Hi Attila,

I had the same questioning a few years back and from a bit of background reading at that time I concluded that the issue is based on a simple "offer & demand" rule in employment (please find the attached article). The employees are just providing too much "offer" with more qualifications and specializations, and therefore employers are increasing their "demand" for even more.. This situation has downgraded the Masters qualification so much that has caused a (predictable) decay to the PhD itself.

So, yes, I believe there are many people that are "pushed" towards completing a PhD mostly in order to increase their chances for a job (any job), rather than having a genuine interest in research/science.

Best,

Nick

Thanks Kamal!

I thought that this phenomenon is more closely linked to a materialist democracy fueled by social expectations and competition (rather than competence) aided by status games (one in high status returns to HE with expected preferential service from the latter). If this is a worldwide trend (? - and I am eager to hear from others around the globe) then perhaps we need to consider the long term consequences on educational and social environments of our children and grandchildren?!

I am glad that we still have some very dedicated, keen, and intrinsically motivated graduates, but their life is made harder by the others whose goal is only the degree and/or the title. Best regards, Attila

I find this an interesting question. I think that when economies fail, there are a fair number of people who seek science PhDs simply because they will have guaranteed income for a number of years. Granted that income level is near poverty, but it is better than being unemployed. However, that being said, I can speak to my own situation. I did seek out my immunology PhD with the intention of working in a science career, albeit a teaching career, not a research career. However, in choosing the University of Michigan, I overqualified myself for the level of teaching that I wanted. In the end, I did a postdoc under a mentor who failed to publish the papers I worked so hard to write for him and I had to find other avenues. Thus, I have ended up teaching at the level I was aiming for, but in my first career, accounting. But the reality is this: what I learned in earning my immunology PhD is the process of doing research. I learned it well enough that I can apply it to any topic that I need to and thus, the transition into accounting/IT research has been a fairly easy and smooth process.

I do, however, believe that we are training far more scientists that the economy can handle and that is the reason a fair number of us end up in other fields.

Hi Attila,

I had the same questioning a few years back and from a bit of background reading at that time I concluded that the issue is based on a simple "offer & demand" rule in employment (please find the attached article). The employees are just providing too much "offer" with more qualifications and specializations, and therefore employers are increasing their "demand" for even more.. This situation has downgraded the Masters qualification so much that has caused a (predictable) decay to the PhD itself.

So, yes, I believe there are many people that are "pushed" towards completing a PhD mostly in order to increase their chances for a job (any job), rather than having a genuine interest in research/science.

Best,

Nick

Such an interesting question sir....i am a research scholar and what i see around me in India is people are running behind getting a PhD degree and the saddest part is even after having the degree if ask some doubts regarding the research process they cant answer....But there are people who work so hard to achieve this degree.....

Hi Nick thanks for sharing the article.....

Thank you Nick!

It is Sad, but true.

The "pressure" that you mention triggers other consequences linked to quality, the true advancement of knowledge (aim of a PhD degree) and also (often) academic dishonesty.

I see big differences in my role as a PhD examiner, past and present colleague to some:-), and as educational 'expert' between PhD and PhD qualifications.... Huge differences in fact!

Cheers, and thanks again!

Attila

To Jitha:

Totally agree with you... my reason for posing the question!

Contacts, connections, corruption (apart from institutional interests) are often the facilitatory elements in unmerited yet rewarded PhD studies. Then, as you describe, one shouldn't be surprised that some PhD graduates do not even know the basic foundations in research. I go even further, you may found some (perhaps quite a few) who cannot explain what is the 'standard deviation'. Sadly, this may be a global issue (at least on the basis of my multicultural experience in the HE).

However, knowing about this dilution is merely the recognition facet that begs for further action. Perhaps something should be done about this trend to protect and to distinguish those who work hard and are fully sincere in their professional and educational aspirations?!

You have posed more than one question or discussion area all of which are ripe for research and response.

