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…

There is a constant interplay between the "people" ("agency") and the "parts" ("structure" and "culture"), not only in teaching and learning, but also in postgraduate supervision practices globally. However, in South Africa, the tendency to use "structure" (higher education architecture,…

Supervision is generally recognised as playing a crucial role in the quality of a research student's doctoral experience and their academic outcomes and, in common with most areas of higher education, there is an oft-stated desire to pursue excellence in this important area. Excellence in research degree supervision is, however, an elusive concept…

This account explores the divergent perspectives of supervisor and student interacting in self-study research, showing how both participants were transformed by the experience. Although both supervisor and student had faced similar problems as mature students engaging in doctoral study, and both possessed strong convictions about their chosen…

South African universities need more academics with PhDs, from historically disadvantaged population groups in particular, but they face a conundrum. In order to have more staff with PhDs, they need to produce more PhD graduates. But in order to produce more PhD graduates, they need more staff with PhDs to supervise. This article explores this…

This article provides an overview of the nature and quality of research supervision and mentorship practices employed by supervisors and mentors of interns in a South African research council in an attempt to increase the pool and change the face of researchers in the country. Through a series of studies conducted by the research council, the…

This paper explores the setting up of the partnership across the Mauritian and South African higher education contexts with respect to the development of a postgraduate PhD doctoral studies programme. The Mauritian Institute of Education (MIE) aims to develop staffing capacities through engagement with doctoral studies, especially in the context…

This paper looks into the importance of a responsible research community and how ethics can contribute towards the building of such a community. The paper starts off by outlining the many challenges facing a responsible research community. These challenges range from doing research, transferring the research results, commercialising the…

Supervision has been identified as an important factor in the success of postgraduate students, even as the most significant variable and a large number of studies have been conducted to identify factors that contribute to supervision success. However the dependent variable in these studies--supervision success--has been an elusive one to define.…

Research Ethics has emerged as one of the most well-developed policy areas within the sphere of Research and Innovation Management. As such, for African institutions looking to strengthen their policy frameworks, develop increased collaborations, and increase research outputs, a thorough understanding of global trends in Ethics will be vital.…

Discusses problems in the understanding and practice of teacher supervision, particularly resistance to evaluation, in South Africa's historically black schools. These include the judgmental nature of conventional evaluation procedures, lack of acknowledgment of teacher concerns and aspirations, lack of supervisor training, and tendency to…