Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences
Postgraduate study can be mentally, physically and emotionally challenging. The levels of anxiety and depression in postgraduate students are much higher than those in the general population, and isolation can also be a problem, especially for students who are marginalised due to gender, race, sexua...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2024-01-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/92365 |
| _version_ | 1797348234703667200 |
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| author | Jennifer Tullet Jennifer Leigh Brandon Coke David Fisher Johanna Haszczyn Steven Houghton Johanna Fish Laura Freeman Isabella Garcia Stefan Penman Emma Hargreaves |
| author_facet | Jennifer Tullet Jennifer Leigh Brandon Coke David Fisher Johanna Haszczyn Steven Houghton Johanna Fish Laura Freeman Isabella Garcia Stefan Penman Emma Hargreaves |
| author_sort | Jennifer Tullet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Postgraduate study can be mentally, physically and emotionally challenging. The levels of anxiety and depression in postgraduate students are much higher than those in the general population, and isolation can also be a problem, especially for students who are marginalised due to gender, race, sexuality, disability or being a first-generation and/or international student. These challenges are not new, but awareness of them has increased over the past decade, as have efforts by institutions to make students feel supported. Under the umbrella of a Doctoral Training Partnership, we developed a programme in which reflective practice is employed to help postgraduate students navigate work environments, deal with difficult supervisory or professional relationships, and improve their work-life balance. Additionally, this reflective practice is allowing the training partnership to tailor support to its students, enabling them to effectively nurture our next generation of bioscientists. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:02:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a34f639bd08e44b4913f5bb5c65b4c93 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T12:02:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-a34f639bd08e44b4913f5bb5c65b4c932024-01-23T15:59:13ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-01-011310.7554/eLife.92365Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciencesJennifer Tullet0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2037-526XJennifer Leigh1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3672-1462Brandon Coke2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0847-6885David Fisher3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7947-3366Johanna Haszczyn4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7012-7125Steven Houghton5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9568-3769Johanna Fish6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5683-9946Laura Freeman7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1674-8112Isabella Garcia8https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8208-8355Stefan Penman9Emma Hargreaves10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7887-2018Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomSchool of Sociology, Social Policy, and Social Research, Division for the study of Law, Society, and Social Justice, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomCrop Science and Production Systems, National Institute of Agricultural Botany, East Malling, United KingdomSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomDivision of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomDivision of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomSchool of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United KingdomDivision of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, United KingdomPostgraduate study can be mentally, physically and emotionally challenging. The levels of anxiety and depression in postgraduate students are much higher than those in the general population, and isolation can also be a problem, especially for students who are marginalised due to gender, race, sexuality, disability or being a first-generation and/or international student. These challenges are not new, but awareness of them has increased over the past decade, as have efforts by institutions to make students feel supported. Under the umbrella of a Doctoral Training Partnership, we developed a programme in which reflective practice is employed to help postgraduate students navigate work environments, deal with difficult supervisory or professional relationships, and improve their work-life balance. Additionally, this reflective practice is allowing the training partnership to tailor support to its students, enabling them to effectively nurture our next generation of bioscientists.https://elifesciences.org/articles/92365research culturegraduate studentsreflective practicereflexivitymental healthwellbeing |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer Tullet Jennifer Leigh Brandon Coke David Fisher Johanna Haszczyn Steven Houghton Johanna Fish Laura Freeman Isabella Garcia Stefan Penman Emma Hargreaves Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences eLife research culture graduate students reflective practice reflexivity mental health wellbeing |
| title | Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences |
| title_full | Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences |
| title_fullStr | Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences |
| title_short | Using reflective practice to support PhD students in the biosciences |
| title_sort | using reflective practice to support phd students in the biosciences |
| topic | research culture graduate students reflective practice reflexivity mental health wellbeing |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/92365 |
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