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What about the future of the academy? – Some remarks on the looming colonisation of doctoral education

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  • Pelger, Christoph
  • Grottke, Markus

Abstract

In this paper we highlight key challenges which arise due to a transition of doctoral education in accounting towards the US model in the German-speaking area. We identify two main changes in PhD education, firstly the introduction of graduate schools and/or mandatory course programmes and secondly a focus on highly ranked academic journals as outlets for research. We reflect on how these changes affect the attitude of doctoral students towards the research and publication process. In particular we show how and why this setting fosters a focus on a common, narrow notion of knowledge leading to short-term tangible outcomes (e.g. a ‘hit’ in a ‘top’ journal), and elucidate what may be gained and lost by the changes with respect to the longer-term sustainability of the academy.

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  • Pelger, Christoph & Grottke, Markus, 2015. "What about the future of the academy? – Some remarks on the looming colonisation of doctoral education," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 117-129.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:26:y:2015:i:c:p:117-129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2014.09.007
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    Cited by:

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    3. Brooks, Chris & Fenton, Evelyn & Schopohl, Lisa & Walker, James, 2019. "Why does research in finance have so little impact?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 24-52.
    4. Guo, Ken H., 2018. "The odyssey of becoming: Professional identity and insecurity in the Canadian accounting field," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 20-45.
    5. Gendron, Yves & Rodrigue, Michelle, 2021. "On the centrality of peripheral research and the dangers of tight boundary gatekeeping," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Khosa, Amrinder & Burch, Steven & Ozdil, Esin & Wilkin, Carla, 2020. "Current issues in PhD supervision of accounting and finance students: Evidence from Australia and New Zealand," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    7. Palea, Vera, 2017. "Whither accounting research? A European view," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 59-73.
    8. Christoph Pelger & Markus Grottke, 2017. "Research diversity in accounting doctoral education: survey results from the German-speaking countries," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 10(2), pages 307-336, October.
    9. Palea, Vera, 2015. "Journal Rankings and the Sustainability of Diversity in Accounting Research," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201546, University of Turin.
    10. Meyer, Matthias & Waldkirch, Rüdiger W. & Duscher, Irina & Just, Alexander, 2018. "Drivers of citations: An analysis of publications in “top” accounting journals," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 24-46.
    11. Fox, Kenneth A., 2018. "The manufacture of the academic accountant," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-20.
    12. Brooks, Chris & Schopohl, Lisa & Walker, James T., 2023. "Comparing perceptions of the impact of journal rankings between fields," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    13. Ravenscroft, Sue & Williams, Paul F., 2021. "Sustaining discreditable accounting research through ignorance: The mainstream elite’s response to the 2008 financial crisis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
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