Novice supervisors' experiences of postgraduate supervision at a South African university

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate novice supervisors' experiences of postgraduate supervision at a South African university. My research was based on the Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1971), and throughout this thesis, I aimed to demonstrate that novice supervisors were social beings and, therefore, learned the behavior of postgraduate supervision from other postgraduate supervisors, past or current. The study engaged a qualitative approach based on a single study. Eighteen novice supervisors from one university in South Africa were interviewed. These novice supervisor participants illuminated their views, experiences and beliefs regarding their journey as novice supervisors. I presented and interpreted qualitative data of the experiences they had of their work as postgraduate supervisors. The findings revealed that novice supervisors relied on supervision received for their highest qualification acquired or still studying for, to supervise postgraduate students. Novice supervisors also viewed postgraduate supervision as a vital support structure for postgraduate students who need support from the institution. Furthermore, findings revealed that the university had a support system to support novice supervisors, although it was ineffective. Novice supervisors also encountered student-orientated and institution-based challenges as postgraduate supervisors, and strategies to overcome these were outlined. The findings in this study were applied to Bandura's Social Learning Theory concerning the four modelling processes of attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. The study findings were in sync with the four modelling processes of this social learning theory. Bandura's Social Learning Theory suggested that new behavior patterns could be acquired through direct experiences or by observing the behavior of others. Therefore, novice supervisors observed and replicated postgraduate supervision behavior from other postgraduate supervisors through the modelling processes.