Volume 18, No. 6, 2021
The Expectations And Experiences Of Research Supervisors Concerning The Intellectual Capacity Of Their Supervisees
Dr. Fakhra Aziz , Dr. Moafia Nader , Dr. Sumaira Noreen , Shagufta Moghal
Abstract
The current study aimed to investigate research supervisors’ expectation and experiences of their supervisee’s intellectual capacity. Under qualitative paradigm, semi-structured interviews were conducted. An interview protocol with separate version for both supervisors and supervisees was developed. It was primarily focused on supervisor’s expectations and experiences of their supervisees. 10 Dyads of PhD Research supervisor and supervisee were purposively selected from the research repository of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Their research projects in social sciences and submission after June 2019 was ensured in order to get insights of recent experiences of the PhD process and supervision which could be easy to recall. Their details were requested to registrar and controller examination of respective universities. Out of 10 dyads, eight agreed to participate. Total 16 interviews were conducted with 8 supervisors– supervisee dyads. Two separate frameworks were developed for data analysis, one was based on responses of supervisor and supervisee to a set of questions. This led to second framework based on patterns and themes emerging from first framework. Research supervisors were found to be interested in transformational learning and innovative research. There was a transition in expectations of supervisors for their supervisee from being independent researchers to interdependent ones. It was found that there was a gap between supervisors’ expectation and actual experiences. On the other hand, supervisee’s perception of research supervision was structured and dependent on the supervisor. Further research showed that supervisors’ experiences were not matched with their expectations.
Pages: 7657-7667
Keywords: Qualitative Research, Semi-Structured Interviews, Higher Education, Independent Researchers, Dyad analysis, Intellectual capacity