Abstract
The mathematics community in the U.S. has become concerned about the state of doctoral education, including concerns about high attrition rates and the small numbers of women and students from some racial and ethnic groups. This paper proposes a model of doctoral student persistence and attrition, in which student participation in the life of the department and discipline lead to increased student integration, which is crucial for students' success. Ten faculty members and eighteen graduate students were interviewed about their interests,conceptions, and experiences within mathematics, in a case study of one mathematics department. In this department, students experienced four types of obstacles to their participation: obstacles stemming from the program structure, obstacles to participation in class, obstacles to participating with faculty outside of class, and obstacles stemming from faculty beliefs about teaching and learning. Implications for the retention of mathematics doctoral students are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Anderson, K. and Jack, D.C.: 1991, ‘Learning to listen: Interview techniques and analyses’, in S.B. Gluck and D. Patai (eds.), Women's Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, Routledge, New York, pp. 11–26.
Bair, C.R. and Haworth, J.G.: 1999, Doctoral Student Attrition and Persistence: A MetaSynthesis of Research, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), San Antonio, TX.
Bar-Tal, D.: 1978, ‘Attributional analysis of achievement-related behavior’, Review of Educational Research 48(2), 259–271.
Becker, J.R.: 1990, ‘Graduate education in the mathematical sciences: Factors influencing women and men’, in L. Burton (ed.), Gender and Mathematics: An International Perspective, Cassell Educational Limited, London, pp. 119–130.
Berg, H.M. and Ferber, M.A.: 1983, ‘Men and women graduate students: Who succeeds and why?’ Journal of Higher Education 54(6), 629–648.
Bowen, W.G. and Rudenstine, N.L.: 1992, In Pursuit of the Ph.D., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Burton, L.: 1999, ‘The practices of mathematicians: What do they tell us about coming to know mathematics?’ Educational Studies in Mathematics 37, 121–143.
California Postsecondary Education Commission: 1990, Shortening Time to the Doctoral Degree: A report to the legislature and the University of California in Response to Senate Concurrent Resolution 66 (90-29), California Postsecondary Education Commission, Sacramento, CA.
Carlson, M.P.: 1999, ‘The mathematical behavior of six successful mathematics graduate students: Influences leading to mathematical success’, Educational Studies in Mathematics 40, 237–258.
Cooper, D.A.: 2000, ‘Changing the faces of mathematics Ph.D.'s: What we are learning at the University of Maryland’, in M.E. Strutchens, M.L. Johnson and W.F. Tate (eds.), Changing the Faces of Mathematics: Perspectives on African Americans, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Reston, VA, pp. 179–192.
Department Website, Retrieved August 20, 2001.
Douglas, R.G.: 1997, ‘Educating mathematical sciences graduate students’, in Preserving Strength while Meeting Challenges: Summary Report of a Workshop on Actions for the Mathematical Sciences, National Academy Press, Washington DC, pp. 41–44.
Dweck, C.S. and Goetz, T.E.: 1978, ‘Attributions and learned helplessness’, in J.H. Harvey, W. Ickes and R.F. Kidd (eds.), New Directions in Attribution Research, Vol. 2, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hilldale, NJ, pp. 157–179.
Etzkowitz, H., Kemelgor, C., Neuschatz, M. and Uzzi, B.: 1992, ‘Athena unbound: Barriers to women in academic science and engineering’, Science and Public Policy 19(3), 157–179.
Fennema, E.: 1985, ‘Attribution theory and achievement in mathematics’, in S.R. Yussen (ed.), The Growth of Reflection in Children, Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, FL, pp. 245–265.
Fennema, E. and Peterson, P.: 1985, ‘Autonomous learning behavior: A possible explanation of gender-related differences in mathematics’, in L.C. Wilkinson and C.B. Marrett (eds.), Gender Influences in Classroom Interaction, University of Wisconsin, Madison, pp. 17–35.
Gerholm, T.: 1990, ‘On tacit knowledge in Academia’, European Journal of Education 25(3), 263–271.
Girves, J.E. and Wemmerus, V.: 1988, ‘Developing models of graduate student degree progress’, Journal of Higher Education 59(2), 163–189.
Golde, C.M.: 1996, How Departmental Contextual Factors Shape Doctoral Student Attrition, Doctoral Dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford.
Golde, C.M.: 1999, ‘The role of departmental context in doctoral student attrition: Lessons from four departments’, unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Helson, R.: 1980, ‘The creative woman mathematician’, in L.H. Fox, L. Brody and D. Tobin (eds.), Women and the Mathematical Mystique, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp. 23–54.
Henrion, C.: 1997, Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference, Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
Herzig, A.: 2002. ‘Talking the talk:Women in the disciplinary culture of mathematics’, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), New Orleans, LA, April 1-4, 2002.
Hollenshead, C., Younce, P.S. and Wenzel, S.A.: 1994, ‘Women graduate students in mathematics and physics: Reflections on success’, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 1, 63–88.
Lave, J. and Wenger, E.: 1991, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Lovitts, B.E.: 1996, Leaving the Ivory Tower: A Sociological Analysis of the Causes of Departure from Doctoral Study, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.
Madison, B.L. and Hart, T.A.: 1990, A Challenge of Numbers: People in the Mathematical Sciences, National Academy Press, Washington DC.
Manzo, K.K.: 1994, ‘American University: Success is in the numbers, African American women excel in Math Ph.D. program’, Black Issues in Higher Education 11, 40–43.
National Research Council: 1992, Educating Mathematical Scientists: Doctoral Study and the Postdoctoral experience in the United States, National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
National Science Foundation: 1998, Summary of Workshop on Graduate Student Attrition (NSF 99-314), National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Studies, Arlington VA.
Nerad, M. and Cerny, J.: 1993, ‘From facts to action: Expanding the graduate division's educational role’, New Directions for Institutional Research 80, 27–39.
Secada, W.: 1989, ‘Agenda setting, enlightened self-interest, and equity in mathematics education’, Peabody Journal of Education 66(2), 22–56.
Stage, F.K. and Maple, S.A.: 1996, ‘Incompatible goals: Narratives of graduate women in the mathematics pipeline’, American Educational Research Journal 33(1), 23–51.
Tinto, V.: 1993, Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd ed.), University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
University Website, Retrieved August 6, 2001.
Wiles, P.: 1999, Graduate Students as Legitimate Peripheral Participants in a Mathematical Community, Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Wilson, L.S.: 1992, ‘The benefits of diversity in the science and engineering work force’, in M.L. Matyas and L.S. Dix (eds.), Science and Engineering Programs: On Target for Women? National Academy Press, Washington, DC, pp. 1–14.
Zwick, R.: 1991, Differences in Graduate School Attainment Patterns across Academic Programs and Demographic Groups, (ERIC Document No. 354 852), Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Herzig, A. Where have all the students gone? Participation of doctoral students in authentic mathematical activity as a necessary condition for persistence toward the PH.D.. Educational Studies in Mathematics 50, 177–212 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021126424414
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021126424414