Utilization of Digital Technologies in Doctoral Thesis Supervision at the University of Nairobi: Implications for Quality Assurance

Abstract

The utilization of online digital technologies in higher education teaching and learning has gained impetus in the post-COVID-19 era. A number of higher educational institutions have invested in capacity-building programmes related to the utilization of online digital technologies for teaching and learning. However, the utilization of these technologies in doctoral supervision is hampered by challenges related to access to digital devices, internet connectivity and the general attitude among digital technology users. Furthermore, despite supervisors’ efforts to reinforce mentoring, the lack of in-person engagement between supervisors and students portends a greater challenge. Therefore, the study sought to determine the influence of doctoral students’ gender on their thesis progression, the relationship between the frequency of engaging supervisors and thesis progression, the preferred mode of supervisor engagement and the level of student utilization of digital technologies in their doctoral work. The study sampled 109 students from a population of 150 PhD students of the University of Nairobi. Data were gathered through questionnaires and interviews that were administered to doctoral students and their supervisors respectively. The results showed a weak negative correlation between student and supervisor engagement and their stage in theses writing. The study also established low utilization of digital technologies in doctoral thesis supervision. Nonetheless, the results showed that student-supervisor engagement has an impact on their progression and that a significant number of doctoral students were comfortable with engaging their supervisors through a combination of face-to-face/in-person and virtual/online sessions. The study recommends that universities should adopt a blended doctoral supervision model to leverage the strengths of both in-person and virtual student-supervisor engagement. Further, there is a need to train both students and supervisors in the use of digital tools to enhance their engagement