Karri Holley | University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa (original) (raw)
Papers by Karri Holley
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 2017
Purpose-The growing demand for doctoral education and the role of the doctoral degree to advance ... more Purpose-The growing demand for doctoral education and the role of the doctoral degree to advance nations socially, economically, and culturally forces countries and individual institutions to respond to concerns stemming from the doctoral process. Numerous initiatives to support doctoral students have been adopted with varying features across countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine doctoral student support programs in two countries: the USA and Turkey. These countries offer higher education systems at different stages of maturity and stability. Design/methodology/approach-The data for this study came from a comparative case study analysis of doctoral student experiences in support programs at two research universities, one in the USA and one in Turkey. Ten American doctoral students and eight Turkish doctoral students were interviewed, for a total of 18 interviews. The study utilized the conceptual framework specified by the PhD Completion Project initiated by the US Council of Graduate Schools. Findings-The two national systems featured in this study are at different points of their development. These developmental starting points influence the rationale and construction of a student support program, particularly one focused on advanced degrees, research activity, and knowledge production. The Turkish higher education system faces the challenge of building its infrastructure to be responsive to national needs in future decades, including producing qualified faculty as teachers and researchers. The American model of doctoral student support concentrates on increasing diversity within the academy. By focusing on first-generation students, students of color, and women in STEM disciplines, efforts are directed toward not just improving the quantity of graduates, but also the diversity of those graduates. Originality/value-While doctoral student support programs are increasingly common in multiple national contexts, analyses of these programs are rare, and comparative analyses even more so. The emergence of new academic disciplines, the trend toward interdisciplinary research, and the prevalence of neo-liberal policies has made the doctoral experience increasingly complex. The data presented here reveal that while doctoral education is influenced by country-specific contexts, doctoral students from multiple countries share many of the same experiences.
The postdoc landscape: The invisible scholars, 2017
While widespread concerns exist over the experiences and career trajectories of postdoctoral fell... more While widespread concerns exist over the experiences and career trajectories of postdoctoral fellows in higher education, these concerns are not always examined through the lens of a social and cultural context unique to a national system. Postdoctoral fellows do exist in various forms at academic institutions around the world. Understanding their experiences offer insight not only into the nuanced nature of doctoral and postdoctoral work but also the larger question about how various higher education systems engage in a globalized knowledge economy. This chapter examines the postdoctoral fellow's experience in various national contexts. Researchers from Australia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and South Africa reflect on their higher education systems; the role of the postdoctoral fellow within the system; and how internal and external influences shape the postdoctoral experience.
Frontline Learning Research, 2015
In W. Tierney (Ed), Governance and the Public Good, 2006
Innovative Higher Education, 2017
In cities across the United States higher education institutions exist in tandem with a range of ... more In cities across the United States higher education institutions exist in tandem with a range of other socio-cultural and economic organizations, such as businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. The role of colleges and universities in city development is important, and empirical examination of universities' role in and relationship with cities provides an avenue for higher education researchers to explore interactions that are potentially key to a thriving knowledge economy. Using data collected from a case study of a large American city and a university within that city, we sought to better understand the university's role in and relationship with its surrounding city.
Threshold concepts have been widely utilized to understand learning in academic disciplines and s... more Threshold concepts have been widely utilized to understand learning in academic disciplines and student experiences in a disciplinary curriculum. This study considered how threshold concepts might operate within an interdisciplinary setting. Data were collected through interviews with 40 doctoral students enrolled in an inter-disciplinary program as well as content analysis of interdisciplinary curricula. The findings emphasize the importance of the integrative process to interdisciplinary initiatives. Interdisciplinary threshold concepts do not result from the addition of multiple disciplines, but rather are fostered through unique facets of the interdisciplinary experience.
Interest in interdisciplinary programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM... more Interest in interdisciplinary programs in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields at the
graduate-degree level is widespread across American higher
education. Using longitudinal qualitative interviews, this article
considers the early career experiences of scholars who hold an
interdisciplinary PhD in neuroscience. The scholars were interviewed
first as doctoral students and then 6 years later. The
findings illustrate the challenges of marketability, professional
development, and balancing personal and career demands for
interdisciplinary PhD recipients in STEM-related fields.
