Graduation Condition in Nigerian University: A Nudge towards Doctorateness?

Abstract

With the recent expansions in higher education, research has found quality of higher education to be a vital part in the growth of the knowledge economy which is hoped will find the solution to numerous challenges of the African nation. A step up in the graduation condition requiring doctoral student to publish and present a paper at a conference before graduation is hoped will bring a push in the quality of PhD. The study explains doctorateness and the associated theories of threshold and liminality. And these are used as a lens to examine the impact of the new graduation condition on the doctoral students to see if they experience liminality and if doctorateness is achieved. Using a mixed method which include interviews and questionnaires, four doctoral candidates’ supervisors and thirty doctoral candidates form the research sample. Specifically, the 2021/2022 cohorts are used given their experiences with these concepts. The study finds that the graduation condition nudges doctoral candidates into liminality and towards doctorateness. This quality is hoped will bring about the needed emancipation through knowledge. Recommendation includes among others, adoption of pedagogies which ensures early exposure to literature.