Professional learning and development initiatives for postdoctoral scholars
Date
2019-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald
Abstract
Purpose: Postdoctoral scholars are increasingly pursuing diverse career paths requiring broad skill sets. This study aims to create a more comprehensive understanding of current approaches and strategies for postdoctoral scholars professional learning and development. Design/methodology/approach: This literature review is a systematic examination and synthesis of the current literature describing professional learning and development pertaining to postdoctoral scholars. The objectives and components of initiatives were extracted and narratively synthesized to identity important patterns and themes across the literature. Findings: Commonalities amongst professional learning and development initiatives for postdoctoral scholars included skills development in the following areas: teaching and learning, mentorship, academic careers, academic writing, industry careers, networking, career planning, project management, time management, communication, leadership and balancing work-life demands. Originality/value: In synthesizing the literature that describes professional learning and development opportunities for postdoctoral scholars, it is apparent that opportunities look different in every setting with no empirical evidence that one strategy is more effective than another. Given the significant resources often required to support professional learning and development initiatives, a deeper understanding of the benefits and deficiencies of various components is needed to ensure scarce resources are invested in the most effective strategies.
Description
The version of record is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/sgpe-03-2019-0032. The full citation is as follows: Nowell, L., Ovie, G., Kenny, N., Hayden, K.A. and Jacobsen, M. (2019), "Professional learning and development initiatives for postdoctoral scholars", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 35-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-03-2019-0032
Keywords
Literature review, Professional development, Professional learning, Postdoctoral scholar
Citation
Nowell, L., Ovie, G., Kenny, N., Hayden, K.A. and Jacobsen, M. (2019), "Professional learning and development initiatives for postdoctoral scholars", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 35-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-03-2019-0032