Being a thesis supervisor

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Taking this module gives you competencies to:

Analyze your own experiences as a supervisee and as a supervisor
Reflect on your supervision practices and expectations of thesis supervision
Reflect on your cultural assumptions about the pedagogy of supervision
Analyse your supervision models by using the frameworks of Dysthe (2002)
Analyse your supervision style by using the frameworks of Gatfield (2005)
Identify elements of transcultural and assimilationist practices in supervision

Key concepts: thesis supervision, university pedagogy, intercultural thesis supervision, expectations

This module concentrates on master’s and doctoral thesis supervision. Supervising students and doctoral candidates is one of the most important academic tasks which requires excellent research, management, social and communication skills. The main themes of this module are 1) Our experiences and practices, 2) Expectations of thesis supervision, 3) Supervision models, 4) Intercultural supervision, and 5) Conflicts and problems. This module guides you to reflect and develop your own supervision skills according to research on university pedagogy. Explore the topics by reading the slides, watching the short video, taking the Quiz, reading the articles and completing the learning tasks for self-study. All the materials on this website are available for self-study.

Read more:

Franke, A., & Arvidsson, B. (2011). Research supervisors’ different ways of experiencing supervision of doctoral students. Studies in Higher Education, 36(1), 7–19. doi:10.1080/03075070903402151
Grant, B. M. (2003). Mapping the pleasures and risks of supervision. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 24(2), 175–190. doi:10.1080/01596300303042
Grant, B. M. (2005). Fighting for space in supervision: Fantasies, fairytales, fictions and fallacies. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 18(3), 337–354. doi:10.1080/09518390500082483
de Kleijn, R. A. M., Bronkhorst L. H., Meijer P. C., Pilot A., & Brekelmans M. (2016). Understanding the up, back, and forward-component in master’s thesis supervision with adaptivity. Studies in Higher Education, 41(8), 1463–1479. doi:10.1080/03075079.2014.980399
Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3), 267-281.
Lee, A. (2019). Successful Research Supervision. Advising Students Doing Research. Second edition. London & New York: Routledge.
Manathunga, C. (2005). The development of research supervision: turning a light on a private space. International Journal for Academic Development, 10(1), 117-130.
Pearson, M., & Brew, A. (2002). Research training and supervision development. Studies in Higher Education, 27(2), 135-150.
Walker, M., & Thomson, P. (Eds.). (2010). The Routledge doctoral supervisor's companion: Supporting effective research in education and the social sciences. Routledge.
Winchester-Seeto, T., Homewood, J., Thogersen, J., Jacenyik-Trawoger, C., Manathunga, C., Reid, A., & Holbrook, A. (2014). Doctoral supervision in a cross-cultural context: Issues affecting supervisors and candidates. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(3), 610–626. doi:10.1080/07294360.2013.841648
Wisker, G. (2012). The good supervisor (2nd ed.). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.