Interdisciplinary curricula provide students the opportunity to work with knowledge drawn from mu... more Interdisciplinary curricula provide students the opportunity to work with knowledge drawn from multiple disciplines. Following suit, interdisciplinary learning requires interaction of knowledge from different disciplines; integration of knowledge from different disciplines; and an overarching topic, theme, or problem that shapes the learning experience. Since the university curriculum is commonly structured by academic disciplines, and faculty are socialized to their respective disciplinary norms, interdisciplinarity is a complex endeavor for colleges and universities. These endeavors include developing interdisciplinary courses, sustaining interdisciplinary initiatives, and financing interdisciplinary programs. Given the multiple challenges facing 21st-century society, the question of interdisciplinarity is urgent. How knowledge is defined and disseminated; how and what students learn; and how higher education can be responsive to its external environment are crucial issues facing educators. Responding to these issues does not diminish the role of the discipline in education, but rather acknowledges that knowledge is unbounded and potential discoveries lie outside compartmentalized structures. Disciplines provide the organizational foundation for academic departments in higher education, as well as the curricular foundation for major fields of study and the dominant basis of preparing future faculty. Upon completion of their doctoral degrees, most faculty assume positions that perpetuate the division of knowledge, reinforcing a cycle of disciplines as normative and irrevocable. The disciplinary structure stems from a greater diversification and specialization of labor that occurred over the last two centuries. As bodies of knowledge grew and new areas developed, institutions focused human, financial, and social resources on segmented organizational units. These units have changed over time, however. Disciplines expand, integrate, and scale down—for example,
The lengthy history of interdisciplinary activity in higher education offers important lessons ab... more The lengthy history of interdisciplinary activity in higher education offers important lessons about developing, administering, and assessing interdisciplinary programs. A deepening body of literature surrounding higher education studies and organizational theory surrounds these lessons. This literature acknowledges that, like any other system, higher education institutions face multiple influences from both internal and external stakeholders. This interaction requires an understanding of the environment in which higher education institutions operate. This chapter begins from the position of a changing environment for higher education to consider the challenges associated with administering interdisciplinary programs. After establishing organizational norms unique to higher education institutions, the chapter considers three specific areas: 1) the role of boundaries in shaping the university, and how interdisciplinary programs negotiate these boundaries; 2) the persistence of disciplinary cultures, and their impact on interdisciplinary programs; and 3) the resource challenge for contemporary higher education, and how this debate affects interdisciplinary activities.
Rural communities are underserved by the medical profession. This shortage is particularly acute ... more Rural communities are underserved by the medical profession. This shortage is particularly acute for minority rural communities lacking reliable access to minority healthcare professionals. This article reports the results of a study designed to understand the attitudes and responses of rural minority students who participated in a program designed to increase the number of rural physicians. Data were collected through interviews with students and program faculty as well as classroom observations and document analysis. Findings emphasized the importance of recognizing the needs of rural areas, networking between peers and rural professionals, understanding the steps required for receiving a medical degree, and acknowledging students’ cultural capital related to rural communities. The article concludes with recommendations for educators focused on underrepresented student populations or specific community needs.
New Directions for Higher Education, 2013
The Review of Higher Education, 2009
Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 2000
The Journal of Higher Education, 2006
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 2008
In part due to the current furor over higher education assessment and account-ability in light of... more In part due to the current furor over higher education assessment and account-ability in light of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, American colleges and universities are confronted with increased national attention in regards to the state of undergraduate ...
Innovative Higher Education, 2013
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 2013
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 2017
Purpose-The growing demand for doctoral education and the role of the doctoral degree to advance ... more Purpose-The growing demand for doctoral education and the role of the doctoral degree to advance nations socially, economically, and culturally forces countries and individual institutions to respond to concerns stemming from the doctoral process. Numerous initiatives to support doctoral students have been adopted with varying features across countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine doctoral student support programs in two countries: the USA and Turkey. These countries offer higher education systems at different stages of maturity and stability. Design/methodology/approach-The data for this study came from a comparative case study analysis of doctoral student experiences in support programs at two research universities, one in the USA and one in Turkey. Ten American doctoral students and eight Turkish doctoral students were interviewed, for a total of 18 interviews. The study utilized the conceptual framework specified by the PhD Completion Project initiated by the US Council of Graduate Schools. Findings-The two national systems featured in this study are at different points of their development. These developmental starting points influence the rationale and construction of a student support program, particularly one focused on advanced degrees, research activity, and knowledge production. The Turkish higher education system faces the challenge of building its infrastructure to be responsive to national needs in future decades, including producing qualified faculty as teachers and researchers. The American model of doctoral student support concentrates on increasing diversity within the academy. By focusing on first-generation students, students of color, and women in STEM disciplines, efforts are directed toward not just improving the quantity of graduates, but also the diversity of those graduates. Originality/value-While doctoral student support programs are increasingly common in multiple national contexts, analyses of these programs are rare, and comparative analyses even more so. The emergence of new academic disciplines, the trend toward interdisciplinary research, and the prevalence of neo-liberal policies has made the doctoral experience increasingly complex. The data presented here reveal that while doctoral education is influenced by country-specific contexts, doctoral students from multiple countries share many of the same experiences.
The postdoc landscape: The invisible scholars, 2017
While widespread concerns exist over the experiences and career trajectories of postdoctoral fell... more While widespread concerns exist over the experiences and career trajectories of postdoctoral fellows in higher education, these concerns are not always examined through the lens of a social and cultural context unique to a national system. Postdoctoral fellows do exist in various forms at academic institutions around the world. Understanding their experiences offer insight not only into the nuanced nature of doctoral and postdoctoral work but also the larger question about how various higher education systems engage in a globalized knowledge economy. This chapter examines the postdoctoral fellow's experience in various national contexts. Researchers from Australia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and South Africa reflect on their higher education systems; the role of the postdoctoral fellow within the system; and how internal and external influences shape the postdoctoral experience.
