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Title: Support without Status: Inequities in Student–Advisor Relational Dynamics between First-Generation and Continuing-Generation Doctoral Students
One of the most important developmental relationships in the doctoral student experience is that of the faculty advisor, and yet we know little about whether and how advisor relationships vary between first-generation and continuing-generation doctoral students. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 83 late-stage doctoral students in biological sciences, we explore differences in student perceptions of their relationships with advisors. Narratives reveal a continuum of relationship types, including strained, evolving, supportive, and equal. In equal relationships, doctoral students feel more like collegial partners working alongside their advisors. While continuing-generation and first-generation students are similarly represented among strained and evolving relationships, first-generation students rarely attain equal relationship status. The presented findings offer implications for understanding how inequality shapes student–advisor relationships, the role of collegiality in doctoral education’s hidden curriculum, and the supports needed to foster equity for first-generation students in graduate programs.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1760894
NSF-PAR ID:
10527544
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
MDPI
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Education Sciences
Volume:
14
Issue:
5
ISSN:
2227-7102
Page Range / eLocation ID:
441
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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