Page 23 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

The Role of the Professional Doctorate in Developing Professional Practice in STEM Subjects

approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development, taking themes both from the data
and from the literature. The data were coded by two of the authors working individually; the results were
then compared and discussed and the final themes agreed by all authors.

THE IMPACT OF PROFESSIONAL DOCTORATE STUDY ON STEM STUDENTS

Themes

The authors have identified the following themes through their analysis:

• Cohort experience.
• Structure and academic support.
• Personal impact.
• Mixed employer perceptions.
• Reflective practice.
• Personal and professional values
• Professional identity, authenticity and personal voice.
• Trans-professional working.
The Survey

In the quantitative survey students were asked as series of questions about why they chose to study on the
doctoral programme. The students were given the following choices (and could choose as many as they
wished): (a) for personal achievement, (b) to achieve the qualification, (c) for career development and (d)
for professional / subject interest. The highest response to this question was (a) for personal achievement
(80% of respondents), with the next most popular choice being (d) professional / subject interest (67%).
The other options scored thus: (b) to achieve the qualification (37%) and (c) career development (40%).
The students were also asked about the impact that the programme had upon themselves, and were
given the following choices: (a) do you think more critically? (b) Do you understand theory more deeply?;
(c) do you understand professional issues more deeply?; (d) do you approach your practice differently?;
and (e) do you use reflective practice in your work? 68% of students felt that they thought more criti-
cally as a direct result of studying on the programme, 71% felt that they understood relevant theory more
deeply, and 50% felt that they understood professional issues more deeply. All of the students recognised
that studying on the programme had made a difference in the way that they approached their professional
practice. 93% stated that they had begun to use reflective practice within their work context. Full details
of the survey, the questions asked and the results can be found in Smith et al. (2011).

Focus Groups

Qualitative responses were obtained from focus group discussion. What came of them was that students
greatly valued the cohort experience, and the way in which they were able to interact in a safe environment
with professionals from other backgrounds. They also welcomed the structured nature of the programme,
and found the days away from work a welcome escape from their busy professional environments, in

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