Doctoral Preparation in Mathematics Education: Graduates’ Perspectives on Program Features, Expertise Development, and Scholarly Learning Cultures

Abstract This study examined doctoral preparation in mathematics education through graduates’ retrospective perspectives on program features, expertise development, and scholarly learning cultures. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, survey responses from 156 doctoral graduates representing 37 countries were integrated with in-depth interviews from 16 participants across ten national contexts. Quantitative analyses examined graduates’ ratings of 13 program features and their perceptions of when research, mathematics content, teaching, and professional expertise should develop: before doctoral study, during doctoral study, or through postdoctoral professional practice. Qualitative reflexive thematic analysis explored participants’ accounts of supervision, research participation, scholarly writing, conference engagement, international collaboration, and researcher identity development. Findings indicate that graduates consistently rated theoretical grounding, engagement with mathematics education research literature, and deep understanding of mathematical ideas as especially important. Research expertise was most often perceived as developing during doctoral study, whereas several teaching, supervisory, leadership, and professional responsibilities were described as developing more fully after graduation. Interview findings highlight the central role of supervisory relationships, research communities, scholarly writing, and professional networks in shaping doctoral learning. Rather than treating graduates’ perspectives as direct prescriptions for program design, the study interprets them as situated, retrospective accounts of how doctoral preparation is experienced across diverse institutional and national contexts. Together, the findings provide an empirically grounded account of doctoral preparation in mathematics education as scholarly formation within structured learning cultures.