Outside looking in: Gendered roles and the wellbeing of working student mothers studying for a part‐time PhD

Abstract

AbstractThis article contributes to the growing evidence based on well‐being in doctoral study. It draws on 35 qualitative, in‐depth interviews to explore how the well‐being of an understudied group—working doctoral student mothers—is affected when undertaking part‐time PhDs. While there is a growing literature on the research student experience and an increased awareness of mental health issues in doctoral study, there has been little exploration of the experiences of part‐time PhD students. Moreover, this is particularly true of mothers undertaking doctorates on a part‐time basis. The experiences of this sub‐group of research students constitute the gap to which this paper responds. It explores the consequences of having to straddle a number of competing domains and examines how the gender role conflict, marginalisation and lack of support experienced by doctoral student mothers impact their psychological, physical and social well‐being. The article concludes with a number of recommendations that institutions may wish to consider.