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In this paper, I discuss the gendered‐racialised interactional and contextual dynamics hindering the socialisation of ethnic minoritised women (EMW) within Belgian higher education. Based on in‐depth interviews, I develop the concept of 'socialisation climates' to explain the key aspects that determine EMW's socialisation process. Three socialisation climates are identified: integration, negotiation and interrogation. Findings show that insiders play a crucial role in hindering or facilitating EMW's socialisation. Developmental relationships are gendered‐racialised relations in which EMW's identity impacts supervisor and peer support. The departmental context in terms of hierarchy, an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion culture, and team composition is relevant to their socialisation process. EMW are able to socialise rapidly only in a context that is (radically) inclusive which is still rare in academia. This paper informs higher education institutions to be aware of the gendered‐racialised climate and interactions that influence EMW's socialisation and increase the risk of pushing them out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a long period of relative neglect, the mental well‐being and the mental health of researchers and employees in academia are increasingly entering the limelight. The growing body of evidence suggests that a high number of doctoral researchers work under elevated levels of stress and frustration, and that this has a significant impact not only on their personal health and research output, but also on their future career development. In this paper, therefore, we first discuss what a dystopian and a utopian learning journey of early career researchers may look like from a well‐being perspective. Subsequently, and based on extensive dialogues with more than 250 researchers and professionals active in the researcher mental health domain, we highlight a number of key focal points that both early career researchers, their supervisors, and institutions alike should consider when it comes to planning and delivering mental health oriented educational activities for doctoral researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's age of knowledge and technology, societies are changing fast, on both macro and micro levels. Hardly anyone could have predicted several years ago such an acceleration of change and its impact on society, and in particular, on higher education. In Europe as well as globally, higher education has been undergoing many changes for more than two decades. In many countries, the number of higher education institutions has increased, mass education has replaced more elite systems, universities have adopted different agenda, and research has become more competitive. In this new context, doctoral education has also needed to be redefined in order to better respond to societal and academic challenges. Doctoral education—a crucial segment of higher education and the main link between the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area—has been receiving continuous attention for more than 15 years. This paper provides an overall view on changes in doctoral education in Europe, the background of this change process, and the context that led to these major changes. The main analysis will be presented from a European academic context perspective, but it will also reflect a global perspective. It will provide an analysis of all the milestones and consider the relevant policies and recommendations on the supranational level and their reflection on the national level. While taking the reader on a 15‐year journey of the doctoral education system in Europe, a brief look to the future of doctoral education will be sketched as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses several articles published within issue on topics related to doctoral education.

The number of doctoral students internationally is on the increase, yet low completion rates seem to be stable. Universities need to learn from each other to strengthen doctoral education. In doctoral education, the person and the doctoral project are intertwined and both must be nurtured and developed. This article presents the signature pedagogy of the Norwegian Research School in Teacher Education (NAFOL). The international and national context of NAFOL is described and the reasons for establishing NAFOL are presented. The pedagogical vision behind the research school is outlined, and examples of how the vision translates into activities are provided. The last part of the article analyses experiences from NAFOL and highlights points that might be useful to other research schools in different contexts. Based on the experience gained at NAFOL, a whole person approach to doctoral students in doctoral education is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of reforms in doctoral education, notably since the 2005 publication of the Salzburg Principles, doctoral schools represent the state of the art in contemporary doctoral education in Europe. They aim at supporting the collective vision and endeavour to ensure the personal and professional growth of doctoral candidates, the socialisation of doctoral candidates in the scientific community and their preparation for future careers in a knowledge society. But how is it possible that this new structure is not only perceived as an additional, perhaps dispensable bureaucratic layer that disrupts the traditionally very private relationship between supervisor and doctoral student, but is recognised by the latter as support and added value. We argue that this is directly related to the way the doctoral schools themselves are set up and governed. In this article, we use the example of the University of Vienna to illustrate how different leadership styles were used by the university management to ensure faculty buy‐in. In particular, we point out that the mix of transactional leadership, which incentivises and rewards certain behaviours, and transformational leadership, which also encourages initiative and self‐responsibility, has contributed to the fact that the doctoral schools at the University of Vienna, after only a short time in existence, are recognised as adding value; which has had an immediate positive impact on the situation of the students in particular, but also on the awareness of doctoral education in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in the number of PhD candidates in the last decades has changed the landscape of employment and the nature of what it means to be a PhD holder. Embarking on a career in academia is a challenging endeavour for early‐career researchers while they are confronted with a limited number of job opportunities in academia. Taking into account that knowledge based societies need highly skilled professionals beyond the academic environment, it is important to understand what is the role and value of a PhD for the labour market; and what the current labour market perspectives are for PhD holders. To answer these questions, the authors analysed the available data on PhD holders' employment and conducted semi‐structured interviews with European experts on doctoral education and career development. The data and expert interviews point to different contexts across European countries. The numbers of researchers and PhDs employed in sectors outside higher education varies to a great extent—in business enterprises, government, and private non‐profit sectors. The article maps out different factors which need to be considered when assessing the labour market perspectives of PhD holders, such as the geographic area or country and its economic development, the sector of employment, type of work and the field of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher and doctoral education in Kazakhstan underwent a systemic reform since independence in 1990. Reforms have been determined by dynamic socio‐economic developments in Kazakhstan, the country's entry into the global market, and the need to increase the competitiveness of its human capital. Kazakhstan joined the Bologna Process and switched to a three‐cycle education system in 2010. However, the transition process did not happen smoothly. Doctoral education in the country is challenged by a low graduation rate of doctoral students. The purpose of the qualitative study on which this article reports was to explore doctoral students' perceptions of doctoral training and their experiences in Kazakhstani universities in the context of recent reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the universities of the former Soviet states faced a lack of public funding that left them with tuition fees as their main—and sometimes only—source of revenue. In a context where universities were exclusively focused on their economic survival, the decision of Ilia State University (ISU) to introduce in 2008 a tuition‐free doctoral programme in Georgia was thus a striking exception. This free PhD programme still exists and more than a decade later, its rationale and hence, the question of whether its objectives have been achieved, remain controversial. The purpose of this article is to clarify these two aspects, using the perspective of stakeholders as primary data. Our findings challenge the dominant consensus on free higher education, in the sense that they show that the motives behind tuition‐free programmes may be more diverse and ambiguous than what the literature suggests. Therefore, they also question the relevance of a standard analytical framework to assess the performance of such programmes. Thus, although local and limited in scope, our study offers directions from various disciplinary perspectives for further analyses of the drivers and results of free education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]