Service-Learning in Doctoral Training & Education

Abstract As the number of Ph.D. graduates entering non-traditional academic and non-academic careers increases, faculty and administrators must look for ways to enhance student training outside the typical realm of teaching and research. In this paper, we discuss how service learning can help answer this call. We begin by reviewing some of the common criticisms of current doctoral education and follow up by discussing how service learning may help fill current gaps in graduate training. Finally, we discuss barriers to implementing service-learning in doctoral-level curriculum. The Crisis in Graduate Education Stakeholders in higher education have raised concerns over the adequacy of current graduate training models with respect to the preparation of doctoral students for work in both academic and non-academic settings (e.g. Nyquist & Woodford, 2000; Cherwitz, 2000). While most would agree that doctoral training prepares students to conduct quality research, these training programs have been criticized for insufficiently preparing students to handle the increasingly wide array professional roles and responsibilities that they will face in their careers. Namely, current graduate training models have been criticized for offering students a very narrow and somewhat shallow picture of how, and in what professional settings, their technical expertise and training can be applied, and for offering little in the way of transferable skills that could be used in the variety of work settings now available to them (Golde & Dare, 2001). As one individual put it: We are producing smart, discipline-sophisticated scholars who are rhetorically challenged and unable to utilize their expertise to its fullest capacity. (Cherwitz, 2000). These criticisms become increasingly salient in light of the numbers of Ph.D. graduates entering non-academic jobs in the private and public sectors as consultants and managers (Kannankutty & Kang, 2001), but they are also relevant to Ph.D.'s pursuing academic positions for which they are increasingly expected to engage in service and outreach as a part of their jobs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relevance of service-learning to the professional development needs of doctoral students. While service learning is typically cited for it's utility in K-12 and undergraduate education models, it is gaining popularity among graduate level faculty and students in programs such as the Preparing Future Faculty Program (e.g. at The University of Georgia) and other university-sponsored graduate professional development programs around the country (e.g. The University of Texas at Austin). We address both the benefits as well as some potential barriers to the implementation of service-learning in a doctoral-level curriculum. Current State of Doctoral Education Almost a century and a half after the first doctoral degree was granted in America, the traditional research-focused model of doctoral training is now under scrutiny. Doctoral students, faculty, administrators, employers, professional associations and national institutes such as the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are pushing for a reconsideration of how institutions of higher education train and prepare doctoral students for careers both inside and outside of academia. The traditional paradigm for doctoral education and training has been to prepare students for careers in academia. In the past, the Ph.D. graduate has been regarded as the scientist the expert, the scholar; one uniquely suited to publish and educate others in their discipline. As a result, most doctoral training programs place emphasis on science over practice, research over teaching, and service last, if at all. Events of the past several decades, however, have created a shift in both the work and societal roles and responsibilities of the Ph.D. graduate. …