Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
SpringerLink
Log in

New Academics as Supervisors: A Steep Learning Curve with Challenges, Tensions and Pleasures

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Doctoral Education: Research-Based Strategies for Doctoral Students, Supervisors and Administrators

Abstract

Perhaps in no other role do the three areas of academic work (teaching, research and service) come together as they do in the role of doctoral supervisor. Yet as vital as supervision is to the individual academic and student, to the discipline and to the institution, most academics receive no formal or systematic preparation for this complex role. This chapter reviews the small but growing literature about graduate supervision and then turns to a description of the experiences, from our research, of new academics doing the work of supervision and the tensions and challenges as well as pleasures they encounter.

Pretenured professors are supervisors the minute they come in the door, which is a huge responsibility before they have learned the game, learned how to manage their own career.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In Canada, and more generally in North America, full-time academics are often hired into “tenure-track” positions as assistant professors; these positions are secured 5–6 years later if the individual is deemed worthy of “tenured” status. However, the tenure system is coming into question and has been discontinued at some institutions in the United States.

  2. 2.

    In many institutions in Canada, the thesis examination committee includes two examiners who are not members of the supervisory committee; one is an internal/external examiner from the same Faculty/Institution as the student and the other is external to the institution.

  3. 3.

    Doctoral programs often require that students complete an individualized or reading course with their supervisor or another faculty member. In this case, the student and faculty member develop a reading list and assignments for the course.

  4. 4.

    Students in this program are matched with a “pro-tem” supervisor upon admittance to the program based on mutual research interests. The “pro-tem” supervisor may formally become the senior supervisor (generally the case) or it may be decided (by the student) that another faculty member is a better fit with the student’s interests.

  5. 5.

    In the UK and Australia, this has been expanded in recent years to include preparation for work outside the academy.

References

  • Amundsen, C., McAlpine, L., & Boerlyk, A. (2009, December). New supervisors: Working “from the other side of the table.” Paper presented at a conference entitled: Beyond teaching and research: Inclusive understandings of Academic Practice, Oxford Learning Institute, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Archer, L. (2008). Younger academics’ constructions of authenticity, success and professional identity. Studies in Higher Education, 33(4), 385–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Archer, M. (2000). Being human: The problem of agency. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, A. (2002). Preparing the next generation of faculty. The Journal of Higher Education, 73(1), 94–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, A. E., & Rice, E. (1998). Making tenure viable: Listening to early career faculty. American Behaviorial Scientist, 41, 736–754.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, B. J., & Austin, A. E. (2009). The role of doctoral advisors: A look at advising from the advisor’s perspective. Innovative Higher Education, 33, 297–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beard, C., Clegg, S., & Smith, K. (2007). Acknowledging the affective in higher education. British Educational Research Journal, 33(2), 235–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bieber, J. P., & Worley, L. K. (2006). Conceptualizing the academic life: Graduate students’ perspectives. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(6), 1009–1035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Billett, S. (2001). Learning through work: Workplace affordances and individual engagements. Journal of Workplace Learning, 5, 209–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Billett, S. (2009). Personal epistemologies, work and learning. Educational Research Review, 4(3), 210–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Billett, S., & Somerville, M. (2004). Transformations at work: Identity and learning. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2), 309–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, V-L., & Sork, T. J. (2001). Confessing regulation or telling secrets? Opening up the conversation on graduate supervision. Adult Education Quarterly, 51(2), 94–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clegg, S. (2008). Academic identities under threat? British Educational Research Journal, 34(3), 329–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colbeck, C. L. (2008). Professional identity development theory and doctoral education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 113, 9–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deem, R., & Brehony, K. (2000). Doctoral students’ access to research cultures—are some more unequal than others? Studies in Higher Education, 25(2), 149–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delamont, S., Parry, O., & Atkinson, P. (1998). Creating a delicate balance: The doctoral supervisor’s dilemmas. Teaching in Higher Education, 3(2), 157–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R-L. Punamaki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eraut, M. (2007). Learning from other people in the workplace. Oxford Review of Education, 33(4), 403–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golde, C. M., & Dore, T. M. (2001). At cross purposes: What the experiences of doctoral students reveal about doctoral education (http://www.phd-survey.org). Philadelphia: Pew Charitable Trusts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halse, C., & Malfroy, J. (2010). Retheorizing doctoral supervision as professional work. Studies in Higher Education, 35(1), 79–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hakala, J. (2009). Socialization of junior researchers in new academic research environments: Two case studies from Finland. Studies in Higher Education, 34(5), 501–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holley, K. (2009). Animal research practices and doctoral student identity development in a scientific community. Studies in Higher Education, 34(5), 577–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahn, P., & Walsh, L. (2009). Academic practice as collaborative working. Paper presented at a conference entitled: Beyond teaching and research: Inclusive understandings of academic practice, Oxford Learning Institute, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lethwood, C., & Hey, V. (2009). Gender/ed discourses and emotional sub-texts: Theorising emotion in UK higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(4), 429–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manathunga, C. (2005). The development of research supervision: Turning the light on a private space. International Journal of Academic Development, 10(1), 17–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manathunga, C. (2007). Supervision as mentoring: The role of power and boundary crossing. Studies in Continuing Education, 29(2), 207–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manathunga, C., & Goozée, J. (2007). Challenging the dual assumption of the always/already autonomous student and effective supervisor. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(3), 309–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, M. A., Goulden, M., & Frasch, K. (2009, January–February). Why graduate students reject the fast track. Academe Online, 95(1),11–17. (http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2009/JF/FEAT/maso.htm).

