Postgraduate Supervision Research Articles

Enhancing quality through postgraduate supervision remodeling in higher education institutions

Enhancing quality through postgraduate supervision remodeling in higher education institutions

Supervising Undergraduate Law Students’ Dissertations: A Four-Step Review

The literature on supervision focuses primarily on postgraduate supervision. Whilst there is some scholarship on supervising undergraduates, there is essentially no scholarship on supervising undergraduate law students specifically. This article investigates undergraduate law students’ attitudes toward dissertation supervision. In 2020–2021, the lead author supervised 12 LLB(Hons) students’ 15,000-word dissertations at the University of Auckland. The supervision process was in four parts: reviewing the proposal; reviewing the introduction; reviewing the first draft (10,000 words); and reviewing the second draft (15,000 words). The authors invited the supervisees to complete a survey on their supervision experience. This article surveys the literature on the supervision of undergraduate students, describes the lead author’s supervision process, and presents and discusses the study results. Students reported that each step in the four-step review process was helpful for their dissertation progress and achieving their goals for the dissertation, and provided useful feedback that was more useful than anticipated for each step in the review process. Students also reported that they received sufficient and appropriate contact with their supervisor, and sufficient guidance from the supervisor — allowing sufficient autonomy. The article also identifies students’ perceived difficulties and reflects on ways the process could mitigate those difficulties.

Optimising postgraduate supervision using multilevel modeling techniques in a constrained higher education environment

The paper developed a multilevel model (MLM) of postgraduate (PG) supervision to improve the academic publication and PG completion rate. Crowdsourcing essentials were used in the development of the model. The crowds consisted of the MLM made of students from Honours to doctoral levels. Teamwork was also implored, where the teams were level mates and supervisory teams. The simplest form of the model has the potential to generate over 65 academic manuscripts for journals. Monitoring of the supervision process can provide maximized completion of the PG research studies. Research capacity building would be effected for the doctoral and master’s students making them able to supervise and co-supervise from Honours to doctoral levels upon completion of their studies. The study condemned the use of a single supervisor for several doctoral students. It recommended the implementation of the model (the MLM PG Supervision Framework). It further recommended that doctoral students should be assigned co-supervisors, preferably varied for different students, to enable diversity in the supervision experience.

Reimagining Postgraduate Supervision: Fostering Inclusivity and Support for Students at-risk in Open and Distance Learning Environments

This qualitative study involves six lecturers who have supervised students with disabilities. Participants were purposively selected and interviewed telephonically using semi-structured interviews. The study adopted a thematic data analysis approach to identify patterns in supervision experiences. The paper problematises a deficit approach that is dominantly adopted to identify and design programmes and manage students-at-risk. The analysis of the supervision of postgraduate students-at-risk is framed within the Humanising pedagogy which advances the accommodation of students’ unique needs to develop their capacities for success. This theoretical framework is not adopted much in the open and distance learning context at postgraduate level and the use of supervisors’ insights adds new knowledge to the field that is dominated by students’ experiences. The study established that students do not communicate their disabilities to supervisors timely for early intervention, supervisors are responsive to students’ challenges which include difficulties in academic writing and limited access to research resources and technologies, and supervisors experience systemic challenges in acquiring assistive technology for students with disabilities. This study proposes a humanised supervision model that advances disability inclusivity.

Effective communication in postgraduate supervision: Shaping experiences and overcoming challenges

Although postgraduate supervision relies on effective communication, it has become increasingly challenging due to various factors, including the cultural, ethnic, and educational backgrounds of both the supervisors and supervisees. As a result, institutions of higher learning are struggling to attract and retain these students. In addition, students often feel frustrated by the pressure to balance their academic and social lives during their studies. Therefore, this study explores the impact of effective communication on postgraduate supervision in higher learning institutions in Lesotho and South Africa. The study adopts an interpretive paradigm and uses a qualitative approach rooted in a case study design. Face-to-face interviews were employed as the data collection tool, and latent thematic analysis was used to analyse emergent themes. The findings reveal several factors that hinder effective communication in postgraduate supervision, including cultural dominance, lack of mutual respect, insufficient training, and a lack of professionalism, among others. Based on these findings, the study recommends that experienced supervisors be assigned to students and that there be a focus on two-way communication and training to develop the necessary skills for a respectful supervisor-student relationship.

