Academic research supervision: The unconscious role identity of a PhD student
Abstract
An extensive body of knowledge exists concerning the experiences and personal characteristics of successful PhD students. However, the unconscious role behaviour of the PhD student in an Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) academic environment is less well explored. The aim of this article was to study and describe the unconscious role behaviour of a PhD student at a South African ODeL university. Data collection entailed the author reflecting on and writing an essay on his phenomenological PhD experiences and choosing the most appropriate vignettes for thematic analysis. The findings indicated high levels of free-floating and performance anxieties in the researcher’s unconscious existential and phenomenal roles, primarily emanating from conflicting projections and introjections about his competence and perceived incompetence as a PhD student. The feedback process manifested as a potential space as it became a precious social and psychological environment to hold and contain his transformational anxieties as a student. Practical implications are presented and recommendations suggested to students, supervisors and academic institutions, aimed at enhancing the supervisory relationship in the interest of increased higher degree research outputs.
References
Adler, P. A. and P. Adler. 2005. “The identity career of the graduate student: Professional socialisation to academic sociology.” The American Sociologist 36(2): 11–17.
Akala, B. and J. Backhouse. 2015. “‘They can’t even agree!’ Student conversations about their supervisors in constructing understanding of the PhD.” South African Journal of Higher Education 29(4).
Alvesson, M. and K. Sköldberg. 2010. Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. London: Sage.
Alvesson, M. and H. Willmott. 2002. “Identity regulation as organizational control: Producing the appropriate individual.” Journal of Management Studies 39: 619‒644.
Arinto, P. B. 2016. “Issues and challenges in open and distance e-learning: Perspectives from the Philippines.” International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 17(2). http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1393.
Barnard, A. and A-P. Flotman. 2020. “Coping dynamics of consulting psychology doctorate students transitioning a professional role identity: A systems psychodynamic perspective.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17(1): 5492‒5509.
Bastalich, W. 2015. “Content and context in knowledge production: A critical review of doctoral supervision literature.” Studies in Higher Education 42(7): 1145‒1157.
Braun, D. and D. Clarke. 2006. “Using thematic analysis in psychology.” Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101.
Brunning, H. 2014. “Power and vulnerability.” Organisational and Social Dynamics 16(2): 259‒279.
Campbell, D. 2000. The socially constructed organization. London: Karnac.
Campbell, D. and M. Groenbaek. 2006. Taking positions in the organization. London: Karnac.
Churchill, S. D. 2018. “Explorations in teaching the phenomenological method: Challenging psychology students to ‘grasp at meaning’ in human science research.” Qualitative Psychology 5(2): 207‒220.
Chikte, U. M. E. and J. A. Chabilall. 2016. “Exploration of supervisors and student experiences during master’s students in a health science faculty.” South African Journal of Higher Education 30(1): 57–79. http://dx:doi.org/10.20853/30-1-559.
Cilliers, F. 2018. “The systems psychodynamic role identity of academic research supervisors.” South African Journal of Higher Education 31(1): 29‒49.
Cilliers, F. and L. Terblanche. 2010. “The systems psychodynamic leadership coaching experiences of nursing managers.” Health SA Gesondheid 15(1): Art #457, 9 pages. https://doi.org/10.4102/ hsag.v15i1.457.
Clarke, S. and P. Hoggett. 2009. Research beneath the surface: Psycho-social research methods in practice. London: Karnac.
Clarke, S., H. Hahn and P. Hoggett. 2008. Object relations and social relations. London: Karnac.
Collini, S. 2017. Speaking of universities. New York: Verso.
Costa, K. A. 2019. “Systematic review of challenges in research supervision at South African universities.” Preprints 2018120305. http://dx:doi:10.20944/preprints201812.0305.v1.
Council on Higher Education. 2016. South African higher education reviewed: Two decades of democracy. Pretoria: Council on Higher Education.
Crowther, S., E. Smythe, and D. Spence. 2015. “Kairos time at the moment of birth.” Midwifery 31: 451–457. https://doi:10.1016/j.midw.2014.11.005.
Czander, W. M. 1993. The psychodynamics of work and organizations. Guilford, New York.
De Board, R. 2014. The psychoanalysis of organisations: A psychoanalytic approach to behaviour in groups and organisations. London: Routledge.
Emilsson, U. M. and E. Johnsson. 2007. “Supervision of supervisors: On developing supervision in postgraduate education.” Higher Education Research and Development 26(2): 163–179. https://doi:10.1080/07294360701310797.
