ERIC Number: EJ1102714
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Apr
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1492-3831
EISSN: N/A
Interaction Gaps in PhD Education and ICT as a Way Forward: Results from a Study in Sweden
Aghaee, Naghmeh; Jobe, William Byron; Karunaratne, Thashmee; Smedberg, Åsa; Hansson, Henrik; Tedre, Matti
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, v17 n3 p360-383 Apr 2016
Many research studies have highlighted the low completion rate and slow progress in PhD education. Universities strive to improve throughput and quality in their PhD education programs. In this study, the perceived problems of PhD education are investigated from PhD students' points of view, and how an Information and Communication Technology Support System (ICTSS) may alleviate these problems. Data were collected through an online open questionnaire sent to the PhD students at the Department of (the institution's name has been removed during the double-blind review) with a 59% response rate. The results revealed a number of problems in the PhD education and highlighted how online technology can support PhD education and facilitate interaction and communication, affect the PhD students' satisfaction, and have positive impacts on PhD students' stress. A system was prototyped, in order to facilitate different types of online interaction through accessing a set of online and structured resources and specific communication channels. Although the number of informants was not large, the result of the study provided some rudimentary ideas that refer to interaction problems and how an online ICTSS may facilitate PhD education by providing distance and collaborative learning, and PhD students' self-managed communication.
Descriptors: Information Technology, Foreign Countries, Doctoral Programs, Online Surveys, Questionnaires, Doctoral Degrees, Graduate Students, Technology Uses in Education, Educational Technology, Distance Education, Cooperative Learning, Synchronous Communication, Asynchronous Communication, Peer Relationship, Higher Education, Test Items, Questioning Techniques, Correlation, Access to Information, Electronic Learning, Student Attitudes, Statistical Analysis, Qualitative Research
Athabasca University. 1200, 10011 - 109 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8, Canada. Tel: 780-421-2536; Fax: 780-497-3416; e-mail: irrodl@athabascau.ca; Web site: http://www.irrodl.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A