Doctoral supervision: an exploratory workshop

1
Doctoral supervisionan exploratory workshop

• Dr Dilly Fung
• Education Development Unit
• D.Fung_at_exeter.ac.uk

2
Overview

• Changing nature of the doctorate
• Changing nature of doctoral students
• Issues and challenges facing doctoral supervisors

3
1 Changing nature of the doctorate

• A very brief history of doctoral study (Taylor
  and Beasley, 2005)
• C12th research degrees a licence to teach
• Early C19th Von Humboldt initiated modern
  research-based doctoral degrees in Berlin
• 1861 first research degree awarded in United
  States (by Yale)

4

• US degrees required programme of study, then with
  training in research skills before undertaking
  project
• Rise in US of graduate schools and similar
  (late C19th)
• Early C20th Germany and US still two biggest
  players, attracting students from elsewhere

5

• Post WW1, UK universities began to offer PhD
  first doctorate (DPhil) awarded by Oxford in 1920
• Other UK universities soon followed suit
• UK doctorates more narrowly specialised than
  those in US
• this approach exported to other countries,
  including Australia

6

• 1950s and 1960s research rose in importance to
  meet political agenda (economic growth defence
  capability)
• Rapid growth of the research sector
• By 1990s, the PhD had gone global
• Criticisms of doctoral degrees began to grow
  allegedly not fit for purpose

7
Bologna Declaration

• 1999 Bologna Declaration signed, with
  objectives to
• establish a European Area of Higher Education by
  2010
• promote the European system of HE world-wide

8
Bologna objectives (Park, 2007)

• Adoption of a system of easily comparable degrees
  with two main cycles (UG/PG)
• Establishment of a system of transferable credits
  
• Promoting mobility of students between member
  states European cooperation in quality
  assurance European dimensions in HE

9
Concerns about completion rates and times

• according to HEFCE (2005), of students starting
  full time in 1996-7
• 36 completed within 4 years
• 57 completed within 5 years
• 71 completed within 7 years
• completion rates highest in the natural sciences,
  lowest in the arts and humanities

10
2 Changing students

• Huge growth of the HE sector
• More students gaining first degrees, so
  doctorates seen as value added
• Issues of equality and diversity coming to the
  fore
• New varieties of doctorate, including the
  professional doctorates

11
Responding to diversity
12
Gender issues

• Research suggests that women may be
• given less time by supervisors
• relegated to marginal problems in the lab
• physically isolated from main group
• subject to direct discrimination
• subject to sexual harassment
• receive less encouragement to publish
• (Taylor and Beasley, 2005)

13
Disability

• Previously there was a notable lack of research
  in this field
• But now a new HEFCE-funded study (Farrar, 2004)
  reveals good practice but also issues
• There is a very useful web site at
  http//www.premia.ac.uk
• on making research education accessible

14
Ethnic and cultural diversity

• Range of expectations
• of what a doctorate is
• of what a supervisor should do
• of what the candidate can and should do
• Isolation and language difficulties may (but may
  not) become issues

15
Key points

• direct discrimination by supervisors is rare (but
  happens)
• indirect discrimination is more likely, and its
  important to guard against it, particularly in
  view of the anti-discrimination legislation
• For advice on issues of equality and diversity at
  the University of Exeter, contact
• Kate Devlin, Equality and Diversity Manager, at
• K.M.Devlin_at_exeter.ac.uk

16
(No Transcript)
17
3 Challenges for supervisors
18
Multiple tasks include

• Administration (at School and University level),
  including appropriate record-keeping see
  Exeters Code of Good Practice at
  http//www.admin.ex.ac.uk/academic/tls/tqa/pgsuper
  .htm
• Referring candidates for appropriate skills
  development sessions
• Scheduling and conducting supervisions
• Supporting candidates in the writing up of the
  thesis and preparing them for the viva

19
Changing views of supervision

• traditionally regarded as an adjunct of research
• now seen as a specialised branch of teaching,
  albeit ..the most complex and subtle form of
  teaching in which we engage (Brown and Atkins,
  1988, p115)
• extension of teaching styles to supervisory
  styles

20
Pedagogy of supervision

• What kind of teaching is supervision?
• What kind of learning is research?
• Issues arise of building a research community
  which is an effective learning community
• Learning through reflection and through creative,
  critical thinking

21
Supervisory styles

• Questions arise about structure
• who is responsible for organising and managing
  the research project?
• And about the nature of support how involved
  should supervisors become with individual
  candidates and their work?
• Low and high levels of structure, and of
  support, are possible

22
Paradigms of supervisory styles (Gatfield, 2005)

• High
• Pastoral Contractual
• Support
• Laisser-faire Directorial
• Low High
• Structure

23
Supervisory styles

• laisser-faire assumes student capable of
  managing both project and themselves
• pastoral assumes student capable of managing
  project but needs personal support

24

• directorial assumes student not capable of
  managing research project but can manage
  themselves
• contractual assumes that both project
  management and personal support have to be agreed

25
Issues of style

• Congruence needed between preferred styles and
  student needs
• Supervisors need to be able to adapt their style
  for different candidates, and for different
  phases of the project
• Opportunities needed for communicating with
  candidates about preferences of approach

26
Students key difficulties

• Main reasons for students failing to thrive
• Poor planning management of
• project
• Methodological difficulties
• Writing up
• Isolation (ed. Gibbs, 1999)

27
Research communities

• Building a sense of community within PGR students
  in a School is key
• Opportunities needed to overcome isolation and
  address issues with peers
• Education at every level needs to be a kind of
  inclusive conversation, and provide opportunities
  for collaboration

28
Summary

• How do we supervise effectively so that, mindful
  of change and diversity,
• high quality projects are devised and completed
• appropriate relationships and structures are
  developed and sustained
• candidates develop appropriate knowledge,
  understanding and skills
• the learning communities of our subject
  discipline (and beyond) are enriched?

29
Task

• Small group discussions
• What particular challenges do we face in our
  roles as supervisors at Exeter?
• Discuss and note issues and challenges of
  particular interest and/or concern to your group.

30
Supervision the Code of Practice
31
Generic skills development
32
Questions for the Panel

• What would you most like to ask our panel of
  experienced supervisors?