Doctoral study as a potential for achieving developmental goals

This paper examines the role of doctoral study as a potential for achieving developmental goals. Working with Kegan’s approach to adult mental development (Kegan 1994; 2009), grounded in constructive-development and offering one model of hierarchical complexity, a practitioner doctorate has been designed with developmental goals to the forefront of its learning outcomes. The knowledge domain of the doctorate is Business Economics so the practice orientation lies within professional and organisational boundaries. To these boundaries a personal aspect is added focusing on how knowledge is generated and ‘known’. Hence, the developmental potential of the doctorate is generated by an explicit integration of personal, professional and organisational dimensions. This paper focuses on whether, and how, the dynamic driver of development, uniquely identified in Kegan’s approach as Subject-Object separation, may i) be applied to candidates’ stances towards knowledge and understanding of theories and theoretical concepts in the chosen knowledge domain and ii) serve as a means to assess candidates’ approaches to the nature of knowledge and learning which should, if development occurs, develop over the course of their doctoral programme.