CAREER INSTRUMENTALITY OF DEGREE COMPLETION AS A FACTOR IN DOCTORAL STUDENT ATTRITION

This study explores the relationship among attitudes and decisions that have been identified by previous researchers as predictive of attrition among doctoral students. Based on a comprehensive review of the empirical literature on doctoral student attrition, several consistent predictors of attrition are identified. The current research focuses on a concept called "career instrumentality," defined as the extent to which doctoral students perceive degree completion as instrumental to the attainment of future career goals. It is hypothesized that career instrumentality perceptions influence attrition-related attitudes and account for some of the variance in attrition rates among different academic disciplines found by previous researchers.;Support is found for a negative relationship between career instrumentality and attrition intent among current doctoral students. Contrary to expectation, no relationship is found between attitude toward financial situation and either career instrumentality or attrition intent. Rather, it is suggested that relationship between financial situation and attrition decisions is one that can only be understood from a longitudinal perspective. Limited support is found for a positive relationship between career instrumentality and attitude toward relationship with adviser. Partial support is found for the predicted differences in career instrumentality among academic divisions; perceptions of instrumentality are strongest among students in the life sciences and weakest among students in the humanities. Differences among the academic disciplines conform more closely to the predicted pattern among students of greater tenure than among first-year students.;Overall, the current research demonstrates the feasibility of an alternative approach to the study of the doctoral student attrition process, which has been traditionally characterized by retrospective studies. Conceptual and methodological refinements for future research are discussed.;Statistical analysis of self-report questionnaire data from 670 doctoral students enrolled in 34 departments at the University of Maryland, College Park is used to test the hypotheses. Interpretation of the quantitative results is based in part on interviews with Directors of Graduate Study in 9 departments.