‘Tell me what to do’ vs. ‘guide me through it’: Feedback experiences of international doctoral students

Abstract

Despite increasing attention to the challenges of supervising international doctoral students, little research has been conducted to examine supervisory feedback practice with international students and its impact on the thesis writing process. This exploratory qualitative study seeks to fill the gap and contribute to understanding the feedback experiences of international students in doctoral research supervision. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a group of international doctoral students from non-English-speaking backgrounds. The interviewees reported a range of both positive and negative feedback experiences. The interview accounts reflected the culturally embedded impact of supervisory feedback and the pedagogical needs of international doctoral students in the thesis writing process. This study suggests that dialogic and culturally sensitive feedback approaches are essential for supervising international students. The students’ voices revealed through this study provide implications for enhancing doctoral research supervision with international students.