Research and postgraduate supervision during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic: Lessons learned

The Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic imposed new demands for conducting research and postgraduate supervision online. Face-to-face interactions between supervisors and research participants were limited. Consequently, there was heightened attention to the use of information communications technology (ICTs) to mitigate the disruptions. There is not much research on postgraduate supervision during COVID-19. This interpretative-phenomenological qualitative case study analysed innovative strategies that nine purposely selected supervisors reported to have used to manage postgraduate research and supervision during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through online open-ended questionnaires sent to the supervisors. The constructivist theory underpinned this study. Results showed that while the pandemic was devastating, academic institutions learnt many good lessons regarding leveraging digital technologies for postgraduate students’ supervision. Innovative online supervision pedagogies were invaluable for both supervisors and students. Therefore, during the post COVID-19 era, supervisors must continue leveraging the use of digital technologies in postgraduate supervision to reduce costs and increase master’s and doctoral students’ throughputs and outputs.

Navigating the Academic Odyssey: Exploring the Role of Supervisors in Supporting Postgraduate Students

Postgraduate supervision entails an intensive, one-on-one academic relationship between the supervisor and student. Through this relationship, the supervisor facilitates the student's scholarly development. This study investigates supervisors' roles in supporting postgraduate students from the students’ perspective. This study through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 doctoral and masters students at two universities seeks to investigate how postgraduate students perceive and undergo guidance from their supervisors. The factors analyzed include the role of networking and motivational supports provided by supervisors during postgraduate students’ research journey. This study explores the ways supervisors provide career mentoring and networking to prepare students for postgraduate careers, and how they inspire and emotionally assist students through inherent research challenges. The findings identify strengths in supervisory support and areas needing enhancement. The findings indicate that many students desire more hands-on help with methodology and writing and career mentoring emerges as an area where postgraduate support falls short of expectations. The study recommends that supervisor trainings be provided for supervisors and intending ones, and such trainings should be focused on writing guidance, networking, advising and motivation. By implementing such programs, universities can empower supervisors to optimally assist students, thereby enhancing experiences and outcomes.

An interdisciplinary approach to theological studies in a public university

Theological curriculum in South African universities is comprised of disciplines such as church history, the Old Testament, the New Testament, systematic theology, missiology and practical theology. Theology has been approached through these disciplines and their interaction with each other in an intradisciplinary way. This article argues that theology needs to be done beyond theological disciplines through an interdisciplinary approach to increase its influence in a public university such as the University of South Africa (UNISA). The limitations and drawbacks of this approach are discussed. A brief history of theological studies at UNISA is also discussed to understand how the curriculum of theology has been approached in the past. An interdisciplinary approach is proposed to maximising the research profile of theology through research outputs and postgraduate supervision. In addition, this approach can attract graduates from other fields such as law, medicine, commerce and so forth. An interdisciplinary approach is relevant in designing and developing short learning programmes to attract students to study theology. The development of interdisciplinary niche areas is also important in attracting postgraduate students. Lastly, the approach is pivotal in avoiding theology’s possible dearth and death in a public university.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: an interdisciplinary approach to theological studies is proposed as an interaction between the field of theology and other fields such as law, medicine, commerce, and others for the maximisation of student numbers in undergraduate and postgraduate studies and research outputs.

A Study on the Construction of Graduate Student Guided Learning Community Model

“Three-whole nurturing”, i.e., all-member, all-process, all-round nurturing, is an important principle to strengthen the ideological and political work of colleges and universities under the new situation, and is also the premise for colleges and universities to answer the fundamental question of “what kind of people to train, how to train people, and for whom to train people”. In the training of postgraduates, the relationship between “guidance” and “learning” runs through the whole process of postgraduate training. In recent years, the relationship between supervisors and postgraduates has caused many problems, and in order to better solve the relationship between postgraduates’ supervision and learning, the postgraduate supervision and learning community has emerged. The article describes the basic connotation of the graduate student guidance community, and puts forward the relevant path to build the graduate student guidance community.

