Phronesis and the challenges in an interdisciplinary doctoral program: A qualitative study

Interdisciplinary doctoral education involves complex academic and psychosocial challenges that require context-sensitive deliberation, and could be analyzed from the perspective of phronesis . This study examines, through the dimensions of phronesis , how individuals affiliated at different stages with an interdisciplinary doctoral program appraise and respond to such challenges. The study drew on two data sources: the researcher's self-reflections, recorded in a reflexive diary between March 2019 and May 2023, and semi-structured online interviews with 26 participants from the same program.The interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached, that is, until no new information relevant to the research question emerged, and were audio-recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were verified by the participants. Interview data and reflexive diary entries were subjected to content analysis, with the reflexive diary also forming the basis for the analytic autoethnography. Findings from both data sources were triangulated. This integration informed the development of a proposed conceptual framework comprising five empirically informed patterns in Cycle I: immaturity, resistance, development, learning, and maturity. These patterns were then interpreted through the dimensions of phronesis . Cycle II represents a theoretically informed orientation toward the phronimos , characterized by virtue, happiness, and human flourishing. Participants' accounts indicated that contextual deliberation, value-sensitive judgment, reflective judgment, experience-informed action, and intentional action, interpreted through the lens of phronesis , were evident in how they navigated interdisciplinary doctoral challenges and responded to stressful experiences. Future research should examine the framework's applicability in other doctoral programs and institutional contexts.