Fowlie, H. and C. Sills. 2011. Relational transactional analysis: Principles in practice. London: Karnac.
Fraher, A. 2004. A history of group study and psychodynamic organisations. London: Free Association.
Garrison, R. 2009. “Implications of online learning for the conceptual development and practice of distance education.” Journal of Distance Education/Revue de L’ education a Distance 23(2): 93‒104.
Gordon, P. J. 2003. “Advising to avoid or to cope with dissertation hang-ups.” Academy of Management Learning and Education 2(2): 181–187.
Govender, K. K. and S. Ramroop. 2013. “The relationship between the postgraduate research climate, role clarity and research service quality: Exploring the supervisors’ and students’ perceptions.” South African Journal of Higher Education 27(1): 94‒109
Halse, C. and P. Bansel. 2012. “The learning alliance: Ethics in doctoral supervision.” Oxford Review of Education 38(4): 377–392. https://doi:10.1080/03054985.2012.706219.
Halton, W. 2003. “Some unconscious aspects of organisational life.” In Group process consultation reader, ed. F. Cilliers and P. Koortzen, 150–156. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
Hoggett, P. 2013. “Governance and social anxieties.” Organisational & Social Dynamics 13(1): 69–79.
Hollway, W. 2013. “Locating unconscious, societal-collective processes in psycho-social research.” Organisational & Social Dynamics 13(1): 22–40.
Jansen, J. 2017. As by fire: The end of the South African university. Cape Town: Tafelberg.
Jemstedt, A. 2000. “Potential space: The place of encounter between inner and outer reality.” International Forum Psychoanalysis 9(1): 124–131.
Kam, B. H. 1997. “Style and quality in research supervision: The supervisor dependency focus.” Higher Education 34(1): 81–103.
Klein, M. 1997. Envy and gratitude and other works 1946‒1963. Vintage, Reading: PA.
Kreiner, G. E., C. E. Hollensbe, and M. L. Sheep. 2006. “Where is the ‘Me’ among the ‘We’? Identity work and the search for optimal balance.” Academy of Management Journal 49(1): 1031‒1057.
Lee, A. 2012. Successful research supervision: Advising students doing research. London: Routledge.
Leibowitz, B. 2017. “Cognitive justice and the higher education curriculum.” Journal of Education 68(1): 93–112.
Long, S. 2006. “Role biography.” In Coaching in Depth: The organisational role analysis approach, ed. J. Newton, S. Long and B. Sievers. London: Karnac.
Long, S. 2008. The Perverse Organisation and its deadly sins. London: Karnac.
Long, S. 2013. Socioanalytic methods: Discovering the hidden in organisations and social systems. London: Karnac.
Long, S. 2018. Transforming experience in organisations: A framework for organisational research and consultancy. London: Routledge.
Lucey, H. and C. Rogers. 2007. “Power and the unconscious in doctoral-supervisor relationships.” In Institutional is political, ed. V. Gillies, 16–36. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Maclaran, P. and M. Catterall. 2002. “Analysing qualitative data: Computer software and the market research practitioner.” Qualitative Market Research 5(1): 28‒39.
Madurai, M. 2017. “The systems psychodynamic role analysis of the 21st century leader.” Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of South Africa.
Magano, D. 2013. “The lament of a female postgraduate PhD student at a South African university: An academic wellness perspective.” International Journal of Higher Education 2(20): 211‒221.
Marginson, S. 2016. “Public/private in higher education: A synthesis of economic and political approaches.” Studies in Higher Education 2(20): 1–16.
Marcketti, S. B., M. W. Mhango and M. B. Gregoire. 2006. “The experiences of African graduate students in a college of human sciences.” Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education 24(1): 63‒72.
May, M.S. 2018. “Shame! A systems psychodynamic perspective.” SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 38(2): 138‒146.
Maxwell, T. W. and R. Smyth. 2009. “Theorising about higher degree research supervision: A tripartite view.” Higher Education Research and Development 59(2): 407–422.
McAlpine, L. and J. Weiss. 2000. “Mostly true confessions: Joint meaning-making about the thesis journey.” Canadian Journal of Higher Education 30(1): 1‒26.