A Critical View On Doctoral Supervisor Capacity Development At A South African University Of Technology

Growing the number of doctoral graduates, increasing the capacity for study supervision, and enhancing the quality of research output and impact remain some of the many challenges for higher education institutions in South Africa – especially for universities of technology (UoTs). Study supervisors at UoTs often lack sufficient experience and capacity to guide doctoral students to timely and successful completion. This article explores one such case as an example of critically assessing the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of supervisory development at a UoT. Our valuational stance involves observing aspects of institutional support to grow supervision capacity, comparing research performance to peer universities in the UoT cluster and engaging the South African university system as related to relevant literature on doctoral supervision and graduation. The selected institutional case revealed that supervisory capacity and subsequent graduations have improved significantly over time. However, the challenge remains to graduate increasing numbers of doctoral students, hence the need for further enhancing supervisory capacity. The inquiry also points to the need for increasing throughput figures and graduation in meeting institutional targets. The UoT under scrutiny had introduced several strategies to capacitate doctoral supervisors, including promoting relevant supervisory skills, scientific writing and communication. It also promoted research dissemination, incentives to support research capacity development, and policies to enhance quality supervision. Since the range and scope of developmental actions and activities at the selected UoT were too broad to evaluate in one project, the focus was on one aspect of supervisor support, namely an institution-wide postgraduate supervision developmental programme. Programme results for the period 2017 to 2021 were critically evaluated, addressing two key dimensions: enhancing doctoral supervision capacity and trends in doctoral graduations. These dimensions are discussed against the background of relevant literature on supervisory capacity, peer UoT cluster trends in South Africa, as well as trends related to the whole public university system in South Africa. The article concludes with important lessons learnt from the institutional case and suggestions to enhance research into doctoral supervisor developmental interventions within an UoT context.

An examination of supporting structures for postgraduate students’ completion of research projects at one of the universities in South Africa

The Council on Higher Education (CHE)’s report on the doctoral programme review states that offering postgraduate programmes seems to be a challenge to some South African universities. Amongst others, the report expresses that postgraduate supervision at universities suffers from many challenges, some of which result in students being delayed or not completing their studies. Underpinned by Archer’s (1998) theory of the interplay between structure, culture, and agency (support programmes), the study seeks to examine factors that hinder postgraduate students’ completion of their dissertations and theses. The study adopted narrative research where the qualitative design was used. Postgraduate students (Master and Doctoral) who have registered for these programmes repeatedly in the university served as participants in the study. The purposive sample was used to sample eight postgraduate students who have frequently registered for more than the required residency period. Semi-structured questions were formulated to guide data collection. Data was collected through a focus group of eight Master and Doctoral students. Collected data were analysed using the content analysis method. The study found that the university does not have adequate (or weak) supporting structures for students to complete their degrees in record time.

STRENGTHENING RESEARCH SUPERVISION IN UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

STRENGTHENING RESEARCH SUPERVISION IN UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

Reflecting Upon PG Supervision in Higher Education

Gender as a concept encompasses “culturally-determined cognitions, attitudes, and belief systems about females and males; [it] varies across cultures, changes through historical time, and differs in terms of who makes the observations and judgments. The purpose of the present study is to examine postgraduate supervision in higher education in relation to gender discrimination. The applied methodology is a critical discussion via reflection upon personal experience and literature review. The supervisory relationship is an incredibly important one in the personal and professional development of supervisees. In relation to gender, it is crucial that supervisors use the relationship as an opportunity to educate, confront, and model. This requires a special level of awareness of self and society. Challenging our own biases, prejudices, and issues is one of the most critical parts of the process.

