Opinions and Suggestions of Graduate Students about Postgraduate Education

Author : Taha Yazar
Number of pages : 149-171

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the opinions and suggestions of graduate students about postgraduate education. Qualitative research design is employed to examine the opinions and suggestions of students who are currently pursuing graduate education. The participants of this study are the students pursuing graduate education at the departments of Educational Sciences (pedagogy program) and Field Education (subject-matter programs) at Dicle University during 2017-2018 spring semester. The sample of the study is consisted of 33 graduate students pursuing masters’ degree with thesis, masters’ degree without thesis, and doctoral degrees. To explore the opinions and suggestions of the students, interviews were conducted. For the analysis of the obtained data, both content analysis and descriptive analysis were utilized. With respect to the reasons why the participating students pursue a postgraduate education, the research findings reveal that students' aspiration for doing professional development, their aspiration for pursuing academic career in the field, their aspiration for conducting scientific research, their aspiration for continuous learning, their aspiration for life-long learning, and their dissatisfaction with the undergraduate education come out as main reasons. It has also been figured out that working in another institution other than university and allocating spare time for graduate education are the most common challenging issues for students in graduate education. In relation to a higher-quality post graduate education, the participating students suggested the following issues; more practice-based courses, solution for graduate education-permit from institutions, and rich and well-supported library.

Keywords

Graduate education, interview, graduate education challenges.

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