Perceived Postgraduate Research Supervisory Practices and Satisfaction towards Supervision among Supervisees at Faculty of Education

Nurhamizah Ishak,Nur Shaziella Aziz,Farah Nadzirah Khairuddin

doi:10.31436/ijes.v9i2.278

Nurhamizah Ishak, Nur Shaziella Aziz + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.31436/ijes.v9i2.278

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Abstract

Effective supervision received by postgraduate students boosts their motivation to produce a high quality research. This paper looks at the perceived postgraduate research supervisory practices and satisfaction towards supervision among supervisees at Faculty of Education in a Malaysian public university. Data was collected through a questionnaire on the sample of 45 Part 3 full-time Master’s degree (Coursework) students. However, only 33 sets of questionnaires were returned to the researchers (response rate=94.3%). It was found that most supervisees perceived that their dissertation supervisors have continually applied various supervisory practices during the supervision session and they were very satisfied with the supervision that they have received. Furthermore, there was a positive, strong, and significant relationship between the perceived supervisory practices and supervisees’ satisfaction. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences between perceived supervisory practices and courses, as well as between perceived supervisory practices and frequency of meeting. As for the implications of this study, it contributes to the corpus of knowledge in the area of postgraduate supervision in local higher education institution context and provides empirical data to assist the Ministry of Education in conducting strategic planning to enhance implementation of effective supervisory practices among postgraduate research supervisors.

Highlights

Postgraduate research supervision is undeniably a complex two-way interactional process that requires both the student and the supervisor to consciously engage each other within the spirit of professionalism, respect, collegiality, and open-mindedness (Ganqa, 2012)
Many postgraduate students have failed to complete their research within the stipulated time frame or have given up conducting their research due to problems related to inadequate supervision
This study focused on one independent variable of perceived supervisory practices and one dependent variable of supervisees’ satisfaction towards the supervision

Summary

Introduction

Postgraduate research supervision is undeniably a complex two-way interactional process that requires both the student and the supervisor to consciously engage each other within the spirit of professionalism, respect, collegiality, and open-mindedness (Ganqa, 2012). Most supervisors expect their postgraduate students to be diligent, conscientious, enthusiastic, and motivated towards their research works (Ismail, Abiddin & Hassan, 2011). Many postgraduate students have failed to complete their research within the stipulated time frame or have given up conducting their research due to problems related to inadequate supervision. Wichmann-Hansen et al (2012) stated that the responsibility for completing a dissertation or thesis within a reasonable time lies on both the postgraduate student and the supervisor. The relationship between a supervisor and a postgraduate student has always been considered as a key factor in determining the success or failure of postgraduate students’ research work

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