Master’s thesis supervision in Hong Kong: a narrative inquiry

This paper reports on a study of master’s thesis supervision in taught postgraduate programs. The study employed qualitative narrative inquiry, drawing on interviews with 15 supervisors in applied linguistics at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong. From the supervisors’ accounts of their supervisory experiences, four core narratives have been constructed: scholarly partnership, directional partnership, affiliative partnership, and non-directive involvement. In each type of story, the meaning of thesis supervision, the supervision process, and the outcome are viewed and experienced differently. Supervisors engaged in scholarly partnership aimed to cultivate scholarly attitudes and identities in students. The narrative of affiliative partnership emphasized the significance of compassion and understanding in the supervisory process. While supervisors in directional partnership focused on helping students produce a high-quality thesis, supervisors favoring non-directive involvement expected students to plan and carry out their research projects independently. The idea of partnership and a positive supervisory experience were present in all narratives except the non-directive one. The findings underscore the need to reflect critically on the prevalent narratives of supervision with a view to enhancing students’ thesis-writing experiences and outcomes.