Motala, E., S. Vally, and R. Maharajh. 2018. “Education, the state and class inequality: The case for free higher education in South Africa.” In New South African Review 6, ed. D. Pillay, G. Khadiagala, R. Southall, and S. Mosoetsa. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Nagel, C. 2020. Psychodynamic coaching: Distinctive features. New York: Routledge.
Obholzer, A. and V. Z. Roberts. 1994. The unconscious at work. London: Routledge.
O’Hara, S. 2018. “Autoethnography: The science of writing your lived experience.” Health Environments Research 11(4): 14‒17.
Petriglieri, G. 2020. “F**k science!? An invitation to humanize organization theory.” Organisation Theory 1(1): 1–18.
Petriglieri, G. and J. L. Petrilieri. 2010. “Identity workspaces: The case of business schools.” Academy of Management Learning and Education 9(1): 44‒60.
Petriglieri, G., J. L. Petrilieri, and J. D. Wood. 2018. “Fast tracks and inner journeys: Crafting portable selves for contemporary careers.” Administrative Science Quarterly 63: 479‒525.
Pithouse-Morgan, K., L. Masinga, I. Naicker, T. Hlao, and D. Pillay. 2016. “‘Sink or swim?’: Learning from stories of becoming academics within a transforming university terrain.” South African Journal of Higher Education 30(1): 224–244. http://dx:doi.org/10.20853/30-1-561.
Sievers, B. 2009. Psychoanalytic studies of organisations. London: Karnac.
Sievers, B. and U. Beumer. 2006. “Organisational role analysis and consultation: The organisation as inner object.” In Coaching in depth, ed. S. Long, J. Newton, and B. Sievers, 65–82. Routledge: London.
Snow, D. A. and L. Anderson. 1987. “Identity work among the homeless: The verbal construction and avowal of personal identities.” American Journal of Sociology 92: 1336‒1371.
Sonn, R. 2016. “The challenge for a historically disadvantaged South African university to produce more postgraduate students.” South African Journal of Higher Education 30(2): 226–241. http://dx:doi.org/10.20853/30-2-601.
Swartz, R., M. Ivancheva, L. Czerniewicz, and N. P. Morris. 2018. “Between a rock and a hard place: Dilemmas regarding the purpose of public universities in South Africa.” Higher Education 77: 567‒583.
Todd, M. J., K. Smith, and P. Bannister. 2006. “Supervising a social science undergraduate dissertation: Staff experiences and perceptions.” Teaching in Higher Education 11(2): 161‒173.
Tohidian, I. and H. Rahimian. 2019. “Bringing Morgan’s metaphors in organization contexts: An essay review.” Cogent Business and Management 6(1): 15‒20.
Van Biljon, J. A. and M. R. De Villiers. 2013. “Multiplicity in supervision models: The supervisor’s perspective.” South African Journal of Higher Education 27(6): 226‒241.
Van Laren L., K. Pithouse-Morgan, T. Chisanga, L. Harrison, T. Meyiwa, N. Muthukrishna, I. Naicker and L. Singh. 2014. “‘Walking our talk’: Exploring supervision of postgraduate self-study research through metaphor drawing.” South African Journal of Higher Education 28(2): 211‒221.
Van Manen, M. 2014. Phenomenology of practice: Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological research and writing. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Van Wyk, N. C., M. Coetzee, Y. Havenga, and T. Heyns. 2015. “Appreciation of the research supervisory relationship by postgraduate nursing students.” International Nursing Review 63(1): 26‒32. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12202.
Victor, K. and A. Barnard. 2016. “Slaughtering for a living: A hermeneutic phenomenological perspective on the well-being of slaughterhouse employees.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being 11(1): 130‒166. https://doi:10.3402/qhw.v11.30266.
Vince, R. 2018. “Institutional illogics: The unconscious and institutional analysis.” Organisation Studies 40: 953–973.
Waghid, Y. 2015. Dancing with doctoral encounters. Democratic education in motion. Stellenbosch: Sun Press.
Winnicott, D. W. 1975. Transitional objects and transitional phenomena. London: Hogarth Press.
Yousuf, R., M. D. Mushtahid, M. D. Salam, N. Islam, and A. Salam. 2019. “Research supervision: Issues and perspectives for its success.” International Medical Journal 26(4): 335‒337.
Copyright (c) 2021 Aden-Paul Flotman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors, copyright holders, may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors' publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: This is an electronic version of an article published in SAJHE, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX “XXX", DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/SAJHE) may be found.
Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University Institutional Repository SUNScholar.
Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
