Experiencing higher degree research supervision as teaching

Abstract

This article describes higher degree research supervisors' experiences of supervision as teaching. While research education is considered central to the higher degree research experience, comparatively little is known to date of the teaching lenses adopted by supervisors as they go about their supervision. We worked with 35 supervisors engaged in discipline-specific and interdisciplinary research across architectural design, science, engineering, computer science, information systems and librarianship. Several of these supervisors conducted projects which interfaced with the social sciences and humanities. Nine categories describing supervisors' experiences were constructed through the adoption of a phenomenographic approach. These offer a picture of supervisors' collective awareness of supervision as teaching. Supervision as teaching was experienced as: Promoting the supervisor's development, Imparting academic expertise, Upholding academic standards, Promoting learning to research, Drawing upon student expertise, Enabling student development, Venturing into unexplored territory, Forming productive communities, and Contributing to society.

Novice supervisors’ practices and dilemmatic space in supervision of student research projects

“…Findings from a previous study into research supervision pedagogy suggest that the supervisors' awareness of alternative options for practice influences their research supervision practices (Bruce and Stoodley 2013). The broader the supervisors' repertoire of approaches to supervision, the more they have to choose from.…”

“…Relations between supervisors, students and the context in which they work and learn can introduce supervisors to different, perhaps conflicting, values, responsibilities or goals. Supervisors' intentions to promote their own development in research, for instance, might conflict with strategies to foster a rich learning experience for students (Bruce and Stoodley 2013). Thus, supervisors can have multiple goals simultaneously in supervision practice which can influence their pedagogical choices.…”

Teacher-Researchers as Levers of Doctoral Curriculum in Engineering

“…Politically motivated action typically pursues change for change's sake, seeking immediate gains at the cost of a more profound and sustainable reform [8]; [9] potentially even jeopardizing the university culture [10].…”

“…The focus in teaching activities, however, ought to be directed to service, which is in deliberate contrast to earlier approaches to doctoral education as top-down supervision. Serviceorientation also attends to the recent international shift toward the social nature of the supervisor-researcher relationship [28].…”

An exploration of the experiences and practices of nurse academics regarding postgraduate research supervision at a South African university

“…[1] Changes in the economic, political and workplace arenas of many developing countries have highlighted the contribution of research in higher education programmes towards a skilled workforce and in the overall global knowledge economy. [2] The higher education landscape in the South African (SA) context has not been exempt from these changes; many faculties, such as nursing, have increased the number of students accepted into their postgraduate programmes to respond to the demand of producing highly skilled graduates.…”