Authors

Vae L. Champagne, Educational Doctorate, Farrington College of Education and Human Development, Sacred Heart University

Abstract

Background: A doctoral program need not be an individualistic and isolationist academic endeavor; instead, it should be communal and foster a sense of belonging, appealing to the hearts and minds of adult learners. My experience in a Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning (SEAL) doctoral program unearthed these discoveries.

Purpose: This article aims to inform and inspire doctoral students and programs to intentionally embrace community and collective wisdom.

Methodology/Approach: The approach is a reflective narrative using storytelling and first-hand examples from a scholar-practitioner’s recent doctoral program completion. Through a participatory lens, I gathered qualitative data from conversation, inquiry, and observation.

Findings/Conclusions: The hybrid cohort model is a lever for building community and fostering friendship and social capital ties among an intergenerational group of adult learners with varied degrees of professional and lived experiences. It may serve as one remedy for the social isolation epidemic.

Implications: Creating a community of care at the outset of a doctoral program has the potential to increase program retention, bridge intergenerational relationships, and augment opportunities for co-generating new ideas, conceptual frameworks, and expansive thinking about problems of practice. As a result of this work, doctoral students should think of their programs as compassionate organizations that prioritize empathy, relationships, perspective-taking, and the deep value of collective wisdom. Programs can implement seven best practices, referred to as the seven “I’s,” to foster greater collaboration and allow for social and emotional expression and development.

Keywords: Collective Wisdom, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies, Trusted Adults