Can peer learning support doctoral education? Evidence from an ethnography of a research team

Viviana Meschitti

doi:10.1080/03075079.2018.1427711

Can peer learning support doctoral education? Evidence from an ethnography of a research team

Viviana Meschitti

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper focuses on peer learning as a process to develop PhD students’ disciplinary and scholarly skills. PhD students’ experience is not usually framed in terms of peer learning, because peer learning is more often studied and applied at the undergraduate level. This contribution builds on an ethnography of a research team to show the potential of peer learning over the course of the doctorate. A socio-constructivist conceptualisation of learning, inspired by activity theory, guides the analysis. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it proposes an original definition of learning that highlights process and practice, and shows how to work with it. Second, it demonstrates how peer learning unfolds in the interplay between structured and emergent types of interactions. Third, it provides scholars with insights into the conditions facilitating peer learning and stimulates debate around the initiatives that institutions can put in place to support PhD students.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1209-1221
Number of pages	13
Journal	Studies in Higher Education
Volume	44
Issue number	7
Early online date	25 Jan 2018
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1427711
Publication status	Published - Jun 2019

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Cite this

Meschitti, V. (2019). Can peer learning support doctoral education? Evidence from an ethnography of a research team. Studies in Higher Education, 44(7), 1209-1221. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1427711

Meschitti, Viviana. / Can peer learning support doctoral education? Evidence from an ethnography of a research team. In: Studies in Higher Education. 2019 ; Vol. 44, No. 7. pp. 1209-1221.

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Meschitti, V 2019, 'Can peer learning support doctoral education? Evidence from an ethnography of a research team', Studies in Higher Education, vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 1209-1221. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1427711

Can peer learning support doctoral education? Evidence from an ethnography of a research team. / Meschitti, Viviana.

In: Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 44, No. 7, 06.2019, p. 1209-1221.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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