shifted dramatically in recent times in accordance with the broadening of perspectives on the purposes of the qualification. This study considers the impact of this shift, highlighting the implications of changing student motivations on the PhD acculturation process, graduate identity formation, and the effectiveness of supervision practices in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The study design is based on an overarching qualitative research enquiry into factors influencing supervision practice, where the perspectives and experiences of different supervisors were collated from semi-structured group interviews. We draw on Berry’s Model of Acculturation to analyse the roles and interplay of motivation and culture in relation to PhD graduate identity formation, and we examine the implications thereof for effective supervision. The study reveals the multifaceted dimensions of the acculturation process within the context of PhD supervision, viz., students’ motivations and identities, experiences and perceptions of supervisors, and cultural norms in the STEM community of practice. We demonstrate the shifts along these dimensions affecting PhD enculturation, showing how the alignment and discordance between student and supervisor may lead to assimilation, integration, marginalisation, and separation. This study contributes to increasing the body of research on doctoral degree completion with a specific focus on supervisor experiences in the context of the STEM fields, where PhD supervisors are facing unprecedented challenges amidst a shifting higher education landscape.