Module 1, Session 2: Supervision with a humanizing pedagogy

[Pauline]

#2040

The presentation has got me thinking. My orientation is so empirical in nature, relying heavily on objective representation of ‘knowledge’. It set me wondering about alternative ways of ‘knowing’ in therapeutics.

Students ARE so different! Viewing supervision as orientation into a knowledge community sharply brings to the fore the notion that one size does not fit all; and the need for our supervision methods to cater to the differences and knowledge that our students bring with them.

[Mathew Kosgei]

#2067

I found the presentation to be a condensed summary of both the supervisor and the student experience in the whole process of what the author refers to as “knowledge making”. The supervisor expectation on what the student can do of which they often can’t do is pointed out. However, my reflection was on what the student’s expectation could be? Could the student be thinking that, this is a wake-up call to revisit on what they may have forgotten? As a supervisor in mathematical sciences, I sometimes expect that the students understand some basic concepts/principles in Mathematics, not sure if this is a wrong assumption!

The concluding remarks on social inclusion and social justice on thinking differently about seeing students as ‘social beings’ involving ‘humanising’ them, not seeing them as uniform. Based on the admission criteria, could we think that to some extent, there could be some degree of ‘similarity’ (uniformity) in the”knowing and being’ for a good proportion of students notwithstanding some outliers- “normalising pedagogy”.
Generally, my view on the presentation is that it arouses self reflection on a number of issues.

[Scholastica]

#2078

In my context students who have performed above average at the Bachelor Degree proceed for further studies in their field of interest at postgraduate level. Fewer citizens have access to postgraduate studies as they are merit based. This is less than 1% of the undergraduate population. More men than women are likely to join postgraduate studies, this is due to disparities in endowment in time and finances. Funding postgraduate studies is another bottleneck for the transition as there are fewer scholarships available and opportunity cost of household needs and educational needs for families conflict arises.
The ways of being, thinking and knowing in my disciplinary area are: encased in professing theoretical concepts, different thoughts in microeconomics and macroeconomics which shaped the knowledge of economics overtime. Dependency on foreign literature in our African context to be perfect truths in professing and advancement of knowledge has created a lacuna in some settings and has become it is impractical in some instances. When us supervisors instill traditions from our Alma Maters as perfect truths, we stifle new thought process in our students. Interestingly it is seen as non conformance when students do not follow our paths and it is taken as a faux pas against the norms.
From my experience the students who join postgraduate studies with weaker merits such lower second class honour tend to struggle alot, part-time students juggling work and family are also slower. Additionally, students who are struggling with fees and female students who are in the peak of their reproductive phases tend to have problem in completing their studies in time.
The need to engage with a ‘new world’ have contributed to failed expectation in postgraduate students and the supervisors- as their needs conflict. Some student need postgraduate degree for promotion at work and may find the system in academia is slower. The ace students coming with first class and second class honour may feel that they have a higher aptitude and supervisor input maybe vindictive.

[Chrissie Boughey]

#2082

What does relying on merit to decide who gets in to postgraduate studies do in a system which is trying to achieve more equity (as in South Africa)? Many students from poor backgrounds who lack the social and cultural capital recognised and valued by the university take a long time to get into the swing of things at undergraduate level. They pass but they don’t get the firsts or upper seconds. We can see that very clearly in South African student performance data. Are they to be denied the chance of doing postgraduate work when there is every likelihood that their ‘catching up’ will also speed up the longer they are in the academic system? I’m supervising a student now for PhD who came into the university on an alternative entrance programme. This allowed her to do her first degree over four, rather than three years with substantial foundation provision in her curriculum. She got a bachelor’s degree – not a first class pass but a degree. She then went on to do honours and master’s because she was given a chance even though she was not at the top of the class. She will get a PhD – she has just taken longer to learn the ‘rules’ of academic working. If, as supervisors, we think that entrance to postgraduate work should be on academic ‘merit’ what will this say for who gets in and who is kept out of the postgraduate arena?

[Kristen Cheney]

#2122

I completely agree that post-graduate education is about ‘inducting students into a new way of thinking’–but we should also consider the possibility of that being an actual co-production of knowledge, not a one-way street from supervisor to student. In fact, students come with their own set of knowledge and ways of knowing; we should also be open to the transformative possibilities for us a supervisors who can also learn a lot from our students as we also impart knowledge.

[Alwyn]

#2131

I like the angle of social justice. It brings out a sense of greater responsibility, to both the student and supervisor.

[Jamin]

#2139

A very interesting piece of presentation. At PG level, it is usual to assume that the learners have been exposed to the basics of knowledge generation such as concept development. it is also assumed that they are exposed to the core aspects of research – methodology and theory. So they are on admission expected to demonstrate that understanding.we also assume that they went through a similar learning background/institutions ( e.g University). It is also thought that their motivation for postgraduate studies is same. My experience is there are those with a eye on academic progression (stay in academia) but an increasing number are interested in acquiring a higher for career/job promotion and employment opportunity competitive advantage in the face of massive unemployment in developing countries. Therefore motivation for post graduate training and leaning backgrounds are critical for completion rates as they may lead to social exclusion..
Jamin.

[Xolane]

#2141

This is an interesting presentation and as a person who was in postgrad not so long ago, I don’t remember any of my advisors asking whether I could or couldn’t perform a certain task but was rather expected that I should have acquired all the necessary skills to pursue a PG degree in UG. A supervisors objective therefore should be to (1) make sure individual students are capable of undertaking the objectives required at PG level or (2) for supervisor with multiple students (i.e. research groups) to be able to create an environment/culture where knowledge is created through a collaborative approach between students which will allow for skills to be shared between them. This could alleviate social exclusion as students with a different educational background for example, can learn more skills from their peers through collaboration.

