Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre
Teaching International Students Workshop
Supporting the Journey to Independent
Scholarship: Supervising International Doctoral
Students in Healthcare Disciplines
17/02/2011
Dr. Catrin Evans
University of Nottingham
www.health.heacademy.ac.uk
Supporting the Journey to Independent
Scholarship: Supervising International
Doctoral Students in Healthcare Disciplines
Dr. Catrin Evans
HEA, February 2011
Transitions and Challenges in International
Doctoral Study in the Healthcare Disciplines
1. Transition to life in the UK
2. Transition from Masters to Doctoral level study
3. Engagement with UK academic culture & practices
(including supervision practice)
4. Understanding of UK healthcare context
5. (For some) learning in a second language
Objectives of the Presentation
1. To explore the meaning of doctoral supervision from the perspective of
international doctoral nursing students: – expectations of the doctorate & of supervision
– the evolving supervision relationship
– the contradictions of supervisory guidance in supporting autonomous
scholarship
2. To identify good practice in supporting and supervising international
doctoral students
3. In the context of the doctorate, to explore ways in which doctoral students
engage with practice contexts & make suggestions for facilitating
knowledge transfer
Background
• Nursing faces a critical human resource crisis, including a shortage of
educators and researchers
• A key strategy to develop nursing capacity in many countries is to support
nurses to obtain doctoral degrees.
• Rationale for the PhD will vary depending on the national context of
nursing careers (practice/policy/education/administration)
• Currently, only 32 countries offer doctoral programmes in nursing (INDEN,
2005)
• Many nurses need to go overseas for a PhD
• UK is a popular destination
UK Context
• 124 out of 692 doctoral nursing students are ‘international’ (EU & Non-EU)
- approx. 15% of the total (HESA 2007/08)
• Majority of international students undertake the ‘traditional’ PhD
–
research focused, self-directed, no mandatory taught courses, dual supervision,
substantial dissertation, emphasis on development of transferable skills
• Massive financial investment: minimum of £56,700
– (£10,500 per year tuition fees + £8,500 per year subsistence).
• Duration is usually 3-4 years, so also massive personal investment.
• Lack of evidence on the learning experiences of international doctoral
nursing students in the UK & lack of evidence on what they do when they
return home
QAA (2008): What are the Outcomes of Doctoral Level Study?
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the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other
advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the
discipline, and merit publication;
a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the
forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practice;
the general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of
new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to
adjust the project design in the light of unforeseen problems;
a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic
enquiry.
make informed judgements on complex issues in specialist fields, often in the absence of
complete data, and be able to communicate their ideas and conclusions clearly and
effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences;
continue to undertake pure and/or applied research and development at an advanced level,
contributing substantially to the development of new techniques, ideas, or approaches;
and will have:
the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of
personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable
situations, in professional or equivalent environments.
Autonomy, criticality, problem solving,
new applications, working in a context of
uncertainty
Doctoral Training Context
Factors that support
doctoral study…….
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Research training
Transferable skills training
Peer support
Research environment –
socialisation, formation of
disciplinary identity, role
modelling, formation of key
networks
• Supervision – the ‘black box’
Key Question for
Supervisors…….
• How to teach and guide whilst
simultaneously supporting the
development of autonomous
scholarship?
Presentation Focus
• How do international doctoral
nursing students experience
doctoral supervision?
Insights/Reflections Based on 2 Research
Studies + Personal Experience
1.
Qualitative interviews (in 2008/09) with 17 international doctoral
nursing students from 6 different universities across the UK
(perspectives of the current PhD journey)
2.
Qualitative interviews (in 2009/10) with 16 graduates from UK nursing
PhD programmes, now all working in Jordan (looking back at the PhD &
perspectives on knowledge transfer back home)
3.
5 years experience running a PhD programme (95 students,
approximately one third are international)
4.
Personal experience of being a supervisor to 8 international PhD
students
Expectations of the Doctorate
Taught Programmes
When I came and start doing my PhD
I never thought it would become
purely dependent on the student, and
the supervisor just will give you
headings, or guidelines, I thought it
was like, just a total programme……...
I didn’t think it would be pure
research, just by learning by yourself .
