Supervisory feedback across disciplines: A mixed methods multi-perspectival study

Supervision plays a crucial role in the successful completion of their master’s thesis. It has been viewed from two contradictory but mutually inclusive perspectives. On the one hand, students are expected to undertake a master’s thesis independently. On the other hand, supervisory guidance is crucial for students’ disciplinary socialization. The small body of existing research is mostly based on Western contexts (Ankersborg & Pogner, 2022; Brown, 2007; Filippou et al.). Since supervision is a socio-culturally situated practice (Hu et al., 2016), supervisors may understand it differently in different contexts and even within the same context. Although master’s thesis supervision has attracted some research interest in Hong Kong (Lau et al., 2020; Zhang & Hyland, 2021), research on how supervisors view such supervision has remained unexplored.
In this presentation, I will share the findings of a narrative inquiry that draws on data from interviews with 15 supervisors at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong. From supervisors’ accounts of their supervision experiences, four core narratives have been constructed: scholarly partnership, directional partnership, affiliative partnership, and non-directive. The findings suggest that it is necessary to critically reflect on the kinds of stories that supervisors subscribe to enhance master's thesis supervision.