Student yearning for a positive supervision relationship
6.3 Issues of power inherent in positive supervisory relationships
Issues of power in the supervision relationship have come through in the supervision experiences revealed by the participants from the population sample of this thesis. This section further uncovers some forms of power that exist in the supervision relationships which the participants consider
162 positive/satisfactory. In the quotations below, the metaphors which the participants use to describe their supervision relationship are suggestive of this conception:
…she became more interested in… talking about my personal issues. …So, we became more or less mother and son at the end of the day… (Gabriel, 7a).
He tries to make sure that he is not the one delaying me … … I think it is more like a father- daughter thing… (Endurance, 5a).
I can say that the relationship is cordial…But we are not equals at all… (Naomi, 14a).
Will I say father or friend? …they take me as part of them… (Luke, 12a).
From the data presented here, the participants view their supervision relationship as positive when their supervisors become supportive and show concern about their personal and academic needs.
Apart from one of the participants, who seems to indicate that his relationship with his supervisors was built more on a comradeship of equals compared to the rest of the population sample, who had used bonding descriptions such as: father-son, father-daughter, mother-son and other metaphors, to describe their relationship, and these latter descriptions suggest that there will always be co-related issues of power. But, the data here show that sometimes issues of power turn out to be a positive factor. However, if the relationship between the doctoral students and the supervisors becomes too maternal, it may also present problems of attachment, autonomy, independence, and also ownership.
Another participant succinctly captured power issues that are inherent in a seemingly positive supervision relationship, thus:
I think the experience was nice because it was double-edged. It was nasty on one part because there were times that… I needed guidance... so that I can go and do the work.
…she will apparently leave room for gap…. … But then, later-on when I come back she will say no, this is what you should do. So … you are in a dilemma, not because the person is not prepared to help you but, that spirit of ‘let me be business-like’ occupies the supervisor’s heart. … So, it made me to go into wild reading which I think is good … for my personal growth (Gabriel, 7a).
163 The participant here described a scenario in which his supervisor, whom he sees as supportive at times, was providing little or no guidance. While this could be a way in which the supervisor gradually weans the participant away from dependence, the participant conceives of it as a horrendous way in which his supervisor exercises her authority/power over him. This means that the supervisor probably wants to gain recognition for his expert knowledge and position from the participant. To achieve that, the supervisor seems to deliberately withhold critical information from the participant and allows him to struggle along, before providing guidance. The implication, as revealed in the data, is both positive and negative. It is positive in the sense that the participant had to immerse himself in his study and in the search for knowledge. The negative implication is that the participant seems to lack direction, and was unable to channel his effort towards reading the relevant material to be able to make quick progress with his student research. This means that his student research progress may have been impeded.
A variation in the way that participants’ expressions suggest that power issues exist in a positive supervision relationship, can be seen in the narration of a participant who had challenges with his job (non-salary payment), as in the following transcript:
…they keep on encouraging me and praying for me. But, at times they sound warning to me that this program is dragging for too long... that… “…in your set, one person has finished… and you are on the waiting. The set after you, that’s the third set, they are progressing… they have even proposed and some of them are now in the field collecting data.” So, please…come up... (Moses, 13a).
The participant here revealed that when he had financial challenges, his supervisors motivated him through their pastoral care, support, and prayers. The issue of prayer suggests that the supervisors subscribe to the belief of calling on a transcendental force that supposedly controls everything, which is almost a psychological reassurance that all will be well if one simply commits to regular prayer. But, at the same time, the participant revealed that his supervisors sometimes challenged him by issuing cautionary messages to him and compared him with his colleagues, who are making progress in their studies, while he is not making good progress. Given that universities impose timeframes for the doctoral research period, it is possible that the supervisors are concerned about how the inability of the participant to progress would impact on their jobs as academics; hence the
164 participant was being cautioned. But, the way in which the supervisors compared the participant with his colleagues, could have both positive and negative effects on the participant. It is positive in the sense that he may be challenged to also increase his commitment and dedication to his study.
On the contrary, the comparison may have a negative effect on the participant, as he may develop a negative self-perception; which could limit his academic engagement. It may also engender anger to the point where the supervisor-supervisee relationship becomes strained.