TY - JOUR
T1 - What Can an Evaluation of the AGESW Predissertation Fellows Program Tell Us about the Mentoring Needs of Doctoral Students?
AU - Gibson, Allison
AU - Fields, Noelle L.
AU - Wladkowski, Stephanie P.
AU - Kusmaul, Nancy
AU - Greenfield, Jennifer C.
AU - Mauldin, Rebecca L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2019/11/17
Y1 - 2019/11/17
N2 - Good mentoring is a key variable for determining success in completing a doctoral program. The Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW) provides leadership in the areas of gerontological social work education, research, and policy. In 2010, AGESW began offering the Pre-Dissertation Fellows Program (PDFP) to enhance social work doctoral students’ professional development and skillset for academia. The purpose of this study was to examine student participants’ perceptions of the PDFP in its role to providing mentorship and training for an academic position that encompasses research, teaching and professional service. This qualitative study examined eight cohorts (2010–2018) of the AGESW PDFP (N = 85). Participants identified a number of aspects of professional development gained, gratitude for the training, an appreciation for candid advice received, and areas of professional development they felt they were lacking within their doctoral training. Implications for doctoral education, doctoral mentorship programs, and the AGESW pre-dissertation program are discussed. Further, programs such as AGESW pre-dissertation fellowship program can serve as a model for other doctoral training initiatives to prepare students to work in academia.
AB - Good mentoring is a key variable for determining success in completing a doctoral program. The Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGESW) provides leadership in the areas of gerontological social work education, research, and policy. In 2010, AGESW began offering the Pre-Dissertation Fellows Program (PDFP) to enhance social work doctoral students’ professional development and skillset for academia. The purpose of this study was to examine student participants’ perceptions of the PDFP in its role to providing mentorship and training for an academic position that encompasses research, teaching and professional service. This qualitative study examined eight cohorts (2010–2018) of the AGESW PDFP (N = 85). Participants identified a number of aspects of professional development gained, gratitude for the training, an appreciation for candid advice received, and areas of professional development they felt they were lacking within their doctoral training. Implications for doctoral education, doctoral mentorship programs, and the AGESW pre-dissertation program are discussed. Further, programs such as AGESW pre-dissertation fellowship program can serve as a model for other doctoral training initiatives to prepare students to work in academia.
KW - Social work education
KW - professional workforce issues
KW - training; mentoring
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074495273&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85074495273&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01634372.2019.1685052
DO - 10.1080/01634372.2019.1685052
M3 - Article
C2 - 31650910
AN - SCOPUS:85074495273
SN - 0163-4372
VL - 62
SP - 852
EP - 866
JO - Journal of Gerontological Social Work
JF - Journal of Gerontological Social Work
IS - 8
ER -