IN many cases I agree with you that higher education is becoming diluted especially in the PhD programs. One reason for this (my view) is the proliferation of PhD programs without the rigor of previous PhD programs. In my own area of Education, I see more and more PhD proposals and dissertation undertaken with minimal research or qualitative research (which I have no argument with) with such a small sample that the results are meaningless. I have a tendency to think this trend will explore as many PhD's enter the workplace and their lack of rigor becomes apparent. This will, I believe, in the workplace rejecting PhD's from schools that have watered down a PhD program.

As far as your issue about students trying to dictate what teacher ought and ought not do I believe this has more to do with two factors: 1) the culture of instant gratification that students are exposed to prior to coming to university, and 2) the instructors being out of touch with the culture of the students. We, as instructors, have to resist the instant gratification idea along with the idea that, as students have said: "I'm paying for this so I deserve an A." Saying that we also must realize the connectivisim is alive and student learning has changed. We can no longer separate our studies from the environment in which a student has grown. We, as faculty members, must be aware of the culture and make it work to our advantage.

As far as academic dishonesty issue the interconnectedness of students simply makes students cheating easier. To counter this there needs to be a return to academic ethics throughout schooling, starting at the earliest ages, and instructors need to construct assessments that reflect open ended and different questioning which can reduce (but probably not eliminate) the dishonesty of which you speak.

John

Hello

I think this is a complex problem. My perspective is British Arabian if you will pardon my expression. The UK still values proven ability, established track record and achievement and not just academic paper qualifications. The Arab countries, influenced by superficial aspects and their misunderstanding of the US system, on the other hand, under value experience and ability and overvalue paper qualifications. Another issue is the proportion of GDP countries spend on research. The USA, Japan, Israel and some West European countries continue to lead the World in terms of how much resources are afforded to research. The Arab countries collectively, on the other hand again, spend unmentionable sums on research despite the untold riches of some of them. The outcomes are there for all to see and do speak for themselves. Mohammad Abuel-Ealeh

I believe that at least part of the question may be explain through the behavioral economics research mainly concerned with the mix between social market and money market relationships (Heyman & Ariely, 2004), along with a more deep understanding of the real triggers of motivation.

For the first case, the argumentation lies in the fact that in many parts of the world (with central reference to Central and Eastern Europe) the sector of higher education has gradually become a market, losing an important degree of its embedded characteristics related to the values of learning and thinking critically, characteristics with a very strong emphasis in the previous generations of students. Nowadays, due to the fact that students encounter both signals pertaining to social norms (it is recommendable to respect your professors, to make the best of your time, to engage in learning etc) and market norms (I have to pay tuition for my education, specific taxes for retaking exams, I am the client and the university is offering to sell a service etc), the mechanisms that sustain behavior are prone to be expressed more in terms of the market side (Gneezy & Rustichini, 2000).

For the second part, the motivation aspect is even more complicated because due to the mixed signals coming from the labor market, students have the impression that their academic work is futile and only after getting a job they will start to learn applicable stuff. This touches the idea of meaning and sense of completion described in many experiments (for example Ariely, Kamenica, & Prelec, 2008).

I think this question is important in the present age because most of the graduates are looking for a distinct social status among their peers and Hua have motivation to study doctorate from outside the of teaching staff at universities. Allowing learning opportunities for many of the graduates and their abilities and raise their levels of social and due to the institutions in which they work.

This is one of the most important questions in the world of academia since the millennium change! I addressed this issue in the world of healthcare (www.chaosinmedicine.com) and therefore make the point that titles in the workplace contribute heavily to social inequality. In order to counter the inequalities we have to be more careful about how we award doctorate titles.

Your observations are true but not applicable to all. I think some educational institutions that believe in upholding their values are still maintaining standards and the students are molded accordingly and they still earn global and local respect.

there is an article by Mats Alvesson of the School of economics at Lund University about the INFLATION OF EDUCATION. This "ocean of graduates" dilutes the value of graduate degrees, which now become worth not more than a BA in, say, 1950. And so forth, down to the A-level.

The labor market is changing and requires it's employees to be academic. In order to get a first significant job 30 years ago matriculation examinations was the minimum requirement. 15 years ago Bachelor's degree required. In Israel today a Master's degree is often require for the first job. Israel is second of the OCED countries with 46% of the population with higher education. I think that the universities will have to build PhD tracks for workforce different from those who remain in academia.