Learning Experiences That Make a Difference: Findings from a National Study of Doctoral Education in the Professions. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

The purpose of this study was to explore and develop baseline understandings of the purposes, character (i.e., cultural, teaching/learning, curricular practices), quality, and outcomes associated with doctoral education in four professional fields of study: clinical psychology, electrical engineering, nursing, and school administration. The analysis is based on 3 programs in each of these 4 fields and interviews with 148 stakeholders (faculty, administrators, students, and alumni). Through these interviews, five teaching and learning practices were identified that, from the perspectives of those interviewed, enrich students' doctoral experiences in ways that contribute meaningfully to learning and development. These areas are: (1) the problematization of professional knowledge and practice; (2) the use of relational teaching and learning throughout the doctoral experience; (3) an emphasis on integrative inquiry; (4) individualized mentoring of students; and (5) student engagement in authentic, research-based discovery activities. Taken together these five teaching and learning practices form a learning environment, a culture, that appears to value collegial and reciprocal engagement among faculty and students in a community of practice. (Contains 54 references.) (SLD)