Summer Conference

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Summer Conference
Professor D Howard Green Staffordshire
University Chair UK Council for Graduate
Education
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• Review some background
• Growing importance of non research matters
  such as training.
• Early PDPs
• QAA and policy
• Some thoughts.

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Changing doctorate?

• However education should take the initiative e.g.
  examining the PhD and trying to orientate it
  towards the requirements of industry while
  industry should vigorously recruit people
  qualified in science, engineering and technology
  Committee on Manpower Resources for Science and
  Technology, 1968

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• . Pressures for change were driven by three key
  concerns (i) an apparent loss of international
  standing of the British PhD,(ii) lack of personal
  and professional skills and (iii) disappointing
  time to completion and completion rates.

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• The 1993 White Paper, Realising our Potential
• the Government welcomes the growth in
  postgraduate courses. It is concerned, however,
  that the traditional PhD does not always match up
  to the needs of a career outside research in
  academia or an industrial research laboratory
  (HMSO, 1993, pp. 57).

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The ball is rolling

• ESRC
• OST/MRes
• Joint Statement
• New Code etc etc

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• Where is the evidence
• Change of view with increasing number of
  doctorates
• Final realization that they dont all become
  academics
• Increase in general employability skills needs
• Increased importance placed on reflection

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Some early developments

• DfEE Training Research students for employability
  project
• Royal Society of Chemistry
• Making Your PhD work for you University of
  Leeds
• Research Student Log Book UMIST

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• Science and the lab book?

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• Dearing Report (National Committee of Inquiry
  into Higher Education) recommended HEIs develop
• a transcript recording student achievement which
  should follow a common format devised by
  institutions collectively through their
  representative bodies
• a means by which students can monitor, build and
  reflect upon their personal development.

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Policy statement on a progress file for Higher
Education(QAA)

• Policy on transcripts
• Policy on Personal Development Plans (PDP)
• the development phase (until 2005)
• a 5 year lead-in-time (2005/06 start date) is
  more realistic for the implementation of policy
  across the whole system and for all HE awards.

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QAA definition

• A structured and supported process undertaken by
  an individual to reflect upon their own learning,
  performance and/or achievement and to plan for
  their personal, educational and career
  development.

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Purpose

• Become more effective independent and self
  confident self directed learners
• Understand how they are learning and relate their
  learning to a wider context
• Improve their general skills for study and career
  management
• Articulate their personal goals and evaluate
  progress towards achievement
• Encourage a positive attitude to leaning
  throughout life.

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• The educational worthiness is widely
  acknowledged (QAA) By whom?
• Student
• Supervisor
• Institution

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Institutional policy

• The application of Personal Development Planning
  should be based on institutionally determined
  policies within a national guidance framework.
  Policy should be underpinned by the following
  designation of responsibilities
• HEIs should be responsible for providing
  opportunities for PDP and for guidance to support
  the process.
• The nature, scope and extent of opportunities and
  support for PDP should be determined by each
  institution (influenced by professional and
  statutory regulatory bodies where appropriate).

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• The ultimate responsibility for deriving benefit
  from PDP should rest with each student although
  institutions will influence this.
• QAA should, through its development and review
  activities, support the introduction of policy
  and, when practice is established, be responsible
  for providing public assurance that institutional
  policies are being implemented effectively.

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QAA Code

• research students may find it useful to use the
  PDP tools provided by their institution to record
  their personal progress and development,
  including reference to research and other skills

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Some issues

• For whose benefit? Needs a little care.
• Diversity of the PGR population in terms of
  award, mode of study, age, employment status,
  award purpose.

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• Student
• Valuable to reflect and review
• A waste of valuable time in the lab/library
• Need to reflect ourselves on why people do
  doctorates

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• Supervisor
• An addition challenge
• Questions the role
• Teacher?
• Researcher?
• Do we have the skills?
• Should we assume we do?

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• Institutions
• helps the student to become a more reflective
  learner and therefore more strategic(?) and
  effective in their approach

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• And where does it fit into the doctorate?
• Where does it get assessed or recognized?
• And like many initiatives, needs to be placed
  strategically in the doctoral process

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