Developing a signature pedagogy for doctoral education

Abstract

The number of doctoral students internationally is on the increase, yet low completion rates seem to be stable. Universities need to learn from each other to strengthen doctoral education. In doctoral education, the person and the doctoral project are intertwined and both must be nurtured and developed. This article presents the signature pedagogy of the Norwegian Research School in Teacher Education (NAFOL). The international and national context of NAFOL is described and the reasons for establishing NAFOL are presented. The pedagogical vision behind the research school is outlined, and examples of how the vision translates into activities are provided. The last part of the article analyses experiences from NAFOL and highlights points that might be useful to other research schools in different contexts. Based on the experience gained at NAFOL, a whole person approach to doctoral students in doctoral education is recommended.