Student-supervisor interaction problems in joint research activity

Abstract

Growing interest in improving the quality of student’s research activity in higher education has led to an emphasis on student-supervisor interaction in joint research activity. The study presented here was carried out in Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russia. The participants were 30 supervisors and 60 students from the Pedagogical Institute. The study defined student and supervisor interaction problems and characterized the ways of student-supervisor interaction that reduce student’s motivation for a creative approach to writing research work when student’s research work is perceived as (1) supervisor’s burden, (2) a source of supervisor’s innovative ideas, (3) a source of additional information or (4) a source of primary information processing for supervisor’s scientific work. Implications are given to prevent ineffective ways of student-supervisor interaction and improve the quality of student’s research training in multi-level university education.