Relationship between student and supervisor fit, and ‘time to completion’ in masters and doctoral programmes

Abstract

The higher education sector has become increasingly concerned with the efficient use of public resources, as well as improving the research capacity within the country to grow the knowledge economy. As such, there has been an increased focus on master’s and doctoral education to ensure that students complete their qualifications timeously. This both increases the knowledge economy, as well as the potential supervision capacity to ensure sustainable growth in the sector. One of the most influential factors relating to master’s and doctoral qualification completion according to literature is students’ relationships with their supervisors. This study investigates whether supervision relationships influence students’ time to completion in master’s and doctoral education. The investigation was conducted at the University of South Africa, an Open Distance e-Learning institution. The study utilises correlational design, and is based on the concept of supervision styles as described in the work of Gatfield (2005). Supervision is viewed as a combination of two factors, namely: structure and support. Measurements of supervision style preferences of students and supervisors are developed based on this theoretical foundation, and distributed to students and supervisors as part of a cross-sectional online survey. The data collected from the students are analysed through confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis techniques. A valid and reliable factor structure is identified in the data analysis, which reflects the two-factor structure envisioned in Gatfield’s (2005) theoretical framework. The data analysis reveal that master’s and doctoral students shared similar supervision style preferences. Furthermore, supervisors who were more involved in their students’ work tended to prefer more structured and supportive relationships. In contrast to the initial assumptions made within this project, congruence between the supervision style preferences of students and their supervisors did not influence students’ time to completion. This would suggest that, although supervisors may be crucial to their students’ progress, they may not be in a position to influence students to complete their studies more rapidly. The current project also provides direction for future research on master’s and doctoral supervision within an ODeL context.