Abstract

BEZANILLA, María José; GONZALEZ-ALVAREZ, Sara; PIZARRO, Evelyn Andrea  and  CACERES, Rita Cerna. Challenges and barriers of doctoral students in the field of education. Areté [online]. 2025, vol.11, n.21, pp.130-147.  Epub June 30, 2025. ISSN 2443-4566.  https://doi.org/10.55560/arete.2025.21.11.8.

The research addresses the difficulties and barriers faced by doctoral students in education throughout their training. Using a sample of 30 students from the doctoral program in education at a university from the Basque Country (Spain), their experiences and perceptions were explored through open- ended questions, analyzed using the content analysis technique and the Eurodoc transferable skills matrix , adding two emerging categories, economic resources and pandemic. The results, after assigning each of the difficulties expressed to the corresponding competences of the matrix revealed an average of 3.67 difficulties per person, concentrating mainly on research: time and project management, followed by methodology, publication, academic writing, and literature use and management. Differences by gender, doctoral stage and nationality underline the diversity of challenges faced, with men and students in final stages reporting more difficulties, although it is women who express a greater dispersion in the problems. Nationality also influences the difficulties, with international students expressing more problems. This study emphasizes the need to address these difficulties as well as the importance of integrating practical and transferable skills into doctoral curricula, adapting to the needs of the labor market and promoting a more holistic and versatile training for students, preparing them for a variety of career paths and contributing significantly to the knowledge society.

Keywords : Higher education; Doctoral degrees; Educational research; Research competences; Transversal competences.

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