Coaching doctoral students: a means to enhance progress and support self-organisation in doctoral education

Mirjam Irene Godskesen, Sofie Kobayashi

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    18 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In this paper we focus on individual coaching carried out by an external coach as a new pedagogical element that can impact doctoral students’ sense of progress in doctoral education. The study used a mixed methods approach in that we draw on quantitative and qualitative data from the evaluation of a project on coaching doctoral students. We explore how coaching can contribute to the doctoral students’ development of a broad set of personal competences and suggest that coaching could work as a means to engender self-management and improve relational competences. The analysis of the participants’ self-reported gains from coaching show that doctoral students experience coaching as an effective method to support the doctoral study process. This study also provides preliminary empirical evidence that coaching of doctoral students can facilitate the doctoral study process so that the doctoral students experience an enhanced feeling of progress and that they can change their study behaviour in a positive direction. The study discusses the difference between coaching and supervision, for instance power imbalances and contrary to earlier research into coaching of doctoral students this study indicates that coaching can impact the supervisor – student relationship in a positive way.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalStudies in Continuing Education
    Volume38
    Issue number2
    Pages (from-to)145-161
    Number of pages17
    ISSN0158-037X
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

    Keywords

    • research education
    • PhD student
    • general competences
    • supervision
    • learning environment

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