Doctoral research is not an easy undertaking for anyone, but the challenges of doing this while also navigating the complexities and gendered expectations of motherhood can be intensely and inequitably demanding. Mothers have been historically marginalised in higher education, yet still remain missing from many institutional initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Considering current demographic trends, ‘PhD mums’ are a potentially large cohort in doctoral programmes, but they are often (made) invisible. This study reports on part of a large-scale international exploration of the experiences of PhD mums across five continents. A total of 998 PhD mums provided advice to others who might now or in the future combine the roles of mother and doctoral researcher. Through a thematic analysis of the responses, advice relating to support, self-care, self-belief, role management, and preparation was revealed. The study elevates the voice of PhD mothers, offers advice and provides practical and moral support for those who, despite their unique and nuanced contexts, share the continuing challenge of navigating motherhood during their doctoral candidature.

Congratulations to @ioe.bsky.social SRI member @melbond.bsky.social on her recent article, drawing on the lived experience of 998 #PhDMums from over 100 countries.

📖 doi.org/10.1080/0729...

ℹ️ phdmums.weebly.com

#HigherEd #PhD #PhDLife #HigherEducation #Motherhood

📢 New publication 📢

Drawing on the #LivedExperience of 998 #PhD mums from over 100 countries, this article provides advice relating to support, self-care, self-belief, role management, and preparation.

#PhDMums #HigherEd #HigherEducation #DoctoralEducation #Motherhood #PhDLife

LinkedIn This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

As part of the #PhDmums study, we asked almost 1000 current and former doctoral researchers who also had a mother(-like) role, to share their advice, which we have distilled and shared in our new paper.

Link: lnkd.in/gxyrtadd
If you don't have access, 50 free copies here: lnkd.in/gmYUMuDp

Violence in doctoral education: uncaring/uncareful practices of supervisors, co-supervisors, professors, and institutional authorities This article argues that the absence of care during doctoral education in neoliberalised academia – which fosters values and measurements of the market, such as individualism, comparison, and accou...

As I've been sifting through data from #PhDmums, many of whom warn other mothers away from the careless environment of higher education, this title grabbed my attention.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Icon of a mother holding up a baby while wearing a graduation cap. Text reads #PhDmums - A big list of studies that center the experiences of doctoral researchers who are also mothers. For more about our study: phdmums.weebly.com

There are lots of great studies that have informed the #PhDmums study, and we want to share them with you!

This will be a growing list of literature that centers doctoral researchers who also have a mother(-like) role.

advice from #PhDmums, quote "If you don't have a supportive partner or a supportive friend/family group, you are fucked." followed by link to phdmums.weebly.com website

Spending this rainy Sunday morning (by choice, after a few weekdays off in lieu) doing some coding and theme generation for the #PhDmums study. Thinking this quote could be a good descriptive name for the "importance of support" theme...

Advice from #PhDmums. Quote in white with green stylized background: "Make the most of your time 'in the doctoral office' - no procrastination and no perfectionism!". Link to PhDmums.weebly.com

As I'm sorting through the almost 100,000 words of qualitative data from the #PhDmums study, I will pass on some of the pearls of wisdom our participants have offered other #doctoral researchers who are also navigating #motherhood

Many #Phdmums are telling us to wait until children are school age to embark on #doctoral study.

I wonder how they might reflect on that later, because my gosh, two (pre)teen kids are using up way more of my time, money, energy, and waning sanity than when they were babies/toddlers during my PhD🤪

I'm genuinely surprised at how many #phdmums are advising against doing a PhD with kids or having kids during PhD.

Really curious if any dads have ever been warned against pursuing doctoral studies, or advised to wait until the kids are older... 🤷

The #PhDmums study is still ongoing! Data for Paper #3 is being analysed now! We are looking forward to this one - sharing advice directly from PhD mums themselves to other doctoral researchers and higher education institutions!

I'm back here for another try.
Hopefully I can find my community this time.
I need it!

#P-12Education #Teachers #HigherEducation #DoctoralEducation #PhD #ScholarlyPublishing #EarlyCareerResearchers #ECRs #PhDmums