Frontline Learning Research, 2015
In W. Tierney (Ed), Governance and the Public Good, 2006
Innovative Higher Education, 2017
In cities across the United States higher education institutions exist in tandem with a range of ... more In cities across the United States higher education institutions exist in tandem with a range of other socio-cultural and economic organizations, such as businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. The role of colleges and universities in city development is important, and empirical examination of universities' role in and relationship with cities provides an avenue for higher education researchers to explore interactions that are potentially key to a thriving knowledge economy. Using data collected from a case study of a large American city and a university within that city, we sought to better understand the university's role in and relationship with its surrounding city.
Threshold concepts have been widely utilized to understand learning in academic disciplines and s... more Threshold concepts have been widely utilized to understand learning in academic disciplines and student experiences in a disciplinary curriculum. This study considered how threshold concepts might operate within an interdisciplinary setting. Data were collected through interviews with 40 doctoral students enrolled in an inter-disciplinary program as well as content analysis of interdisciplinary curricula. The findings emphasize the importance of the integrative process to interdisciplinary initiatives. Interdisciplinary threshold concepts do not result from the addition of multiple disciplines, but rather are fostered through unique facets of the interdisciplinary experience.
Interest in interdisciplinary programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM... more Interest in interdisciplinary programs in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields at the
graduate-degree level is widespread across American higher
education. Using longitudinal qualitative interviews, this article
considers the early career experiences of scholars who hold an
interdisciplinary PhD in neuroscience. The scholars were interviewed
first as doctoral students and then 6 years later. The
findings illustrate the challenges of marketability, professional
development, and balancing personal and career demands for
interdisciplinary PhD recipients in STEM-related fields.
Interdisciplinary curricula provide students the opportunity to work with knowledge drawn from mu... more Interdisciplinary curricula provide students the opportunity to work with knowledge drawn from multiple disciplines. Following suit, interdisciplinary learning requires interaction of knowledge from different disciplines; integration of knowledge from different disciplines; and an overarching topic, theme, or problem that shapes the learning experience. Since the university curriculum is commonly structured by academic disciplines, and faculty are socialized to their respective disciplinary norms, interdisciplinarity is a complex endeavor for colleges and universities. These endeavors include developing interdisciplinary courses, sustaining interdisciplinary initiatives, and financing interdisciplinary programs. Given the multiple challenges facing 21st-century society, the question of interdisciplinarity is urgent. How knowledge is defined and disseminated; how and what students learn; and how higher education can be responsive to its external environment are crucial issues facing educators. Responding to these issues does not diminish the role of the discipline in education, but rather acknowledges that knowledge is unbounded and potential discoveries lie outside compartmentalized structures. Disciplines provide the organizational foundation for academic departments in higher education, as well as the curricular foundation for major fields of study and the dominant basis of preparing future faculty. Upon completion of their doctoral degrees, most faculty assume positions that perpetuate the division of knowledge, reinforcing a cycle of disciplines as normative and irrevocable. The disciplinary structure stems from a greater diversification and specialization of labor that occurred over the last two centuries. As bodies of knowledge grew and new areas developed, institutions focused human, financial, and social resources on segmented organizational units. These units have changed over time, however. Disciplines expand, integrate, and scale down—for example,
The lengthy history of interdisciplinary activity in higher education offers important lessons ab... more The lengthy history of interdisciplinary activity in higher education offers important lessons about developing, administering, and assessing interdisciplinary programs. A deepening body of literature surrounding higher education studies and organizational theory surrounds these lessons. This literature acknowledges that, like any other system, higher education institutions face multiple influences from both internal and external stakeholders. This interaction requires an understanding of the environment in which higher education institutions operate. This chapter begins from the position of a changing environment for higher education to consider the challenges associated with administering interdisciplinary programs. After establishing organizational norms unique to higher education institutions, the chapter considers three specific areas: 1) the role of boundaries in shaping the university, and how interdisciplinary programs negotiate these boundaries; 2) the persistence of disciplinary cultures, and their impact on interdisciplinary programs; and 3) the resource challenge for contemporary higher education, and how this debate affects interdisciplinary activities.
Rural communities are underserved by the medical profession. This shortage is particularly acute ... more Rural communities are underserved by the medical profession. This shortage is particularly acute for minority rural communities lacking reliable access to minority healthcare professionals. This article reports the results of a study designed to understand the attitudes and responses of rural minority students who participated in a program designed to increase the number of rural physicians. Data were collected through interviews with students and program faculty as well as classroom observations and document analysis. Findings emphasized the importance of recognizing the needs of rural areas, networking between peers and rural professionals, understanding the steps required for receiving a medical degree, and acknowledging students’ cultural capital related to rural communities. The article concludes with recommendations for educators focused on underrepresented student populations or specific community needs.
New Directions for Higher Education, 2013
The Review of Higher Education, 2009
Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 2000
The Journal of Higher Education, 2006
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 2008
In part due to the current furor over higher education assessment and account-ability in light of... more In part due to the current furor over higher education assessment and account-ability in light of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, American colleges and universities are confronted with increased national attention in regards to the state of undergraduate ...
Innovative Higher Education, 2013
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 2013