Supervision of Post-graduate Students: A Faculty Case Study of Co-supervision at a University of Technology in South Africa

Letlhoyo Segalo

doi:10.13189/ujer.2021.090325

Abstract

This paper recollects the experiences of co-supervision of 8 Masters (M.), 3 Doctoral students and 4 promoters and supervisors at the Faculty of Humanities. The aim of the study was to establish a sound understanding of co-postgraduate promotion and supervision at one Faculty at the University of Technology in South Africa. Co-postgraduate student supervision implies more than one supervisor, at times two and in rare cases three. This multifaceted supervision approach is referred to as a safety net. On the one hand, co-postgraduate students' supervision could be framed as multi-voiced dialogue process with the aim to enhance the quality of research done by the postgraduate student. At times, this approach is said to bring along a negative dimension for the student and supervisors. A qualitative research case study using an interpretivist approach was used. For both the promoters/supervisors and postgraduate students, an open-ended questionnaire was used. A thematic data analysis was used. The findings of this study both from the students and supervisors' experiences unearthed an understanding that underpins past and present practices of co-post-graduate supervision for future practices.

Highlights

In this study, a framework of co-post-graduate supervision of Master and Doctoral students is explored
As the study investigated the ontological reality of co-postgraduate supervision at one university of technology in South Africa, the intention was not to generalize but to understand what co-postgraduate supervision practices existed at the faculty of Humanities at one University of Technology (UoT) in South Africa [24][25]
The findings discussed in this paper are centred on the experiences of co-post-graduate supervision of supervisors and graduated master and doctoral students at one university of technology in South Africa

Summary

Introduction

A framework of co-post-graduate supervision of Master and Doctoral students is explored. The process of post-graduate student supervision is tedious and a lengthy one involving the aspiration and expectation of the student, the research study and supervisors respectively. Its purpose is either to prepare the student for Doctoral studies in Masters and a licentia in Doctoral studies. Another task of student postgraduate supervision is to enable an environment of independence for the student to become a professional researcher and a scholar in the domain or field of his /her research focus [1]. The process of student supervision involves interaction of the study supervisor with the student which at time could be emotive if the roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders are not transparently addressed [1] [2]. [3] Support this statement by stating that communication between the supervisor/s and the student is a key which identifies important issues that should be addressed before the study could commence

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Conclusion