PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE SUPERVISION - RELATIONSHIPS WITH TIME OF REFLECTION AND POST-SECONDARY CLIMATE

Oct 15, 2026

PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE SUPERVISION - RELATIONSHIPS WITH TIME OF REFLECTION AND POST-SECONDARY CLIMATE examines how Canadian doctoral students and new faculty members perceive graduate supervisors and mentoring. Survey and interview findings show both groups value supervision that combines career and psychosocial mentoring, yet doctoral students emphasize psychosocial functions more, while new faculty rate supervisors higher and express greater satisfaction overall. The study interprets differences through universities’ managerial audit culture.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Mentoring Conceptualized

PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE SUPERVISION: RELATIONSHIPS WITH TIME OF REFLECTION AND POST-SECONDARY CLIMATE * Elizabeth Graham and Shannon A. Gadbois, Brandon University This paper discusses the similarities and differences between Canadian doctoral students and new faculty members regarding their experiences with and perceptions oftheir graduate supervisors and mentoring. Participants’ responses were considered in light of the current post-secondary culture that emphasizes increased productivity and accountability of faculty members and the student as customer (e.g., Turk, 2000) . An examination of survey and interview responses from participants showed that whereas both groups valued supervision that includes both career and psychosocial functions of mentoring (Kram, 1983), doctoral students tended to place more emphasis on the psychosocial functions than did the new faculty. In addition, although, in general, both groups gave more favourable ratings of their supervisors for career as opposed to psychosocial functions, new faculty members were more satisfied with their supervisors and rated their supervisors higher on most mentoring functions. These differences between groups were considered in light of universities’ adoption of a managerial, audit culture (e.g., Cribb & Gewirtz, 2006) that encourages students to perceive themselves as consumersand requires faculty to meet competing demands on their skills and time. Introduction Studies examining the relationship between graduate students and their supervisors have accumulated in the literature over the last several decades. Research indicates that a positive relationship between supervisors and students is essential for successful completion of a doctoral project (e.g., Mainhard, van der Rijst, Tartwijk, & Wubbels, 2009) . In addition, * This research was supported by a grant from Brandon University Research Committee. countless studies point to the necessity that these relationships be mentoring relationships. Zhao, Golde, and McCormick (2007) illustrated this idea when they commented: “The best advisorstudent relationships approach the ideal of mentor and protégé”(p. 263) . Indeed, as Rose (2005) and others have found, many graduate students hold the opinion that their supervisors should be their mentors and there is little doubt that such relationships are beneficial to students. However, despite the apparent consensus in the literature regarding the importance of mentoring as part of supervision, problems associated with such relationships have too often been neglected. In this study, we examined current and former doctoral candidates’ perceptions oftheir supervisors’ primary role, how they chose their supervisors, and whether they thought (or think) of their supervisors as their mentors. We also examined their evaluations oftheir supervisors in relation to Kram’s (1983) conceptions of career and psychosocial functions of mentoring, which have become essential considerations in mentoring research (e.g., see Metz, 2009; Mullen, 1998; Pollock, 1995; Stokes, 2003). Through the application of these concepts in conjunction with the literature on supervision and mentorship, we propose that any differences in perceptions between current and former doctoral students may be understood in part given their current roles but also given the academic context itself. Specifically, differences in perceptions may be understood given universities’ adoption of a managerial, audit culture (Cribb & Gewirtz, 2006) that emphasizes the implementation of corporate terminology within which students are consumersand instructors provide a service (Turk, 2000) . As “consumers,” students (Lomas, 2007; Potts, 2005) expect educational experiences that fulfill both career and psychosocial functions (Kram, 1983), and in addition the managerial, audit culture places demands on supervisors in terms of productivity (their own and their students’), service and administrative duti

FAQs

What topics does the study examine about graduate supervision?

It examines candidates’ perceptions of supervisors’ primary role, how supervisors were selected, and whether supervisors are viewed as mentors, then links evaluations to career and psychosocial mentoring functions.

How did doctoral students and new faculty differ in their mentoring perceptions?

Both valued career and psychosocial functions, but doctoral students placed more emphasis on psychosocial functions, while new faculty were more satisfied and rated supervisors higher on most mentoring functions.

What context does the study use to explain group differences?

It interprets differences using universities’ adoption of a managerial, audit culture that increases productivity/accountability demands and frames students as consumers.

Oct 15, 2026

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