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The transitional stages in the PhD degree in mathematics in terms of students’ motivation

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Abstract

This paper presents results of a longitudinal study in the transition to independent graduate studies in mathematics. The analysis of the data collected from 24 students doing a PhD in mathematics revealed the existence of three transitional stages within the PhD degree, namely Adjustment, Expertise and Articulation. The focus is on the first two transitional stages, since the data collection focused mainly on these. Based on the first two transitional stages and the students’ ways of dealing with them, which were called ‘survival strategies’, three types of students were identified. The importance of motivation for each transitional stage and the successful transition overall are considered as well.

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Notes

  1. Table 2 in the appendix gives the names of all the students who participated in this study.

  2. Almost every student mentioned their supervisor which gave me the opportunity to clarify the issue of the supervisor’s support during the transition.

  3. Bradley was the only student of group B that succeeded in becoming an independent mathematician and his case will be discussed in Section 7.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the valuable support from her two PhD supervisors at the University of Warwick, Mr. Adrian Simpson and Professor David Tall. Her PhD research project was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Award No. R42200134200.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London, 23-29 Emerald Street, London, WC1N 3QS, UK

    Eirini Geraniou

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  1. Eirini Geraniou
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Correspondence to Eirini Geraniou.

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The results presented in this paper are based on the research the author carried out during her studies towards a PhD degree in the field of Mathematics Education at the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.

APPENDIX—The groups of students

APPENDIX—The groups of students

  • GROUP A: Alan, Alex, Adrian, Adam, Arthur, Anthony (decided to drop to an MSc degree)

  • GROUP B: Ben, Barry, Brian, Bob, Bradley

  • GROUP C: Casey, Calvin, Carl, Chris, Clark, Colin

  • GROUP F: Frank (third), Fred (third), Fiona (fourth), Felicia (fifth), Floyd (third), Fidel (third), Felix (fourth)

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Geraniou, E. The transitional stages in the PhD degree in mathematics in terms of students’ motivation. Educ Stud Math 73, 281–296 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-009-9205-1

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