    Google Scholar 

  • McAlpine, L., & Norton, J. (2006). Reframing our approach to doctoral programs: An integrative framework for action and research. Higher Education and Research Development, 25(1), 3–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAlpine, L., Amundsen, C., & Jazvac-Martek, M. (2010). Living and imagining academic identities: Perceptions of doctoral students and pre-tenure academics. In L. McAlpine & G. Akerlind (Eds.), Visions of academic practice?: The public and personal faces of becoming an academic in the social sciences (pp. 125–154). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, T. (2007). The academic life: Realistic changes needed for business school students and faculty. Academy of management learning and Education, 6(2), 236–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, N., Bain, J. D., & Conrad, L. (2007). Orientations to research higher degree supervision. Higher Education, 53, 209–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nerad, M., Rudd, E., Morrison, E., & Picciano, J. (2006). Social Science PhDs—Five+ years and out: A national survey of PhDs in six fields. Seattle: Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education, University of Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, A. (2006). Professing passion: Emotion in the scholarship of professors in research universities. American Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 381–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, A. (2009). Protecting the passion of scholars in times of change. Change, 41(2), 10–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, D. (1993). Work satisfaction and stress in the first and third year of academic appointment. The Journal of Higher Education, 64(4), 453–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, D., & Sorcinelli, M. D. (1992). The pretenure years: A longitudinal perspective. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 50(Summer), 15–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reybold, L. E. (2005). Early career conflict and faculty dissatisfaction thresholds. Journal of Career Development, 32(2), 107–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reybold, L. E., & Alamia, J. J. (2008). Academic transitions in Education: A developmental perspective of women faculty experiences. Journal of Career Development, 35(2), 107–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savage, H. E., Karp, R. S., & Logue, R. (2004). Faculty mentorship at colleges and universities. College Teaching, 52(1), 21–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schrodt, P., Cawyer, C., & Sanders, R. (2003). An examination of academic mentoring behaviours and new faculty members’ satisfaction with socialization and tenure and promotion processes. Communication Education, 52(1), 17–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sikes, P. (2006). On dodgy ground? Problematics and ethics in educational research. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 29(1), 105–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vehviläinen, S. (2009). Problems in the research problem: Critical feedback and resistance in academic supervision. Scandinavian Journal of Education Research, 53(2), 185–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, L., & Kahn, P. (2010). Collaborative working in higher education. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, V5A 1S6, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Cheryl Amundsen

  2. University of Oxford, 16/17 St Ebbes, OX1 1PT, Suite 4, Oxford, UK

    Lynn McAlpine

  3. McGill University, 3700 McTavish Street, H3A 1Y2, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Lynn McAlpine

Authors
  1. Cheryl Amundsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lynn McAlpine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cheryl Amundsen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. McGill University, McTavish St. 3700, Montreal, H3A 1Y2, Québec, Canada

    Lynn McAlpine

  2. Fac. Education, Simon Fraser University, University Drive 8888, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada

    Cheryl Amundsen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Netherlands

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Amundsen, C., McAlpine, L. (2011). New Academics as Supervisors: A Steep Learning Curve with Challenges, Tensions and Pleasures. In: McAlpine, L., Amundsen, C. (eds) Doctoral Education: Research-Based Strategies for Doctoral Students, Supervisors and Administrators. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0507-4_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation