Improving supervision of cross-cultural postgraduate university students

Abstract

The internet has led to an increasing number of international students enrolling for postgraduate degrees. The literature confirms that there have been problems such as attrition, motivation, supervision and others. Professors struggle to appease international student learning styles, while simultaneously international students strain to understand their supervisor's approach. This study reviewed the literature to create a model for assessing and improving international postgraduate student online supervision. A survey was designed and then issued to a large international student sample to better understand their supervision expectations. The model was validated (questionnaire factor analysis included) and regressed on student satisfaction, resulting in a statistically significant finding. Interesting student feedback and participant-observer reflection were integrated to make sense of the quantitative data.