Biblical Languages: Challenges for postgraduate supervision in Old and New Testament Studies

In South Africa and in many other countries in Africa and around the globe, the demand for more Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidates has increased. With such a demand, a number of challenges also arise. In the discipline of Theology, these challenges are becoming apparent in Old and New Testament Studies, where these fields are experiencing a declining number of students enrolling for biblical languages. This problem is enhanced as the current inherent requirement to study for a PhD in Old Testament is that one must have a knowledge of Biblical Hebrew (and Aramaic), and for New Testament, one needs Greek at an advanced level. Supervisors are challenged more and more to defend these requirements that are complicated by the developmental goals of institutions that require that the number of PhD candidates be increased. In this article, the challenges faced by PhD supervisors (and candidates) in respect of students wanting to enrol for PhDs in Old and New Testament without the necessary requirements are considered, and a case is made as to why it is essential that these students have a background in biblical languages. If students do not take the biblical languages as part of their (undergraduate) studies, immediate concerns for the future of Old and New Testament research and biblical translations (and ministry) are raised. The article concludes with possible suggestions for addressing some of these concerns.Contribution: This article makes an interdisciplinary contribution based on current challenges experienced in the education and supervision of postgraduate studies in the fields of Old Testament and New Testament and on the development and training of postgraduate supervisors in practical education as to contribute to the relevance and practice of theological education today and the future.

On a pedagogy of authentic care in postgraduate research supervision

ABSTRACT This conceptual study examines the challenges involved in a new context of postgraduate education that emphasizes timely degree completion, skill development and employability, while still seeking to uphold a commitment to a genuine education (‘Bildung’). Findings from two recent empirical studies set the scene for this inquiry since they raise questions about the extent to which care underpins contemporary postgraduate research supervision practice, and thus render an exploration of the meaning and importance of care in the current context of postgraduate supervision especially timely. The author then reviews four models of understanding postgraduate research supervision for their compatibility and the extent to which they address ‘care’, before concentrating on five concepts highlighted in one of these models: Functional, Enculturation, Critical Thinking, Emancipation and Care. Drawing on insights from social philosophy, the philosophy of education and the literature on the professions, the author proceeds to theorize the relationships between these concepts, building an argument for prioritizing care as the core category, and demonstrating that in a context of postgraduate research supervision that emphasises the ‘functional’, to care authentically means to promote a genuine education through emancipation (‘Bildung’). Developing the notion of authentic caring further by drawing on the ancient idea that one’s own flourishing is a genuine ethical concern, it is also proposed that understanding and reconciling the tension between care for self and care for others is important to meaningful postgraduate research supervision. The study concludes with some practical and reflective questions for supervisors and those supporting their development.

A Reflection on Post-Graduate Supervision Practice: Towards a Deeper Understanding of Effective Student Engagement

There can be no debate about the central role of postgraduate studies in the enterprise of the research university. Reflecting on the past and the future of higher education, it is clear that the economic foundations of nations are built on their ability to create new knowledge through research and, in turn, transform the same into innovations and resultant societal impact. In this regard, postgraduate supervision is integral to the foundation of national knowledge creation. The PhD degree is regarded as the capstone entry point for researchers to formally enter the scientific enterprise and the world of academia. However, research shows that many academics undertake the role of postgraduate supervision without any formal training or orientation to the task at hand. This paper reviews the literature in relation to the challenges in higher education with respect to postgraduate supervision. Using a personal reflective lens, the paper highlights the relevance of understanding the locus of disciplinary identity during supervision; the need to embrace plurality in terms of modes of supervision; the importance of knowing the boundaries of power, and how to evade the creation of supervisor dominant relationships; and lastly, that simple pragmatic tools can aid and address what is often perceived by the student to be a terrain of extreme complexity.