I was expecting research courses,
nursing courses…….(Mona, Jordan)
Professional Focus
This is the problem we all have now. If
we go back to our country someone
will say ‘what is UK healthcare
system’? We don’t know, because we
don’t have a chance to go into the
field, we didn’t have a chance to
observe. It will be very useful because
we are looking for international
comparisons... especially for me as a
change agent. My government to send
me here to the UK, so it’s expected
when I go back to my home country I
will make some changes and so would
like to learn more about what is going
on in the UK here so I can transfer that
knowledge to my home country
(Emma, China)
Expectations of Supervision and Development of
Inter-Cultural Understanding
In my culture, we don’t
talk out, I don’t know if
it’s good or not, because
we are afraid to confront
teacher, yes. And because
I’m afraid that she think
that I’m kind of like
challenging her or
something, but maybe
they don’t think that way,
but we, I think she will
kind of like feel differently
with me. (Ling Ling,
Taiwan)
In my country, if I was
doing a Masters or PhD
your supervisor would
tell you what to do, but
here it’s different, so I’m
kind of like waiting for
my supervisor to tell me
what to do, but my
supervisor is waiting for
me to tell them what
I’m going to do. (Sam,
India)
Supervisory Style & Relationship
Person Centred
They were friendly, if I want to speak to
them for my research or ask a
question, first they ask me about
myself, about my family and
everything, how I’m living, what I’m
doing, if everything is OK..…………this
make me believe in my supervisors.
When it was critical for me, when I had
blocks and couldn’t move forward, I
trusted their suggestions………The trust
is the first important thing and I had
that experience in fact, and it helped
me to progress with them (Ahmad,
Saudi Arabia)
Task Focused
I didn’t have any interest from my
supervisors in terms of sort of
emotional support, they were more
concerned about research and
research only, but not ‘is she feeling
ok, is she feeling settled’? There are
loads and loads of issues, and I
think that I wasn’t given that much
attention from that particular side.
You know when there’s not that
much interest in the student or in
their work, you know, how to
explain it, the student cannot trust
that supervisor (George, Greece)
Emotional support as well as academic guidance
Trust as the foundation
Good quality supervision
Poor quality supervision
•Takes a personal interest in the
student & in the country and culture
•Understands the particular challenges
for international students
•Accessible (answers emails, is willing
to have the odd one-off meeting when
needed)
•Reads work & provides detailed and
specific feedback
•Provides a way forward – suggests
new avenues of inquiry
•Provides clear guidance
•Suggests reading material
•Encourages & welcomes debate
•Is an expert in the subject area
•Provides access to wider research
networks and conferences
•Too busy
•Task focused, does not take a personal
interest
•Provides inconsistent advice
•Inaccessible, doesn’t reply to emails
•Doesn’t read work
•Feedback is too general
•Throws back questions to the student
rather than suggesting possible new
directions
•Gives criticism in an insensitive or
destructive way
•Is not an expert in the subject area
Supervisory Guidance & Development of
Autonomous Research Skills
To begin with, students want:
• Structure
• Direction
• Support with task management
(step by step approach)
I think I spent quite a lot of time to
understand what I need to do because we
don’t have to attend classes. The project is
specific just for me, so I cannot ask
anything from my classmates. Then, I
cannot make this plan because I want my
supervisor to tell me it’s right or wrong, or
it’s actually the next stage I need to do, or
something like that, so every time my
supervisor asked me what are you going to
do next? What’s your plan next? And I just
can’t think, oh I don’t know, I thought you
would tell me, you know, like that (John,
Kenya)
Giving Feedback
My supervisor used to tell me, “be
more critical, be more critical” but I
didn’t know what he meant, how can
I be more critical?………. I felt very
frustrated. But, you know, in those
days, I used to used to prepare
assignments from taking paragraphs
from different books, this one here
and that one there – a collection of
paragraphs – that was my
assignment. I had to learn how to
create, how to critique, how to put
forward original ideas – this took me
about 2 years (Heera, India)
I mean he never tells me that, no what
you’re thinking is wrong, or you should
be doing that this way; he’s always
flexible, but he always offers me
advice. If I got stuck, which was often,
he was very, very helpful…..then he
gave me the directions I wanted, when
he could see that I couldn’t, that I was
finding myself in a dead end, it was
always like “you should read that, or
read this paper, and maybe change
your mind, or it will help you, it can
give you the answers. Next time, we’ll
talk about this…..” - he helped me see
for myself without telling me what to
think. I like that (Rita, Taiwan)
Supervisory Styles
High
Support
Low
Support
Pastoral Style
•Low structure and high support
•Candidate has personal low management skill
but takes advantage of all the support facilities
that are on offer
•Supervisor provides considerable personal
care and support but not necessarily in a taskdriven, directive capacity
Contractual Style
•High structure and high support
•Candidate highly motivated and able to take
direction and to act on own initiative
•Supervisor able to administer direction and
exercises good management skills and
interpersonal relationships
Laissez-faire Style
•Low structure low support
•Candidate has limited levels of motivation
and management skills
•Supervisor is non-directive and not
committed to high levels of personal
interaction
•Supervisor may appear uncaring and
uninvolved
Directorial Style
•High structure and low support
•Candidate highly motivated and sees the
necessity to take advantage of engaging in
high structural activities such as setting
objectives, completing and submitting work
on time on own initiative without taking
advantage of institutional support
•Supervisor has a close and regular interactive
relationship with the candidate, but avoids
non-task issues
Low Structure
High Structure
Gatfield, T. (2005). An investigation into PhD supervisory management styles: Development of a dynamic conceptual model and
its managerial implications. Journal of Higher Education and Policy Management 27(3): 311-325.
