Undergraduate Research Projects Supervision at the University of Namibia’s Rundu Campus: Supervisors’ Stances

Abstract

This study aims to establish the perceptions of Bachelor's degree Honours lecturers regarding research project supervision; capture challenging areas in research project supervision with a view of improving research project supervision and expand a repertoire of actions and responses. The research presented in this paper explores supervision of students? research projects from Vygotsky?s Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) theory and Kolb?s experiential learning theory thrusts. This is a qualitative approach embedded within a phenomenological interpretive where twenty research supervisors and twenty final year students on full-time and part-time mode were interviewed using the semi-structured interview guides. The paper drew on both document analysis and content analysis. The data were interpreted using the theoretical lenses of the study's primary objectives, and conclusions and recommendations were derived from the interpretation. The findings of the study reveal that the key challenges of research supervision for the supervisors lie between the administration part of the research and the expertise. The study recommends that the University of Namibia should start with research modules from year one to year four, this is because one year of doing research is not enough as students learn differently. Moreover, research proposals should form as students? prerequisites before they progress to the fourth year.