Event Title
Interdisciplinary Doctoral Supervision Teams: Working Together within, between, and outside of Disciplinary Boundaries of Knowledge
Start Date
5-10-2011 10:45 AM
End Date
5-10-2011 11:45 AM
Abstract
Interdisciplinary graduate supervision is an expanding phenomenon. In response to encouragement from funding agencies, and enthusiasm from faculty and students (Rhoten, 2004), and in an acknowledgement that the search for creative and innovative solutions to complex problems is best addressed through interdisciplinary collaborations, research intensive universities are increasingly encouraging interdisciplinary projects and programs (Gibney, Copeland & Murie, 2009; Pinar 2004). The expansion of interdisciplinary research to the context of doctoral research may impact the enactment of the student‐supervisor relationship, the process of forming and working with a supervisory committee, as well as the process and outcomes of doctoral research. In order to ensure that interdisciplinary doctoral supervision occurs in a positive and effective way, it is necessary to understand the distinct needs and challenges of interdisciplinary students and their supervisors, through the scholarship of this phenomenon.
Through analysis of interviews and focus groups with interdisciplinary doctoral students and supervisors, the role of different members of the research team was identified as an important component of successful interdisciplinary research. Participants discussed the process of compiling a team of supervisors, co‐supervisors, supervisory committee members and examiners who were understanding and supportive of working in an interdisciplinary way. Conceptions of effective interdisciplinary teams included developing a language to bridge disciplinary differences, coming to a common understanding of expectations for the student's work, defining roles of team members, and shaping team composition to include the necessary areas of experience and knowledge.
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Interdisciplinary Doctoral Supervision Teams: Working Together within, between, and outside of Disciplinary Boundaries of Knowledge
Interdisciplinary graduate supervision is an expanding phenomenon. In response to encouragement from funding agencies, and enthusiasm from faculty and students (Rhoten, 2004), and in an acknowledgement that the search for creative and innovative solutions to complex problems is best addressed through interdisciplinary collaborations, research intensive universities are increasingly encouraging interdisciplinary projects and programs (Gibney, Copeland & Murie, 2009; Pinar 2004). The expansion of interdisciplinary research to the context of doctoral research may impact the enactment of the student‐supervisor relationship, the process of forming and working with a supervisory committee, as well as the process and outcomes of doctoral research. In order to ensure that interdisciplinary doctoral supervision occurs in a positive and effective way, it is necessary to understand the distinct needs and challenges of interdisciplinary students and their supervisors, through the scholarship of this phenomenon.
Through analysis of interviews and focus groups with interdisciplinary doctoral students and supervisors, the role of different members of the research team was identified as an important component of successful interdisciplinary research. Participants discussed the process of compiling a team of supervisors, co‐supervisors, supervisory committee members and examiners who were understanding and supportive of working in an interdisciplinary way. Conceptions of effective interdisciplinary teams included developing a language to bridge disciplinary differences, coming to a common understanding of expectations for the student's work, defining roles of team members, and shaping team composition to include the necessary areas of experience and knowledge.