Ethical Considerations in Authorship and Postgraduate Supervision in Universities in Kenya

The emergence of knowledge economy has put premium on higher education. This has led to a rise in the number of postgraduate training and reforms in higher education. Research, a core mandate of institutions of higher learning, should enable states to meet development needs. Research for development will require the highest standards possible in the conduct of research. This has led to calls for research ethics to protect individuals, communities and the environment. In this study, we explore ethical considerations in authorship and postgraduate supervision in universities in Kenya using a desktop survey. The study established that in Kenya, Universities Standards and Guidelines 2014 and Harmonized Criteria and Guidelines for Appointment and Promotion of Academic Staff in Universities in Kenya have apportioned the highest score on research and publication for appointment and promotion of academic staff in universities. This is likely to trigger unethical practices, increase authorship disputes and undermine collaborative research. The existing framework does not provide for a criteria on authorship listing; and the mandate of Institutional Ethics Review Committees (IERCs) is limited to approval of research proposal and treatment of human participants. Universities in Kenya have developed procedures for appointment and specified the responsibilities of supervisors of postgraduate students. However, very little has been done to train and inculcate research ethics in postgraduate students and supervisors. To mitigate these, universities should develop criterion for awarding publication credit. IERCs should expand their mandate to include ethical consideration beyond a research proposal and universities should train supervisors on supervision and research ethics before appointment. Further research is required to determine the preparedness of supervisors of postgraduate students in Kenya in the responsible conduct of research. Keywords: research ethics, authorship, supervision, universities. Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-15-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2023

Strategies Used for Effective Research Supervision in the Completion of Postgraduate Studies in Selected Universities of Uganda

Research supervision is key, yet it has been faulted for delayed completion of postgraduate studies, particularly at Master’s degree and PhD levels in Uganda. This study sought to establish the strategies for effective research supervision, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study was guided by the phenomenological research design using a qualitative approach. Structured questionnaire was administered to 105 supervisors, while in-depth interviews were conducted with 3 deans/directors and 15 academic department heads. Field data was supplemented with a review of relevant documents. Data were analysed using the thematic analysis technique. Findings revealed that the sampled universities used various supervision strategies including online research supervision, corroborative supervision, coordination, workshops to (re)tool supervisors and students; and motivation and administrative follow-ups to track students’ and supervisors’ progress to enhance students’ completion of postgraduate research. The study recommends that universities design and incorporate online research supervision policies and guidelines in graduate training policies and ensure that they are operationalised. Furthermore, universities should provide a robust virtual infrastructure to enable online supervision. In addition to team supervision, continuous (re)tooling of students and supervisors, establishment of research coordination offices and progress tracks, the adoption of flipped supervision in which supervision approaches, spaces, and student and supervisor roles are varied should be considered. Universities could also consider developing courses on the pedagogy of postgraduate supervision in which research coordinators, supervisors and students receive training in the identified strategies and other strategies to improve postgraduate completion rates. Areas for further study have also been recommended.

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS TO THE PROCESS OF POSTGRADUATE SUPERVISION: EXPLORATION OF SUPERVISEE CHALLENGES

The gist of this study was to analyze the supervision challenges that postgraduate students undergo through in course of doing their thesis or project work supervision in universities in Kenya. The purpose of this paper was to explore the challenges that make the process of postgraduate supervision a nightmare to students, consequently, affecting their enthusiasm to learn and successfully complete their studies as scheduled. The objectives of the study were to; ascertain the perceptions of postgraduate supervisee towards supervisory competences of their supervisors, assess the channels of communications between supervisee and supervisors, and establish the availability of supervisors to the supervisee. The paper used a cross section survey design to capture the views of respondents. The study used a sample size (n= 95) which was derived from a target population (N = 198) consisting of; all masters and doctoral students in the School of Education and School of Business & Economics of Kenyatta University and Mount Kenya University respectively. The study used questionnaires to collect data. The main findings of the study were that; supervisors were found to have established friendly interactions with supervisee but did not embrace ICT in supervision, they did not give prompt feedback to their supervisee; and they were hardly accessible to supervisee. The study concludes that; the process of supervision had main challenge of supervisee not receiving timely feedback from their supervisors who had embraced ICT in supervision. This study recommends frequent re-tooling for the supervisors so that they are able to embrace online supervision and hence assist their postgraduate students complete their studies on time. This study is significant as it may inform both the supervisors and supervisee on the best practices of undertaking the process of supervision for both parties to work harmoniously.

Postgraduate Supervision at Kenya’s Public Universities: The Tough Reality

Postgraduate Supervision at Kenya’s Public Universities: The Tough Reality