Agency properties of doctoral students in research processes during the COVID-19 pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18861/cied.2024.15.2.3739Keywords:
student engagement, COVID-19, doctorate, doctoral students, thesisAbstract
The complexity of doctoral training demands the articulation of different personal and contextual aspects. In this process, the development of student agency is of particular relevance, especially in disruptive situations that affect various areas of life, such as academic and personal. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the properties of the agency of doctoral students in developing strategies to address academic reading and writing, learning, and optimizing the research process in the COVID-19 health contingency. Through a qualitative approach, participants were 26 students selected from different doctoral programs at a Mexican university. They showed they carried out strategies with a sense of agency to develop their doctoral research. The analysis of the information obtained was carried out using grounded theory. The results reveal that the agency processes of the doctoral students in connection with reading, writing, learning, and the optimization of research work were concretized in strategies focused on knowledge and information management, space-time management, and Interaction with the thesis director. The text discusses these processes and the relevance of promoting agency development from doctoral programs based on comprehensive training (academic, personal, ethical, among others) that makes it possible to face the challenges of current and future scenarios.
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