Understanding non-traditional PhD students habitus – implications for PhD programmes

Abstract

Against the background of vast changes in doctoral education and the emergence of non-traditional doctoral programmes, this paper investigates the habitus of non-traditional PhD students at a South African university. Bourdieu's conceptual tool of habitus informed the study. In-depth and open-ended interviews were conducted with 10 non-traditional students. Data analysis indicates non-traditional students' complex and multifaceted habitus. Non-traditional PhD students' dispositions and experiences include tenacious self-motivation and self-regulation in the face of severely constraining conditions, diverse epistemologies, hybrid goals, more communal orientations, perplexedness about ‘produce new knowledge’ and other requirements of the PhD, vulnerability regarding funds, complex self-change ranging from elation and affirmation to humiliation and confusion and exclusion and non-recognition at the department and faculty levels. These findings indicate greater challenges for non-traditional doctoral programmes that would respond to the academic and social needs of non-traditional students.

Keywords:

• habitus
• non-traditional PhD student
• PhD programme
• inclusion

With the increase of non-traditional PhD students over the past few years the challenge for providers of quality postgraduate research programs is to ensure that the needs of all students are identified and appropriate support put in place to allow a rapid and productive commitment to the research project. (Kiley and Liljegren 1999, 61)

With the increase of non-traditional PhD students over the past few years the challenge for providers of quality postgraduate research programs is to ensure that the needs of all students are identified and appropriate support put in place to allow a rapid and productive commitment to the research project. (Kiley and Liljegren 1999, 61)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.