This paper presents an autoethnographic, narrative analysis through self-reflection of my own personal transition from doctoral student to doctoral supervisor. An evaluation of the importance of the PhD in South Africa, the role of doctoral supervisors, and characteristics of good supervisors was undertaken; against which my personal experience…

Portnoy (2013) shared a series of personal observations about central issues in Chinese college mental health based on his Fulbright year in China. While we really appreciated his personal observations and his discussion, which shed light on cultural differences and structural forces in China, we present here a different perspective on his…

In this essay I offer an imaginary of postgraduate student supervision focusing on sceptical encounters with the other. Drawing on the seminal thoughts of Harvard philosopher Stanley Cavell (1997), particularly on his ideas on "living with scepticism", I argue that postgraduate student supervision ought to be an encounter framed by…

In this article, the author relates his experience in a recent trip to Sweden. He was assigned to supervise a research student who is preparing a very interesting PhD about the role of the many different kinds of knowledge that have relevance to people in technology. His latest tutorial paper included a fascinating account of some examples of…

In this essay, the authors talk about higher degree supervision as a human relationship, and shares how to supervise a PhD. There's a tendency now to talk about supervision as if it's a technical process one needs to learn the rules of. This paper urges educators to think about this as a human educational relationship, which has all the ups and…

In this article, I examine three claims that in some senses can hinder the supervisory process rather than facilitate it. These are the claims that the relationship between supervisor and student should be a friendship; that students writing their theses should demonstrate "own voice"; and that students should choose supervisors on the…

Academics who specialise in improving the teaching of "hard" sciences like chemistry, biology, maths and physics are increasing in number and influence at Australian universities. Those in academia who have channelled their energies into teaching are delighted with this development. It means that many committed tertiary teachers can now look…

Much research into postgraduate student learning focuses on generic issues of research development. Early work, reported here, uses threshold concept theories and theories of conceptual threshold crossing to focus on the learning and supervisory support of postgraduates researching in the fields of literature and art. This paper is based on…

This article presents an interview with Professor Gui Shichun, a well-known figure in the academic field in China. Professor Shichun is credited with being the first scholar who introduced applied linguistics studies into China. He has established several other records of "the first in China," hence has long been called "the brave…

The author's proposition is that there is a pedagogy of supervision, not that "this" is it in its entirety but that there is a pedagogy of supervision, that it has relevance for other levels of the curriculum, and that this pedagogy of supervision provides an entry point for academics to become involved in the scholarship of research,…

This article, written as a memo to the author's friend in response to an earlier conversation, compares the American education system with that of Japan. First, the author examines cultural differences between Japan and America as a lens through which to look at these two countries. Then, Japanese and American schooling are compared in terms of…

To what extent can school principals provide effective educational leadership? Research shows that, contrary to textbook images, principals react to their circumstances instead of controlling them and that they spend most of their time on administrative, not instructional, matters. Further entrenching principals in their administrative role is the…

In this article, the author shares her practicum experience in a nine-month English program and a gruelling assessment schedule for her other five subjects. During her practicum several incidents occurred that caused a shift in the way she perceives the role of an English teacher, and they have informed her English teaching practices. She reflects…

Most Australian teachers do not hold traditional methods of supervision in very high regard. A more acceptable form of supervision, clinical supervision, utilizes the information gathered from classroom observations to allow the teacher to gain a wider perspective on his or her own performance under non-threatening conditions. A limited survey,…

This article is an open letter of a group of early childhood education (ECE) practitioners to Premier Wen Jiabao. This open letter was written with one goal in mind: to ask Premier Wen's government to take measures to protect young children and support early childhood education. These practitioners have become worried about the many accidents that…