[Joyce]

#2236

Students who qualify and are both interested and willing to work hard can pursue postgraduate education. Postgraduate students know they are supposed to become experts in their field of study, yet probably what they do not know is how to become one. In my experience, those who struggle with postgraduate studies have funding issues, time management issues since they are employed or have other obligations such as parenting and those who underestimate the effort required to pursue such degrees – such usually include students who register for postgraduate studies to secure promotions at their workplace.

In my university, postgraduate students are admitted from various institutions and have had different past learning experiences. An assumption we make is that they all have the required prerequisite knowledge to all the courses that will be offered. If they do not we equally assume they can read the Topics on their own and catch up. The supervisor needs to equally take the role of a teacher and ensure students are not disadvantaged.

Since most students do not understand what postgraduate education is about and what is expected of them, the supervisor needs to guide the student to be a knowledge expert.

[Mary Masehela]

#2323

I find it interesting that as i was doing free writing exercises in this session, i noticed that we normalised practices that are not necessarily acceptable. i noticed that generally, as a supervisor, i would expect a student to come into our relationship ready-made. yet, i know very well that the student did not receive rigorous training at undergraduate level on academic writing, compiling a literature review, data collection and analysis. all these are not explicitly taught at undergraduate but we expect students to bring with them that knowledge when they embark on postgraduate studies.
i think the humanising pedagogy should not just start at PG level but it should start as early as first year of study. this calls for university curriculum overhaul from first year student experience programme right up to postgraduate level.

[Hlanganipai]

#2421

The relationship between a supervisor and a student is very important and it needs to be good but professional. However, variables like age, status, and culture at times makes the student be on the periphery of this relationship. As a student, my age made me not to engage with my supervisor the way I wanted because of the belief that older people know everything. This at times made me accept everything from my supervisor without questioning some issues. However, some supervisors appreciate the student views, some do not appreciate it due to the age difference, which I believe is not correct. Culture can also be a factor that may compromise the research relationship between the supervisor and the student. Some cultures do not allow serious engagement with elders. For instance, the Zimbabwean rural African culture does not allow young people to engage with elders. This was my case at times whereby, I had to be a follower to my research supervisor, and in turn, my supervisor did not also notice and appreciated this cultural difference. To me, these unequal relations affected the generation of knowledge.
A compatible working culture between the supervisor and then the learner is also imperative in the knowledge generation process. Therefore, it is good for both parties to be open to each other about the expectations and ethics to minimise challenges in supervision.
Language can also be a barrier to knowledge generation in supervision. Therefore, the supervisor needs to appreciate this as students come from diverse social contexts, some inherited from the social ills of the past. Therefore, access to quality supervision can be denied or compromised if supervisors do not understand the background of their students. However, to what level of language proficiency do supervisors should appreciate in research remains a challenge to many supervisors to balance the quality of knowledge generation and access to knowledge generation.

[Nelson]

#2457

Humanizing pedagogy in postgraduate supervision, what a wonderful insight and indeed critical and a big challenge in p/g supervision, i have many a times assumed that all my postgraduate students must have basic concepts in econometric modeling from u/g training which is not unilateral. Henceforth, i will appreciate them as different social beings and i will embrace humanizing approach. Thanks team, for offering this module 1 session 2.

I think religion is also a factor which can result in social exclusion.

On aspect of being, thinking and knowing to some extent economic and political factors come into play.

[Ketiwe]

#2570

This topic made me reflect deeply on issues that constrain students at Postgraduate level, especially how assumptions on what students can and cannot do can affect the supervision relationship between the supervisor and students. I am finding myself reflecting more deeply on how gender, education background, access to funding impact on students and their access to knowledge. Interesting reading

[Mmaphuti]

#2813

1. What is the role of trust in the supervision relationship?
– The trust make both participants to work together efficiently and effectively
– it gives assurance to the supervisee that he/she is in good hands to engage in her/his research work
– It opens the blockages as both will be able to communicate freely without thinking of being judged or undermined

2. What facilitates or fails to facilitate trust?
– Honesty facilitate the trust but dishonesty in both parties may fail the trust to prevail
– Lack of knowledge especially on the side of the supervisor can put some doubts on the students and end up not trusting the skills of the supervisor

3. How might one ensure respect in the supervision relationship?
– Respect and honesty for each other firsts
– Non-judgmental attitude and undermining of the students’ capabilities or vice versa.
– Ability to use expertise can foster respect in a supervision process
– Collaboration: both voices should be heard

[Joseph]

#2826

1) What i expect p/gs to be able to do and they often can’t do
– to have some basic knowledge of research e.g. ability to write an essay legibly. In some cases i have found this to be lacking
– knowledge of use of library to access relevant resources. I have been surprised and even disappointed many times
– ability to use English language comfortably. This has been the most surprising in the sense that this has been a challenge.
– Critically ability has been the most glaring problem. Students have been unable to engage with the topic critically.
2) Who gets to study at p/g level? in my context:
– those already with first degree
– those able to get time especially those already employed. Employers are reluctant to grant leave
– those able to access the institution
– financially able. there are no scholarships and few are able to pay for their studies
3) How it represents demographics of my country
– skewed to the lucky few
– only the minority financially able will manage
4) Who struggles?
– the married – family challenges
– working class – sometimes they are still on duty and studying on the side
– the financially challenged struggle and some either drop out or take long to complete their studies
5) How may the need to engage with a ‘new world’ may have contribute to this?
– I can think of the issue of flexibility of the institution in the light of individual challenges
– assumptions regarding the caliber of students which has resulted in supervisor attitude

[Author]

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