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Introduction
Doctoral education is vital for universities across the world as it furthers knowledge across subject areas, increases research capacity, trains individuals to become experts in their fields, and ensures a pipeline of talent for the future academic workforce (Nerad et al., 2022). More broadly, whilst delivering doctoral programmes may be costly for institutions, doctoral education contributes positively to economic growth, innovation and knowledge transfer (UKRI, 2024), in addition to enabling emerging researchers to cultivate their criticality, reflexivity, and identity (Carter, Smith and Harrison, 2021). Yet recent research in the UK has highlighted the low awareness of the benefits of research and development amongst the public (Campaign for Science and Engineering, 2023), with this disconnect between the public and universities mirrored in other national contexts, such as South Africa (Hlatshwayo, 2022), which is of concern especially in context of the rise in anti-intellectualism (Thompson, 2022), and the current attacks higher education and research institutions are facing, most notably in the United States. How does doctoral education, and research, remain relevant, necessary and worth funding?
Given the elite nature of doctoral degrees (Pasztor and Wakeling, 2018), and the significant public funding ascribed to doctoral education in context of wider economic and political challenges, alongside evidence of limited understanding of the impact of doctoral research in local communities (Handforth, forthcoming), it is of economic, moral and political importance to critically examine the perceived public value and impact of doctoral education.
This special issue provides an opportunity to engage with these concerns, acknowledging the influence of wider cultural discourses which pervade contemporary conceptions of doctoral programmes, such as neoliberal understandings of the purpose of higher education, and concerns around academic elitism. This special issue (SI) proposes a critical, international examination of doctoral education within a social justice context, considering how notions of public good may be brought to bear on doctoral education in increasingly turbulent social, economic and political environments. Activities connecting HE to public good have been undertaken primarily in the context of undergraduate education (McCunney, 2017), with evidence of a gap in relation to how doctoral education connects with wider social issues. This SI will illuminate emerging theory and practices from different national contexts through a variety of theoretical lenses and highlight key learning from these experimental approaches, informing potential alternative models for doctoral education across the globe. We use recent work positioning doctoral education as a potential force for public good (Deem, 2020), derived from wider work on education for public good (Locatelli, 2017) and public sociology (Burawoy, 2005), alongside our ongoing practice developing community-informed doctoral education (Handforth and Smith-McGloin, 2024), as a jumping-off point.
List of Topic Areas
We invite research papers that focus on these issues. Specifically:
- Papers that demonstrate ways in which doctoral education for public good may be theorised and practised around the globe
- Papers that highlight how institutions consider and connect doctoral programmes with values relating to social justice, civic impact and community benefit
- Papers that reimagine doctoral education in terms of its potential as a tool for public good
We are inviting contributions from international researchers with expertise in doctoral education, highlighting how national and local contexts inform approaches to embedding public good and enabling diverse perspectives to be shared. Through these contributions, this special issue aims to show - through a range of methodological and theoretical approaches - the possibility of moving beyond narrow conceptions of doctoral study as concerned with either economic value or career potential. Papers submitted may consider implications for policy, pedagogical practice and theory in doctoral education.
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sgpe
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/sgpe
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key Deadlines
Closing date for abstract submission: 01/11/2025
Email for abstract submissions: sherran.clarence@ntu.ac.uk
Closing date for submissions: 30/06/2026
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