Supervisor reflections on developing doctoralness in practice‐based doctoral students
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684881211198220 |
| Pages | 31-41 |
| Date | 27 January 2012 |
| Published date | 27 January 2012 |
| Author | Eddie Blass,Anne Jasman,Roger Levy |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Supervisor reflections on
developing doctoralness in
practice-based doctoral students
Eddie Blass
Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology,
Melbourne, Australia
Anne Jasman
Faculty of Education, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba,
Australia, and
Roger Levy
School of Education, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to share the reflections of a group of five academics who
started supervising practice-based doctoral students at a similar time in the same institution.
Design/methodology/approach – The supervisors engaged in a collaborative research process
themselves, exploring their supervision practices, due in part to the relatively limited literature
available in the field, and in part as a support mechanism to help them understand what they were
doing.
Findings – As the first students have now completed, the learning from taking students through the
cycle from start to finish for the first time is also now complete in itself. While the supervisors continue
to learn both from and within the supervision process itself, that initial experience of supervising
doctoral students is now complete and in many ways the doctoral development process of the students
themselves.
Originality/value – This paper offers insight into the doctoral development process from the
supervisor’s perspective, and offers reflections on the supervision process itself, as well as insight into
the difficulties that can be encountered when researching your own practice.
Keywords Doctorates, Students, Supervision,Action research, Continuing professionaldevelopment,
Metaphors
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The 2008 Australian government reviews (Bradley, 2008; House of Representatives
Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation, 2008; and Cutler, 2008) and
subsequent policydocuments on Higher Education (Australian Government,2009, 2010;
Commonwealthof Australia, 2009) highlight both the needfor an increase in the number
of research students and the need for further development of the future academic
workforce. The Vision for 2020 promulgatedin the Bradley Review specifically callsfor
“the education, training and development of world-class researchersacross a wide range
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Thank you to the group of supervisors who participated in this collaborative experience. They
shall remain anonymous but know who they are. Without them, this story could not be shared
and the learning could not be shared. The authors are indebted to them
Supervisor
reflections
31
Quality Assurance in Education
Vol. 20 No. 1, 2012
pp. 31-41
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/09684881211198220
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