Transcultural Perspectives Development: Implications for Cultivating Our Well-being as Emerging Academics

Abstract

It is important that PhD students be provided opportunities for holistic growth and development within a university’s increasingly multicultural environment. This article explores the transcultural journey of five doctoral students as they host their colleagues from other cultures, during a doctoral seminar designed to provide collaborative opportunities for the support of the intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual dimensions required to cultivate students’ well-being as emerging academics. Linkages are made between transculturalism and well-being as the authors use the transcultural framework and an autobiographical lens to explore students’ reflections and to extract ideas critical to the support of students’ well-being. At the same time they highlight the criticality of institutions offering occasions for students to develop their transcultural competencies throughout their PhD journey.