Dr Carolyn Jackson

Lecturer, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, United Kingdom

Dr Penny Tinkler

Department of Sociology, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

Learning to be Examined: The British PhD Examination Process

Abstract

Driven increasingly by the demands of the global education marketplace, the shape and structure of the British PhD has changed substantially over the last decade. Funding bodies and higher education policy makers have shifted expectations about the purposes of the PhD and, subsequently, about the kind of person that doctoral work should 'produce'. Despite widespread changes to the structure of the PhD process, the examination has undergone no significant change. The current situation prompts questions about the compatibility of the education process and the examination, particularly concerning the skills and knowledges that are being encouraged and rewarded. There is also the longer-term question about whether the examination favours certain people over others. This paper draws upon our research on the PhD examination process in Britain. We will address two main questions: (i) what is assessed during the PhD examination and what models of the 'ideal academic' underpin these assessment criteria? (ii) does differential access to research cultures and resources mean that some groups of candidates are better equipped for the doctoral examination than others?

Bionotes

Dr Carolyn Jackson is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University, UK.

Dr Penny Tinkler is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK.

Presentation Type
30 min. Paper

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Country
United Kingdom