Occupational Stress in Chinese Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of Doctoral Supervisors

Xueyu Wang
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Xueyu Wang: College of Foreign Languages, Huaqiao University, No. 269 Chenghua North Rd., Quanzhou 362021, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: This qualitative study is intended to explore the factors that contribute to the occupational stress suffered by Chinese doctoral supervisors and the kind of measures needed to effectively address the issue. Through purposive and snowballing sampling, 30 Chinese doctoral supervisors in different disciplines of natural science and social science were selected. A semi-structured interview protocol was used, and the data were analyzed based on grounded theory methodology. Chinese doctoral supervisors experienced varied stressors of nuanced nature, which could be categorized into two core categories, i.e., performance-appraisal-related factors and Ph.D. student-related factors, which were further divided into 18 subcategories and 10 higher-level categories. Chinese doctoral supervisors are under various sources of stress, corroborating with and reinforcing previous research findings in respect to occupational stress worldwide. Through the analysis of the stress triggers, suggestions are presented in regard to what mental health professionals and educational policy makers can do to address the issue of concern for doctoral supervisors.

Keywords: higher education; supervisors; distress; factors; grounded theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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