International PhD seminar in Education | Doctoral education and academic career

The second session of the International PhD Seminar in Education was successfully held on October 28th as part of the joint research project "Transformation of Doctoral Education in China and Russia," providing a platform for participants to discuss and exchange ideas on current trends in doctoral education. International Doctoral Seminar in Education | Doctoral studies and academic career brought together similar doctoral studies in education, demonstrating growing interest in the topic.

Two notable studies stood out:

Yang Li
Tsinghua University, China

Yang Li (Tsinghua University, China) presented the topic “The Impact of Departmental Academic Climate on Changes in Doctoral Students' Academic Career Inclinations: An Empirical Analysis Based on Data from 2020 China Graduate Student Satisfaction Survey”.

Yang Li’s cross-sectional study among full-time graduate students revealed the negative impact of a strong academic atmosphere on their intention to pursue an academic career. Despite this, most motivated students (around 90%) retained their interest in continuing scientific work. Additionally, 14-16% of less-motivated undergraduates reconsidered an academic path, indicating other influential factors.
The results of Yang Li's study highlight the importance of creating a supportive environment for graduate students' early involvement in research projects, as well as the need for a balanced approach between coursework and research activities. Moreover, further clarification of the concept of “academic climate” is required, as well as an examination of the differences in its impact across disciplines and the reasons for the high effectiveness of Chinese PhD programs in maintaining academic motivation. To deeply understand the results of quantitative data, Yang Li plans to collect qualitative data through interviews.

Ruofan Cao
Nanjing University, China

Ruofan Cao (Nanjing University, China) spoke with the topic “Deceleration’ in an Accelerated Society: A Qualitative Study of the Deterioration of Doctoral Students' Academic Disposition”.

Ruofan Cao emphasized that today more and more graduate students are losing this enthusiasm and leaving academia. Her research focused on questions about the causes and consequences of decreased academic motivation.
Based on Hartmut Rosa's critical theory of social acceleration, Ruofan Cao analyzed interview data with 15 graduate students from two top Chinese universities and identified three main reasons for the decline in academic attitudes among graduate students:

Social dynamics have further increased competition in academia. For graduate students, publications have become the currency of success. Students feel constant pressure and fear of falling behind their colleagues who are more active in terms of publications.
The cultural value of merit and the desire for success cause graduate students at elite universities to experience fear of failure and anxiety about time, which leads to a feeling of insufficient effort and the inability to fully relax.
Graduate students find it difficult to balance between different roles (student, researcher, employee), which can negatively affect their emotional stability and academic performance.

Ruofan Cao identifies five forms of alienation among graduate students: spatial (the merging of academic and personal life), material (emphasis on publication instead of research impact), action-related (loss of interest in research due to the burden of non-academic tasks), temporal (fragmentation of study time) and self-alienation (loss of connection with the target). These forms lead to a loss of balance, creativity, motivation and self-confidence.
Ruofan Cao showed that graduate students, faced with time pressure, competition, and institutional demands, often slow down their actions. Using Chinese metaphors, Ruofan Cao described two forms of slowing down: temporary changes in behavior patterns and changes in career plans. Most students return to study after a break, but without the same enthusiasm, and often consider alternative career paths.
Ruofan Cao’s recommendations include creating an educational environment that supports academic passion, meeting students' material and psychological needs, and building an open and inclusive academic community that promotes renewed motivation and determination. In conclusion, Ruofan Cao highlighted that it is also important to support non-academic career opportunities for graduate students.

The seminar's discussants were leading researchers in graduate studies worldwide - Wenqin Shen Associate Professor, Peking University (China), Evgeniy Terentev Director, Institute of Education, HSE University (Russia) and Chuanyi Wang Associate Professor, Tsinghua University (China). They noted the level of research and suggested improvements to both studies.