Academic Cultures of Postgraduate Supervision : What Influences Supervisors in their Practices?

Rafidah Sahar; Sari Nurdamayanti; Mazni Saad

doi:10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.3719

Authors

Rafidah Sahar Department of English, Kulliyyah of Languages and Management, International Islamic University Malaysia, Edu Hub Pagoh, 84600, Muar, Johor, Malaysia
Sari Nurdamayanti English First Center for Adult, Mall Taman Anggrek 3rd Floor, Jl. S. Parman Kav 21, Tanjung Duren Selatan, Jakarta, 11470, Indonesia
Mazni Saad Department of Tourism, Kulliyyah of Languages and Management, International Islamic University Malaysia, Edu Hub Pagoh, 84600, Muar, Johor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.3719

Keywords:

Postgraduate Supervision, Acedemic Cultures, Supervisory Practices

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the academic cultures in postgraduate supervision to identify types of supervisory approaches utilized by supervisors and to determine the cultural contexts that influence their practice. Our study is significant considering how much more nuanced and complex supervisors' responsibilities have become to accommodate postgraduates with varying backgrounds. We employed a qualitative-narrative inquiry to interview three senior supervisors at a Malaysian university. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using the holistic content model. Our findings contribute to the literature on supervisory practices that would benefit postgraduates' learning experiences in Malaysia and similar contexts.

References

Abiddin, N. Z. (2018). Postgraduate students’ perception on effective supervision: A case study at one public university in Malaysia. Journal of International Social Research, 1(1), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.20185537258

Almusaed, A., & Almssad, A. (2020). The Role of the Supervisor on Developing PhD Students’ Skills. International Conference on Humanities, Social and Education Sciences.

Aziman Abdullah & Asar Abdul Karim (2021). Supervisor selection for postgraduate research program in Higher education using data analytics. Journal of Governance and Integrity, 5 (1)

Badiozaman, I. (2017). Understanding academic identity development in a changing landscape: The case of university English teachers in Malaysia. Asia TEFL Journal 14(2) p. 307-319. http://dx.doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2017.14.2.7.307

Baydarova. I., Collins, H. E., & Ait Saadi, I. (2021). Alignment of doctoral student and supervisor expectations in Malaysia. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 16, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.28945/4682

Cardilini, A. P. A., Risely, A., & Richardson, M. F. (2021). Supervising the PhD: identifying common mismatches in expectations between candidate and supervisor to improve research training outcomes. Higher Education Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1874887

Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000) Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Costa, C. (2015). Outcasts on the inside: academics reinventing themselves online. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 34(2), 194-210.

Delany, D. (2008). A review of the literature on effective Ph.D. supervision. In Centre for Academic Practice and Student Learning. Trinity College, Dublin. Retrieved https://www.tcd.ie/CAPSL/assets/doc/Effective_Supervision_Literature_Review.doc

Fragouli, E. (2021). Postgraduate supervision: A practical reflection on how to support students’ engagement. In International Journal of Higher Education Management, 07(02). https://doi.org/10.24052/IJHEM/V07N02/ART-1

Grant, B (1999). Walking on a rackety bridge: Mapping supervision. In HERDSA Annual International Conference, Melbourne. Retrieved on 4 June 2016 from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Grant_Barbara/publication/228505875_Walking_on_a_rackety_bridge_mapping_supervision/links/56c4287a08ae602342513696.pdf

Grant, B. (2003). Mapping the pleasures and risks of supervision. In Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 24(2): 175–190.

Grant, B. (2005). The Pedagogy of Graduate Supervision: Figuring the Relations between Supervisor and Student (Ph.D. Thesis), The University of Auckland.

Grant, B. & Graham, A. (1999). Naming the game: Reconstructing graduate supervision. In Teaching in Higher Education, 4(1): 77–89.

Grant, K., Hackney, R., & Edgar, D. (2014). Research Supervision: an ‘agreed’ view of metaphors and conceptual model. In International Journal of Doctoral Studies DOI:10.28945/1952

Hao, Z. (2016). In search of professional identity: higher education in Macau and the academic role of faculty. Higher Education, 72(1), 101-113.

Holliday, A. (1999). Small cultures. In Applied Linguistic, 20(2) 237-264.

Holliday, A. (2011) Intercultural Communication and Ideology. London: Sage.

Jovchelovitch, S. & Bauer, M. (2000) Narrative Interviewing. London: LSE Research Online. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2633.

Krauss, S. E., & Ismail, I. A. (2010). Ph.D. students’ experiences of thesis supervision in Malaysia: managing relationships in the midst of institutional change. In The Qualitative Report, 15(4), p. 802-822.

Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. In Studies in Higher Education, 33(3): 267–281.

Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. (1998). Narrative Research: Reading, Analysis, and Interpretation, Vol. 47. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

MQA. (2021). Standards: Master’s and Doctoral Degree 2nd Edition. Retrieved from https://www2.mqa.gov.my/qad/v2/2021/new/Final MDD 2021 - upload v2.pdf

Nulty, D., Kiley, M., & Meyers, N. (2009). Promoting and recognising excellence in the supervision of research students: An evidence-based framework. In Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 34, (6) 1-15.

Petriglieri, G. (2020). Between survival and vitality: a psychodynamic perspective on identity fabrication. In The Oxford Handbook on Identities in Organizations, A.D. Brown (Ed), Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative Analysis. London: Sage.

Sahar, R., & Abdullah, N. N. (2020) Conceptualising Doctoral Supervision in Malaysia as Small Cultures: PhD Graduates’ Perspectives, The GLOCAL Conference in Asia, 53-58.

Simon, B. (2004). Identity in Modern Society: A Social Psychological Perspective. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Tiong, J. J. L., Kho, H. L., Mai, C. W., Lau, H. L., & Hasan, S. S. (2018). Academic dishonesty among academics in Malaysia: a comparison between healthcare and non-healthcare academics. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1274-3

Tomlinson, M. (2010). Investing in the self: Structure, agency, and identity in graduates’ employability. In Education, Knowledge and Economy 4 (2), 73–88.

Vurayai, S., & Ndofirepi, A. P. (2020). ‘Publish or perish’: implications for novice African university scholars in the neoliberal era. African Identities, 1-14.

Wadesango, N. (2014). Publish or perish: Impediments to research output and publication. International Journal of Educational Sciences, 6(1), 57-63.

Wang, T., & Li, L. Y. (2008). Understanding international postgraduate research students' challenges and pedagogical needs. In Thesis Writing International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 4(3), 88-96.

Winchester-Seeto, T., Homewood, J., Thogersen, J., et al. (2014). Doctoral supervision in a cross-cultural context: issues affecting supervisors and candidates. In Higher Education Research and Development, 33(3), 610-626.