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The impact and outcomes of (non-education) doctorates: the case of an emerging Bhutan

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Abstract

This is a follow-up study of the impact of education doctorate holders in Bhutan (Maxwell 2018). A representative sample of doctorate holders contributed to this qualitative study. There were anticipated personal outcomes of gains in confidence and self-esteem. There were considerable gains in knowledge and research skills, and mentoring was clearly an important outcome. However, respondents were equivocal about leadership. Workplace conditions appeared to be creating dissatisfaction. Bhutan appears to be close to, or beyond, the cusp where brain drain takes over from brain gain. This, coupled with the under-representation of females amongst doctorate graduates, means development is most likely to be slowed down unless attended to. Ideas for further research are identified.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dorji Penjore for the use of his blog. We are also grateful to Kezang Sherab for his assistance with the text. Thank you to the reviewers. All errors, if any, are ours.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2450, Australia

    T. W. Maxwell

  2. School of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Dendup Chophel

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Contributions

Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by Dendup Chophel. Analysis was performed by Tom Maxwell. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Tom, and both authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to T. W. Maxwell.

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Maxwell, T.W., Chophel, D. The impact and outcomes of (non-education) doctorates: the case of an emerging Bhutan. High Educ 80, 1081–1102 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00531-4

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