Students’ perceptions of a ‘quality’ advisory relationship

Abstract

The current research education context in Australia is one of increased pressures for timely completion with a spotlight on the scope and depth of training and a profound increase in enrolments. These factors inevitably shape the supervision experiences of doctoral candidates. This paper discusses student perceptions of supervision. Supervision is the most influential factor in candidates’ doctoral satisfaction. While this may be no real surprise, there is a need to tease out the differences and tensions in perceptions of supervision quality. Students’ notions of ‘the good supervisor’ can identify some common characteristics but also some variance depending on learning style and previous experiences. As a result, students’ expectations can be very different across and amongst modes of study, disciplines and stages of the candidature. This paper discusses the implications of these perceptions in relation to quality agendas. It draws on taxonomies of supervision and Foucault’s notions of subjectivity and power/knowledge to analyse the tensions that emerge from these different perceptions and what they reveal about the role of power, agency and knowledge production within a ‘quality’ supervisory relationship.