Care-full advising in the neoliberal academy: how to support PhD students through challenging fieldwork.

This is a guest post by Martina Angela Caretta, PhD. Associate Professor in the Department of Human Geography, Lund University Fieldwork, whether in a far away location or in the same city where the institution you are working at is located, is a corner stone of several natural and social sciences disciplines. Through fieldwork, PhD …

Supporting graduate student wellbeing though everyday practices, rather than ‘add-on’ initiatives

This is a guest post by Professor Kimberly Griffin, Dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland, Dr Terra Hall from Pepperdine University, and Di-Tu Dissassa, Ashley Hixson, & Joakina Stone, all from the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland. They work together as part of the Trajectories …

Transformative supervision workshops as a tool for decolonisation

Laetitia Rispel is a Professor of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she holds a Research Chair as part of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI). This post is based on her 2023 paper: Relationships, power and accountability: Reflections on transformative postgraduate supervision workshops at a South …

Expanding the Supervisor Development community!

By Kay Guccione Please be invited to join two new initiatives related to the development of doctoral supervisory practice, co-hosted by me, and by Dr Sian Vaughan at Birmingham City University. Supervisor Development Reading Group. Our small reading group is growing! We are now hosting a monthly (45min) opportunity to read and discuss new literature. …

Supervising doctoral students: dimensions for reflection

This is a guest post by Dr Martyn Polkinghorne Associate Professor and UKCGE recognised research supervisor, Dr Julia Taylor and Dr Fiona Knight the Heads of the Doctoral College and Natalie Stewart Doctoral College Programme Manager and current PhD Student, all from Bournemouth University. The highest level of degree offered by UK Universities is the …

Is it possible to be a bullying supervisor without realising it?

This is a guest post by Dr Elizabeth Adams of Scafell Coaching. Elizabeth is a Researcher Development consultant with strengths in coaching, innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. Image via @BelievePHQ on Twitter In a recent Australian study (530 researchers) around half the respondents indicated that they had experienced bullying. Bullying and harassment were also highlighted as …

Five reasons we need trauma-informed postgraduate supervision

This is a guest post by Dr Katrina McChesney (@krmcchesney), a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand and incoming co-editor (with Dr James Burford) of Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education. Katrina’s current research interests include trauma-informed doctoral education and doctoral research by distance. Cover image by Julia Taubitz on Unsplash The World …

Doctoral students at a distance? 20 ideas to support institutions and supervisors

This is a guest post by Dr James Burford (@jiaburford), an Assistant Professor of Global Education and International Development at Warwick University in the UK, Dr Katrina McChesney (@krmcchesney), a Senior Lecturer in initial teacher education at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, Professor Liezel Frick (@FrickLiezel) based in the Department of Curriculum Studies …

Being open to critique, transparent in your motives, and when needed, step out of the way

This is a guest post by Manuela Schmidt, currently working at Jönköping University and Linneaus University and Erika Hansson, of Kristianstad University. Manuela and Erika met during their respective doctoral programs. Manuela in health science and Erika in psychology. After reaching ‘the other side’, both with PhD’s after their names, they decided to ignore the …

The doctoral supervisor as methodological mentor: postgraduate methodological journeys

Dr Timothy Clark (@DrTimothyClark) is a Senior Lecturer, Supervisor and Researcher in Education and Childhood at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). The selection, and coherent application, of methodological approach is often highlighted as one of the most challenging aspects of doctoral study. In my own experience, as an EdD student, the …