Survival Strategies: Doctoral Students’ Perceptions of Challenges and Coping Methods

Introduction By design, earning a doctorate degree is not a quick or easy process; otherwise, the educational value of the graduate school's terminal degree would be diminished. As noted by M. Jones (2013), attrition rates for doctoral students range from 33% to 70% (cf. Gardner & Gopaul, 2012; Ivankova & Stick, 2007; Jiranek, 2010; Kim & Otts, 2010). Further, a 2008 study conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS; Sowell, 2008) revealed that only 57% of doctoral students completed their degree programs within 10 years. The researchers in this CGS study examined 330 doctoral programs representing various disciplines over a 12-year period (Sowell, 2008). In a separate study of attrition rates at the doctoral level, Lovitts (2001) found that attrition rates can range from 30% to 50% depending on field of study, consistent with the CGS findings (Sowell, 2008). These and other studies (cf. M. Jones, 2013) provide evidence that time management and persistence have been challenges to success at the doctoral level. There are other obstacles to overcome as well. The first-year experience is a daunting one for doctoral students because many have to become re-acclimated to the learning environment after years in the workplace, in addition to adapting to the rigors of a doctoral research program (Wao & Onwuegbuzie, 2011; Witte & James, 1998). Numerous factors have been identified that can hinder a student's doctoral experience, such as financial and resource issues, difficult disciplines, accessibility of information, and progress monitoring (Neumann, 2012; Wao & Onwuegbuzie, 2011), as well as isolation (Ali & Kohun, 2006, 2007; Kohun & Ali, 2005; Lovitts, 2001). The first-year doctoral experience often leads to students questioning whether they made the correct decision to pursue a doctorate degree (Witte & James, 1998), leading to high attrition rates at this early stage of these students' doctoral programs (Jairam & Kahl Jr., 2012; Lott, Gardner, & Powers, 2010). Indeed, as noted by Ali and Kohun (2006), in the first year of their doctoral programs, students experience difficulties in adjusting to their new life of doctoral studies. Moreover, typically, the first year of the doctoral program yields the most difficult adjustment (Hockey, 1994). This adjustment likely is even more difficult for first-generation doctoral students (Gardner & Holley, 2011; Holley & Gardner, 2012). Beeler (1991) identified four stages wherein the actual adjustment occurs for new graduate students: unconscious incompetence (i.e., occurring upon entering the doctoral program wherein students have a limited idea about what is involved in the program either academically or socially), conscious incompetence (i.e., occurring after the students gain knowledge about the academic requirements during which time they become aware of their academic deficits), unconscious competence (i.e., occurs when students believe that they have acquired some competence in their fields of study but are mostly unaware of their competence, thereby leading them to feel competent unconsciously), and conscious competence (i.e., occurs when students have accumulated sufficient knowledge that they become aware of what they know). According to Beeler (1991), this adjustment process places a psychological burden that overwhelms some students. And students who are unable to cope with this psychological adjustment might fall behind relative to other students in their program, which might lead to them dropping out of the program. With the vast differences in attrition rates of doctoral students being 33% to 70% (cf. Gardner & Gopaul, 2012; Ivankova & Stick, 2007; Jiranek, 2010; Kim & Otts, 2010), researchers, through this collective case study, sought to determine the common experiences of select doctoral students and what motivated their persistence through their doctoral degree programs. No matter the rigor of the doctoral program, research has indicated that peripheral factors can have just as much impact on the attrition of doctoral programs as can the difficulty of the coursework. …