But, Looking Back………..
Evolving, Contradictory Needs
There are times when you feel you are very vulnerable with your supervisor. I think
for all first year and maybe second year students, they feel they are more led by
their supervisors rather than they are in control, but once you sort of gain that
sort of confidence and experience and you know your topic which I think you will
know your topic more than your supervisors, in that sense you will be able to
lead the way (George, Uganda)
In the beginning I thought like oh I’m lost, everything you have to find it out...
sometimes my supervisor he’s knowing the answer but he’s like go read, and
sometimes I’m giving a wrong answer, but he will not tell me no, you don’t know
the answer, he will tell me ok, go on with it, and see what consequences will have
for this action, and by this like by trial and error I learned many things. Now I’m
so thankful to them (Asmaa, Jordan).
At the beginning I found it was very bad, it was a horrible experience, but now
when I reflect back I think it was a very helpful, yes it taught me how to be
independent, how to look for information, how to keep looking, how to keep
reading and then not to be satisfied and not depending on others to tell me this is
right or wrong, which is very important I think at the PhD level (Maya, Jordan).
Looking Back: Transformation
Well it’s been a massive experience for me. I mean personally, emotionally,
intellectually, mentally, I think I have grown up a lot. My confidence has
increased most. Being on my own in the UK all these years, I think that was the
biggest challenge and that taught me a lot. I think I will definitely apply the
skills that I have gained from living here, whether it is in building my
confidence, whether it is interpersonal skills, communication skills, Now I’m
totally independent person. (Mahmoud, Jordan)
After you have completed your PhD, you are different than when you started.
You have a different way of analysing, you see different perspectives, and you
learn how the others think about the same events. I have learnt how to be a
high professional person, I learnt how to present myself at my study, I learnt
also how to be open and accept the others opinions, accept the criticism. I feel
like I really become a different person than when I just came here. (Mona,
Jordan)
Looking Back: Knowledge Transfer
Now I am using this methods, or these ways, with my Masters
students and I taught them how to summarise the article, how
to critique the articles, how to put their ideas, how to put their
words, their own words, not just to take the words of the
other authors, in order to see how they think, and how they
can reflect their ideas (Sonia, Jordan).
My vision has broadened and I can say that I get a lot of
important positive ideas that I can implement in my place or
at my country with my students and during my teaching
experiences while I am back so I gave my students examples of
what I have learnt before at these places (Eman, Jordan).
Recommendations
• Provide ‘scaffolding’ in 1st year
• Clarify mutual expectations, roles, interpersonal
conventions - get to know your students
• Explain & be prepared to repeat/reinforce
information about the programme structure &
process
• Give highly specific feedback
• Be proactive
• Help to engage with practice contexts (teaching
as well as nursing)
Questions
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What is supervisor’s role in the first stages of the PhD?
How does the supervisor’s role change over time?
How much should the supervisor be expected to do?
What is the role of the institution in supporting international
doctoral students?
• How best to develop pedagogical supervisory skills in
feedback and guidance?
• How to facilitate engagement with practice contexts
(healthcare or teaching)?
Contact Us
Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre
info-hsap@kcl.ac.uk
www.health.heacademy.ac.uk