Living the best way possible: Distance doctoral students navigating care for others and themselves

Abstract

Caring responsibilities can shape how students negotiate access, experience and success in doctoral education. However, norms that construct the ideal university subject as ‘carefree’ continue to circulate, framing the experiences and expectations of doctoral students, their supervisors, and others who work with them. This paper shares care-related insights from an international survey involving 521 doctoral students across 42 countries who undertook their studies wholly or partly off-campus. Over half of these respondents had caring responsibilities for others, underlining the importance of distance modes for student carers. Many carer respondents felt distance modes offered the best way possible to organise life, education, and caring responsibilities. Care for self was also an important thread throughout the data, encompassing students managing specific physical or mental health needs as well as being proactive in caring for themselves through the challenges of doctoral education. Finally, in terms of care that respondents received rather than provided, peer connections with other doctoral students were emphasised as critical sites of care that enabled wellbeing and success. Given that both off-campus students and student carers have often been rendered less visible in higher and doctoral education, this paper brings new insights into the important nexus between distance study and care – in multiple forms – for doctoral students.