Enhancing relationships in doctoral student supervision: shibboleths, signifiers, and strategies

Abstract

Creating and sustaining viable connections in doctoral student supervision depend on enhancing the student–supervisor relationship as well as on navigating the complex policy and practice terrains in which that relationship is situated. This chapter explores some of the contours of those terrains as they impinge on the supervisory experiences of the authors; it focuses also on their interpretations of the individual and institutional imperatives framing those experiences. The chapter presents specific examples of three types of phenomena held to be significant in underpinning the student–supervisor relationship and its contexts: shibboleths (here constructed as shared practices that sometimes build capability and at other times develop ‘in groups’ and ‘out groups’); signifiers (contextually generated meanings encapsulating often unstated assumptions about the doctoral student journey); and strategies intended to increase the capital of students and supervisors alike. The authors argue that these shibboleths, signifiers, and strategies function as useful reflective devices for focusing our attention on hopefully productive ways of creating and nurturing powerful connections in doctoral student supervision.