From researcher to steward : revisiting the learning experiences in the Australian PhD

![CDATA[In this paper, we test a preliminary doctoral curriculum framework designed to reframe the PhD as an integrated learning experience. While there are other similar frameworks (McAlpine & Norton, 2006; Cumming, 2010), ours draws on a recently funded Office for Learning and Teaching project Reframing the PhD for Australia’s future universities (Barrie et al., 2015) which suggests that the heart of the PhD might no longer be a narrowly focused research project, but one that encompasses a broader disciplinary stewardship. The notion of stewardship comes from the pioneering US-based Carnegie Foundation project (Golde & Walker, 2006) in which stewardship encompasses three facets: first, generation (contributing to research and inquiry); second, conservation (care for the field’s history and future prospects); and third, transformation (communicating the field to a range of audiences). Taken together, these facets provide a novel perspective on the learning experiences that comprise the PhD. Stewardship helps us to reframe the doctorate as care for the field no matter the employment destination of graduates. While the research project retains its fundamental role, the goal of the PhD is then, to develop stewards of a field.]]