Developing Research Supervision Skills: Executive Summary

Executive Summary

• Introduction
• Methods and Results
• Implications for supervisor professional development

Introduction

Supervising students undertaking research projects, dissertations or theses at all levels from pre-degree to doctorates is a significant part of the work of tertiary educators, and the relationship between supervisor and student has been shown to be a critical factor in the retention of students. Most literature and research initiatives relating to supervision are aimed at postgraduate level students and supervisors. Moreover there is only an emerging literature to address the specific requirements of supervision in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Therefore, this exploratory project sought to generate knowledge about current practices across a range of type of organisations and qualification levels within the Aotearoa New Zealand context. The overarching objectives were to:

• Identify existing resources and professional development activities that are available at universities, polytechnics, wānanga and relevant private training establishments.
• Provide baseline data and networking opportunities for future projects.
• Generate tentative practical recommendations to assist tertiary institutions and their staff in developing effective research supervision training.

Methods and Results

A national online survey and qualitative case studies of five institutions (three polytechnics, a university and a PTE) were carried out. Each institution determined the nature of information obtained and the key informants interviewed during site visits. Case study organisations were guided to identify staff offering leadership in professional development and supervisors identified by the institution as adopting good practice.

Responses were received from seven universities, six polytechnics, one wānanga and four PTEs (response rate 45%).

• Only two institutions provided institution-wide supervisor professional development at sub-degree level.
• All the universities indicated that supervisor support or training is available for work at doctoral level.
• All universities provided an orientation for novice postgraduate supervisors. Topics included: codes of practice, information about dealing with problems, ethics, managing candidature, working with international students and orientation for experienced supervisors new to the institution.
• The same material was covered for supervisors of Masters level research, however, the response count was the same or lower for each subject.
• Several universities and polytechnics provided professional development for postgraduate research supervisors at an institutional level and devolved support for supervisors at other levels was faculties or schools (this resulted in some organisations have little centralised knowledge about the overall provision of professional development).
• Several polytechnics and PTEs did not regard themselves as providing any professional development for supervisors of student research.
• Of those organisations providing professional development for supervisors, all provided printed materials (most frequently a Handbook for both students and supervisors), 90% made use of training sessions and a mentoring programme, 40% operated a peer buddying scheme or peer support group, and half provided web-based resources.

The case studies highlighted the diverse institutional policies and practices in relation to supervisors’ professional development. Only the university had a formalised training programme for supervisors. Other institutions relied on wider, system-based, initiatives that focussed on staff research and/or teaching capabilities. Few supervisors had undertaken formal supervisor training, however, they had access to a range of skills, experiences, resources and non-supervisory formal professional development opportunities. An inductive analysis of the interview data identified five main themes in supervisors’ narratives: memories of supervision, supervision as teaching, transferring skills, personal attributes and learning from colleagues.

Implications for supervisor professional development

The results highlight the range of institutional approaches to supervisor professional development and the major themes of the complex narratives that supervisors employ to make sense of their experience. One outcome has been to raise awareness of supervisor professional development across a range of tertiary organisations. It is hoped that this will enhance future networking between staff developers who prepare staff to supervise student research at a variety of qualification levels. Based on the areas highlighted as important within the report, there are several implications for the development of practice:

• Supervision should be recognised as a space for crafting (and re-crafting) scholarly identities for both students and supervisors. Professional development should encourage challenging reflective practices to acknowledge and build upon the knowledge and life experiences of supervisors with regard to their prior professional and personal experiences.
• Many supervisors develop their skills by evolving and expanding upon other teaching duties. Institutions can enhance this process by acknowledging pre-existing skills and by developing tertiary teaching qualifications that include supervision as a specialist pedagogy.
• Professional development models should seek to facilitate a process that honours the supervisory relationship as requiring not only competent individual supervisors, but also a supportive community of academics, other staff and students.
• Devolution of professional development responsibilities to Faculty or School level allows for the development of discipline specific supervisory pedagogies. Such developments must be coupled with effective communications between all units concerned with teaching and research development.
• Staff need to be well-prepared to supervise small research projects, this strengthens the research-teaching nexus at pre-degree and undergraduate level, provides a stimulus for community and industry engagement, and impetus to postgraduate programmes.
• Web-based resources are rapidly becoming a key vehicle to facilitate professional learning networks and encourage community-building. Their emergence is important in developing inclusive ways to work with students and/or supervisors at a distance across global academic and practitioner communities.

The research project was a scoping exercise. Future more in depth research is required that adopts longitudinal, multi-dimensional, multi-method approaches to help develop credible models of how professional development affects the structure, acquisition, application and retention of supervisor knowledge, and how this influences students’ experiences and outcomes. The role of supervisors remains crucial in ensuring that students complete their education in a timely manner and gain enriched abilities with regard to research skills, scholarly endeavour and academic identities.