Factors Influencing PHD. Candidates’ Creativity

PhD program,as the highest level of higher education and the forefront of cultivating innovative talents,carries a strategic task for China’s overall social construction and plays a leading role in technological innovation and building an innovation-oriented country.However,with the expansion of the PhD program scale,the quality of PhD cultivation is subjected to question by the society."Creativity" is recognized as the core indicator of the quality of PhD cultivation.Compared with developed countries,our PhD candidates’creativity is at a disadvantage.Therefore,it is imminent to explore the influential factors of PhD candidates’ creativity and how to enhance their creativity.Throughout the research home and abroad,China’s PhD program has been aware of the cultivation and enhancement of creativity,but the research is mainly carried out at the theoretical level within the higher education system from one or several angles.Even in empirical field,there’s only the statistical description of the graduate education quality,graduates’ creativity and quality of PhD candidates.Research concerned with PhD candidates’ creativity is rare,let alone its theoretical basis.As for the foreign,the research methods such as using psychometric approach,experimental study,case study,and historical measurement are scientific,but the research targets do not touch the PhD candidates.Therefore,this study explores PhD candidates’ creativity from a psychological perspective.And it will refine the concept of creativity,analyzes the factors influencing creativity,thus providing a reference to enhance PhD candidates’ creativity.Referring to Sternberg’s investment theory and propulsion theory,this study explores the various factors influencing creativity and refine every variable.This study proposes that PhD candidates’ creativity is produced because of the confluence of environment and characteristics and creative products fall into different categories and multiple levels.After the theoretical analysis,we interview dozens of supervisors and draw the certain dimensions influencing PhD candidates’ creativity and the definition of creative products.This study combines qualitative and quantitative research,literature review and field survey,extensively collecting relevant literature and interviewing supervisors and students.The data processing in this study mainly uses the software of SPSS19.0,SAS9.2,yaaph.Specifically,the status quo of Ph.D.candidates’ creative environment,creative features,creative products are described by descriptive statistical analysis,numerical calculation of creative products is processed by APA,differences of creative environment,creative features and creative products in three different levels of universities are processed by one-way ANOVA,the influence of creative environment on creative features is processed by multiple linear regression analysis,interaction between creative environment and creative features is processed by canonical correlation.Through data analysis and field interviews,we get the following major findings:(1)PhD candidates’ are in low satisfaciont with creative environmentOverall,PhD candidates’ are not in high satisfaction about their physical environment.Only about half are satisfied and near 30%percent are not satisfied.Especially in financial aid,nearly half of PhD candidates’ are dissatisfied.As for the soft environment,more than 60%students express satisfaction,but in terms of harmonious relationship with supervisors only half are in satisfaction.Forty percent students hold that there lacks tolerance in the failure of creativity and good academic atmosphere.(2)PhD candidates’have a high self-evaluation of their creative motivation and persobilty,but a low self-evaluation of their creative thinking and knowledgeMore than 60%of the PhD candidates believe in their own strong creative motivation and less than 40%feel that they lack creative motivation.As for the creative personality,nearly 70%of the PhD candidates hold a positive view towards it,and only 20%are in low self-evaluation.The situation of PhD candidates’ creative thinking is not satisfactory,and less than 50%believe in their own thinking ability.PhD candidates are also not in high self-evaluation for their knowledge,only over half of them think they have a good command of relevant knowledge.(3)PhD candidates’ have insufficient creative productsPhD candidates’ creative products are in a low level,especially papers in SCI,El,averaging less than one paper per person.The number of papers submitted and presented both in international and domestic academic conferences as well as patents is also in low level.Female and male students are in significant difference in terms of all the creative products.In terms of the number of papers in SCI,submission and presentation in international conference,there exist significant difference between the three types of colleges and universities,with "985" universities being the highest,provincial universities in the middle level and "211"universities the lowest.(4)creative environment and creative features have an inpact and prediction on creative productsIn tenns of environment influencing creative products,supervision,courses,academic atmosphere,physical environment all have an impact and prediction on creative products.Regression coefficients of supervision and academic atmosphere are relatively large,suggesting that supervision and academic atmosphere are good predictors of creative products.In other words,the more effective supervision is,the higher creative products will be.In terms of creative features influencing creative products,intrinsic motivation,extrinsic motivation,creative thinking,knowledge all have an impact and prediction on creative products.Regression coefficients of intrinsic motivation and knowledge are relatively large,suggesting that intrinsic motivation and knowledge are good predictors of creative products.In other words,the stronger intrinsic motivation is,the higher creative products will be.In terms of the interaction of the environment and innovative features,in the linear combination of environmental factors,supervision,academic atmosphere and financial aid have a large loading,suggesting supervision,academic atmosphere and financial aid are the main indicator of environmental factors and in a dominant status.In the linear combination of creative features,intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation have a large loading,suggesting supervision,academic atmosphere and financial aid are in close relation with intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.That is to say,if we want to enhance the PhD candidates’ intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation,we must have a satisfactory supervision,academic atmosphere and financial aid.Otherwise,either extrinsic motivation or intrinsic motivation will be relatively weak.Based on the results of the above data,combined with the interview with the graduate management personnel and text information they provide,this study put forward the path to improve PhD candidates’ creativity.Firstly,reform the PhD enrollment deeply:expanding the proportion of examination-free candidates;test candidates’ creativity in the interview.Secondly,perfect supervisors’ guidance system:continue to implement the system of treating supervisor as a position;sound the assessment mechanism of supervisor;establish mentor-based teamwork guidance.Thirdly,improve the system of PhD courses:build personalized courses;promote the process of internationalization of the PhD courses;establish the classification system of PhD courses.Fourthly,activate the PhD candidates’academic atmosphere:institutionalize candidates participating academic activities;supports students for foreign academic activities;cultivate healthy academic environment.Fifth,improve the PhD students’ financial aid system:establish diversified PhD investment mechanism;increase the reward for outstanding PhD candidates;increase the allowance for teaching assistant,research assistant and administration assistant.Sixth,build PhD candidates’ endogenous mechanism:construct and balance the intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation;cultivate the innovative personality;cultivate the innovative thinking;construct a reasonable knowledge structure;develop self-management ability.