Picturing the experiences of the student–supervisor relationship towards completion of doctoral studies in African universities

Abstract

Nations around the globe need scholars and lifelong researchers who can be involved in knowledge creation to meet national and global challenges. Governments are recognising that the foundation of a productive and prosperous country is a welleducated population, especially doctoral graduates who can be involved in research and take the lead in coming up with new and better ways of dealing with various aspects of the development of a country. However, statistics show that the completion rate of doctoral studies in Africa is still very low (Bacwayo et al., 2017). In order to increase the number of doctoral graduates, there must be quality postgraduate supervision which is one of the invaluable areas of higher education. This study, therefore, focused on the experiences of the student–supervisor relationship in postgraduate supervision and the completion of doctoral studies in African universities. The relationship between the supervisor and the doctoral student is paramount to the completion of doctoral studies. Research indicates that the most important factor in students’ decisions to continue and complete their doctoral studies or to withdraw is their relationship with their supervisors (Jones, 2013; Kiley, 2011). Several studies have also revealed that successful supervision is anchored in a quality student–supervisor relationship (Abiddin, 2009; Hodza, 2007) and yet there is no established procedure for effective supervision nor student– supervisor relationship. Individual supervisors seem to approach the student– supervisor relationship differently.