I did not think that I would read an Estonian article and believe it would apply to me. However, it did read well and gave me some points to reflect upon. The article relates several factors to the success/failure of doctoral students.
The first section dives into the student. What motivates the student? What is their goal for the degree? Do they see themselves positively? And do they feel well in their studies? I placed myself (mentally) into their research group and wondered how I would answer these questions. Thinking it over, I feel pretty confident in my motivations and goals. And thankfully, all the encouragement from the faculty at MGA has given me a very positive self-image and sense of well-being.
Supervisor (which I take as a professor?) interaction is certainly a key element in the process. See prior readings to confirm that. The one strong point I wanted to take away here was how the supervisor needs to be aware of the students' possible difficulty of correctly/completely understanding the research process. However, I feel that will likely not be an issue in this program. It seems extra focused on this subject with plenty of assistance from the embedded librarian and other sources.
Lastly, I see the responses from their sampling definitely pointed out a concern I have: the ability to complete the research without interruption. Only 1 participant in their study was able to do this. The rest had external life events providing short-term interruptions. With Scouting, baseball, hockey, flying, mother-in-law to assist, and who knows what else, I do see this as a risk to mitigate.
Leijen, Ä., Lepp, L., & Remmik, M. (2015). Why did I drop out? Former students’ recollections about their study process and factors related to leaving the doctoral studies. Studies in Continuing Education, 38(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037x.2015.1055463
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