Supervising doctorates at a distance: three trans‐Tasman stories
| Pages | 42-53 |
| Published date | 27 January 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684881211198239 |
| Date | 27 January 2012 |
| Author | Martin Andrew |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Supervising doctorates at a
distance: three trans-Tasman
stories
Martin Andrew
Faculty of Higher Education, Swinburne University of Technology,
Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges of post-traditional, distance PhD
supervision and suggest pedagogical interventions to bridge the distance. The paper investigates the
skills and understandings necessary for mediating the supervisor-supervisee dyad within faceless
encounters.
Design/methodology/approach – Grounded in a literature review and using interview-based
narratives, the paper describes a case study investigating the needs and experiences of three part-time,
trans-Tasman PhD students, writing practitioner- or practice-led research (PLR) higher degrees by
research (HDR) by artefact and exegesis.
Findings – Findings reveal the importance of proactivity, dialogue and mutual trust and the
necessity of knowing which interactions, including e-moderated supervisions and fast-turnaround
electronic communications, potentially help to bridge the gulf.
Research limitations/implications – While this small-scale study makes no major claims that
results can be generalised, the results are pertinent to those involved in distance HDR supervision,
particularly in PLR.
Originality/value – As distance supervisions become increasingly commonplace, HDR supervisors
need to build best practice models from shared personal and professional understandings of effective
supervisory interventions in this mode.
Keywords Australia, Doctorates, Students, Doctoralsupervision, Distance supervision,Artefact,
Exegesis, Creativewriting
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This paper revolves around the post-traditional supervision experiences of three
trans-Tasman students enrolled in a PhD by artefact and exegesis (A&E) in Swinburne
University’s Writing discipline. Their narratives are experiential stories with points of
parallel and divergence. These parallels and divergences are apparent between and
among the data, but also in reference to literature on doctoral supervision at a distance
and an emerging body of work on the different trajectories involved in supervising in
the A&E model. While the contexts of working at a distance and working in a
non-traditional PhD model distinguish the study environment of three students, the
question of their identities as writers, researchers, scholars, teachers, students who
have experienced supervision during Masters by thesis and their relationships to
universities impact on the study too.
The globalised contexts of the supervisions discussed here are post-traditional in
several ways. The A&E model brings its own distinctions in terms of what the
multidimensional, hybridised supervisor/supervisee relationship looks like. Moreover,
because supervising at a distance involves recourse to technological modes of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0968-4883.htm
QAE
20,1
42
Quality Assurance in Education
Vol. 20 No. 1, 2012
pp. 42-53
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/09684881211198239
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