Investigating the Experiences and Academic Success of Graduate Students with Mental Health Challenges or Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study.

My name is Kathleen Moore and I am a doctoral candidate in Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/ University of Toronto. I am looking for doctoral students who would like to participate in my study titled: “Investigating the Experiences and Academic Success of Graduate Students with Mental Health Challenges or Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study.”

Overview of the Study

The purpose of the present study is to understand the experiences of doctoral students from Ontario, Canada who identify as having a mental health challenge and disability. Specifically, the focus is previous educational experiences, current help-seeking practices through support services, disclosure, and academic success.

The study uses a sequential-mixed methods design in which quantitative data from the Spring 2013 Canadian dataset of the National College Health Assessment were examined first to begin investigating the experiences of graduate students with mental health challenges and disabilities.

For the qualitative part of the study, I am looking for PhD students in Ontario, Canada who:

  • Self-identify as having a mental health challenge or a mental health disability
    If students have multiple disabilities, one of the disabilities must be a mental health disability
  • Currently enrolled in a PhD program at a University in Ontario
  • Are not registered as an international student
  • Are enrolled in a program that is not considered a professional program (Examples of professional programs include: chiropractic, dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, chiropractic medicine, pharmacy, theology, veterinary medicine, law, and/or clinical psychology programs)
  • Are willing to complete open-ended questions on the phone, on Skype, or in person (if located in the Greater Toronto Area).

We anticipate the questions will take approximately 60-90 minutes to complete.

If you meet these criteria, please go to http://bit.ly/2FgC9Grto to begin a Screening Questionnaire that has 5 questions.

This study has received ethics approval from the University of Toronto.

Kathleen Moore PhD Candidate Leadership, Adult and Higher Education OISE/University of Toronto Telephone: 289-668-1493 E-mail: Kathleen.moore@mail.utoronto.ca

Dr. Ruth Childs
Professor
Leadership, Adult and Higher Education
OISE/University of Toronto Telephone: 289-668-1493 E-mail: Ruth.childs@utoronto.ca